Originally Posted by WW-GSR

I still think to this day that Mitsubishi was stupid in offering the HID's & spoiler only in the option that included the moonroof on my '03.. lame-o.

Originally Posted by rgonyer

Anyone done it?

Originally Posted by TempeRacerGuy

Yeah, I am reviving a dead thread...

I have an IX SE MR, it has more electronics in it than a Kiss concert. HUD, Nav, 1600W stereo, blah blah blah... It has the typical engine/suspension work. Not enough to be hugely impressive here, but enough to scare the friends/family/women that get in the car.

I am going to be putting in a sunroof.

Now, I know all those people who are saying "it's weight, it will ruin the structure, blah blah blah" But isn't the MR roof just a skin riveted and epoxied on? I was of the belief that there were cross supports for structural rigidity anyways as the alluminum doesn't offer much cross support...

Here's my plan....

Get the sunroof (it's on it's way from MI now)

Pop a mold off of the MR roof. (I like the structural ridges of the MR's roof)

Using the mold, make a structural carbon fiber roof using an outer layer of 2x2 twill for looks, and multiple layers of 1x1 CF cloth in alternating 45 layup, with a thin foam core and structural foam filled ridges both longitudinally and latterally for strength.

Built properly, with the correct UV resistant epoxy resins in a vacuum bagged layup, you should have a lighter, roof skin that's strong enough for my fat *** to jump on with very little deflection. It should also strengthen the chassis if bonded properly to the roof rails.

Of course the inner structure of the roof would be designed and built to incorporate the mounting structure for the sunroof... Once that's done, a headliner from a sunroof car, or simply a custom alcantara headliner can be made to give it a factory look (I have the alcantara already).

This really isn't going to be that difficult or expensive a proposition. Carbon Fiber is cheap now (however the proper resins are expensive), the only real expense is my time (and maybe a donor MR roof to use as a mold plug as I don't want to pull my car out of commission while the roof is being made). Of course it will take a lot of time, but I can find that :-)

I know my car will be a bit heavier than stock... I don't give two shizzys about that. I weigh 275 lbs, if I want to even the weight of the car out, I'll go on a diet and drop the 35 lbs that I'm adding to the car.

So, what do ya think?

Originally Posted by Skylineracer

the aluminum roof on the evo was done for weight savings in a part of the car where it really counts. i forget the exact numbers but i do remember that taking the weight off the roof translated to way bigger savings compared to taking weight off else where because of it being far above the CG of the car. so adding the 35lbs you are planning to will feel around a corner like u added a lot more.