M3 Moonroof

[Rotus8]

I am bummed that the speed3 cannot be configured with a sun/moon roof. The standard 3 can be, but it is expensive because it can only be bundled with the Bose stereo. When mine is deliverd next month I am anticipating missing the open roof on my Mercedes it is replacing. I open it every day unless it is really pissing down rain. (I will not however miss the PITA of the Mercedes implementation. In the four years I have had the car, it has been in the shop eight times for moonroof related problems including a complete replacement of the entire mechanism with an "upgraded" version. And they refuse to sell me a service manual so I can work on it myself. End of rant - sorry.)

Anyway, I am considering adding an aftermarket sunroof and am wondering if anyone in the group has any experience in this. Also, how is the factory one?

I know this is not on the top of the list for many of you, but I am in California .

Thanks for your input.

 

[funkitup1]

i just got an ms3 myself a few weeks ago and i asked the dealer about a sunroof. they said that they can put it in in about half a day but i heard two prices, $750 and "about a thousand"

they both said it doesn't leak - i would expect any good salesman to say that - and that it closes automatically when u shut the car off, unlike the stock one on a regular 3. its not at the very top of my list of mods as i'd like to work on HIDs and a couple other things first but i will eventually get one. hope this helped!!

 

[Kansei]

The reason the Mazdaspeed3 isn't available with a moonroof is because of structural stability. It would weaken the chassis if it had the big gaping hole in it. Trust me, you won't miss the Mazda3 moonroof.. it's like the one in the Protege, when you're in the drivers seat you can't even see that it is there at all.

 

[Fuchs]

The regular 3 can come with the moonroof without ordering the bose. In fact the bose is only available in the GT model.

I have a regular 3 with the 6-disc CD and Moonroof package.

 

[Rotus8]

I have a regular 3 with the 6-disc CD and Moonroof package.

How do you like the moonroof? Do you notice any detrimental effects like chassis flex or creaking?

 

[Kansei]

How do you like the moonroof? Do you notice any detrimental effects like chassis flex or creaking?

I doubt on the regular 3 the moonroof will be the weak spot for the chassis given how they drive.. I didn't read into it but I would hope that they beefed up the MS3 chassis vs. the normal 3.

 

[fourthmeal]

its fair to assume that for the handling that the engineers wanted out of this car, that both the structural stability AND center of gravity / total weight penalty probably forced the sun/moon roof off the design sheet. It is a fairly heavy contraption (with my experience, anyway) compared with a slab of sheetmetal, and with it being so high up on the car, it probably changes the c.o.g. at least a few mm. up. To them, it was probably "add more stabilizer bar and shock firmness to keep the car from swaying under hard turns, OR get rid of the moonroof". Since adding more bar or increasing shock firmness both have large penalties in noise/vibration/harshness scores, and the engineers were probably not as bothered by the lack of a hole in the car as they were by the penalties to offset it, their choice was easy.

You know, Mustang coupes for a very long time never came with a sunroof option. All the ones you see are cut in the world of the aftermarket.

 

[BKK Jack]

its fair to assume that for the handling that the engineers wanted out of this car, that both the structural stability AND center of gravity / total weight penalty probably forced the sun/moon roof off the design sheet. It is a fairly heavy contraption (with my experience, anyway) compared with a slab of sheetmetal, and with it being so high up on the car, it probably changes the c.o.g. at least a few mm. up. To them, it was probably "add more stabilizer bar and shock firmness to keep the car from swaying under hard turns, OR get rid of the moonroof". Since adding more bar or increasing shock firmness both have large penalties in noise/vibration/harshness scores, and the engineers were probably not as bothered by the lack of a hole in the car as they were by the penalties to offset it, their choice was easy.

You know, Mustang coupes for a very long time never came with a sunroof option. All the ones you see are cut in the world of the aftermarket.

Very interesting points regarding the cog. My simple understanding was that the extra bracing in the roof wouldn't allow for the moonroof.

The moonroof can be had in the NA 3. I just took delivery of my 3s Touring yesterday. It is bundled with the 6 CD changer, and not the Bose system. I am a little vertically challenged, so without craning my head back, I can't look out of it. Not that I would want to, though. Unless I am parked somewhere, or trying to avoid getting strafed by incoming air, I keep my attention to the ground. The reason I got it is I love tilting the thing to increase the airflow through the vents without having to use the HVAC fan. For me, just that justifies the "extra" cost of having to get the CD changer, too.

BTW the CD changer DOES play MP3's. At least it plays music files with a .cda extension. I am not sure of all the other file-types there are.

 

[LUECACK]

the reason it doesnt have a moonroof is in part to stability, but mostly because it is ment to be a sports car, having it wouldn't cause a saftey issue but it would allow for more chasis flex, plus it would add another 50lbs easy to the top of the car, raising the center of gravity. both of these are big factors when it comes to handling. same reason the integra type R's never had them