Quik89Si

I have had rust on the sunroof of my CRX since I bought it well over a year ago. I've been trying to decide which way to fix it, and now that I have the money together, it's between these two possibilities.

The OEM sunroof replacement would be a brand-new panel from hondaautomotiveparts.com, and I believe that it runs about $170. I have a decent set of seals at home from another panel, and the headliner doesn't matter. I'd have to get it painted, sealed, whatever else to completely prevent rust in the future, and I could install it myself. The thing is that I don't really use the sunroof at all when I do drive the car, and I know the whole assembly weighs about 35 or 40 lbs.

The fiberglass plug is available at two places I know of, but I'd be buying it from andrewsimportperformance.com. It costs $119 and $25 to ship (no tax), and it's the style that would NOT be riveted in from the top, but rather from the sides into the lip that is folded down from the roof skin. It probably weighs less than 6 lbs and rust would no longer be an issue. I believe it could easily be sealed to be watertight with some black silicone around the edges, and I'd have it painted to match the rest of the car.

Link to f-glass sunroof: http://www.andrewsimportperfor...nroof

Pic of f-glass sunroof:


Which would you choose, and why?

*CLIFF'S NOTES*

OEM sunroof replacement - heavy and I don't use it, could rust again.

Fiberglass plug - light weight, rustproof, could be fragile.

Which to use and why?

Alex





Modified by Quik89Si at 12:32 PM 5/26/2003

Quik89Si

Anybody have any input as to why they are voting how they are?

Alex

91hatchcivic

depends what you use the car for , if its a daily driver, keep the glass, comes in handy on hot days and feels good at night.

OldSchoolHatch

It's not worth the extra money or weight for the working sunroof if you won't get much use out of it.

It seems like the roof is already pretty fragile on models without a sunroof, so I don't think that would be a problem if you do it right.

OldSchoolHatch

By the way 91hatchcivic, is your avatar a joke or what?

Quik89Si

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 91hatchcivic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">depends what you use the car for , if its a daily driver, keep the glass, comes in handy on hot days and feels good at night.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well, I really only drive the car on weekends, and in this case, it's not glass, it's a metal panel. If it were glass this wouldn't be a problem, or even an issue...

Alex

91hatchcivic

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by OldSchoolHatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">By the way 91hatchcivic, is your avatar a joke or what?</TD></TR></TABLE>

not really a joke, the way i see it, people that do drugs dont respect themselves, so im not going to either.

model x

or the third choice:
Use a piece of Lexan and mount it the same as the fiberglass one

OldSchoolHatch

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 91hatchcivic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">not really a joke, the way i see it, people that do drugs dont respect themselves, so im not going to either.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Okay, I don't mean to bring up the whole drug topic on here. I was just wondering if you really meant it, cause that's saying that a huge percent of our population are losers.

As for the sunroof, why is it a metal panel? I haven't really looked at the sunroofs that came on the SI, is yours stock or did you put it in yourself?

silverCRXTC

two things, one i love my roof and i bought a new one from honda, the filler is kinda stupid to me because one of the many reasons i bought my crx is because of its and 2

dont judge people, i smoke pot and occasionally drop E (no i dont smoke crack or shoot up) , im not a loser and im really sucessful ( almost have a Bs in chemistry) i dont see how u can say one doesnt respect their body, grant it everyone has their opion but if u think someone is a loser keep that to yourself And i respect that you cant handle drugs in the same manor i do and respect my choices

mitsuman

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 91hatchcivic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

not really a joke, the way i see it, people that do drugs dont respect themselves, so im not going to either.</TD></TR></TABLE>

OldSchoolHatch

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mitsuman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> </TD></TR></TABLE>

How can you give a thumbs up to that statement? It doesn't really make sense, what makes you think people that do drugs don't respect themselves? Alcohol is more harmful than weed and many other drugs that people do for fun, does that mean everyone that drinks doesn't respect themself?

incubus

stock SI sunroof is just that, a sunroof (ie metal)
a moonroof is glass

I would kill to have a sunroof.
The lexan Idea sounds good too.

91hatchcivic

mitsuman
silverCRXTC


stop thread jacking

90Zcrx

Really the weight loss issue is pretty minor. I guess if your car is a dedicated drag car or something it would make sense, but I can't see replacing a sunroof with a plug personally.....but I do smoke some pot here and there, so my loser opinion is invalid.

matt j

well alex you know my thoughts on it, i want to get you and the rex on the autocross course. so i would say fiberglass, you dont use it that much anyway and when its open during the day burns the hell out of your head at night its cool tho.

but ya i would do the fiberglass filler, and plus you wouldnt have to worry bout rust anymore

Quik89Si

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mattED6 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">well alex you know my thoughts on it, i want to get you and the rex on the autocross course. so i would say fiberglass, you dont use it that much anyway and when its open during the day burns the hell out of your head at night its cool tho.

but ya i would do the fiberglass filler, and plus you wouldnt have to worry bout rust anymore </TD></TR></TABLE>

But Matt, wouldn't the fiberglass filler put me in SM since it's a non-stock body panel?

Alex

Oh yeah, drugs are SUPER! Tylenol works wonders, and some nights I think I'd die without Nyquil...especially when I'm sick

Quik89Si

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 90Zcrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Really the weight loss issue is pretty minor. I guess if your car is a dedicated drag car or something it would make sense, but I can't see replacing a sunroof with a plug personally.....but I do smoke some pot here and there, so my loser opinion is invalid.</TD></TR></TABLE>

No, your loser opinion is very vaild...but anyway, I actually see the weight making more of a difference in an auto-x or roadrace setting, since it is centered more on turning, where the center of gravity of the car plays a larger role than it would in a drag race.

Alex

model x

Lexan is also cheaper and you can see through it. Having that 40lbs at the highest point of the sucks.

matt j

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Quik89Si &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

But Matt, wouldn't the fiberglass filler put me in SM since it's a non-stock body panel?

Alex

Oh yeah, drugs are SUPER! Tylenol works wonders, and some nights I think I'd die without Nyquil...especially when I'm sick </TD></TR></TABLE>

you could run IS3 with us, we wont protest you unless you start beating us then it would be on, but as long as your not competitive dont worry about it.

90Zcrx

You know, the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of a tinted piece of lexan. If you have a heat gun, it's real easy to fold down two of the edges of a piece of lexan so you have something to rivet to, and I know it's easy to tint lexan. I don't even have a sunroof on my civic but I might cut a hole and stick a piece of lexan in once I finish painting the car.

Quik89Si

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 90Zcrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You know, the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of a tinted piece of lexan. If you have a heat gun, it's real easy to fold down two of the edges of a piece of lexan so you have something to rivet to, and I know it's easy to tint lexan. I don't even have a sunroof on my civic but I might cut a hole and stick a piece of lexan in once I finish painting the car.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I wouldn't mind using lexan...

BUT -

When you heat the edges with the heat gun to fold them down, (you'd need to do all 4 anyway, to make sure it's watertight...) wouldn't it discolor the lexan, or make it cloudy around the edges? Also, you'd have basically one shot to get it right as far as size is concerned or else you'd have to start over, right? Where with the fiberglass panel it comes in the size you need...

What about riveting into lexan, or fiberglass for that matter? Is either one difficult to work with? Should I worry about cracking it?

I have heard of some people using plexiglas, but that stuff is kind of weak, and that isn't as sturdy of a solution as I had in mind. Most of them didn't use rivets, but just sort of screwed it in and used a bead of silicone.

Thanks for the input, keep it coming -

Alex

90Zcrx

I figured you could just seal the other two edges with silicone, but you could certainly fold all four, but you do have to be fairly precise. The last time I bent lexan, I heated it up in the oven first and used my desk at the 90 degree brake. This wasn't a car piece I was doing though. you DO have to be careful with lexan, because it does shatter quite easily during cutting and drilling. Punch first. Oh, and I didn't get any discoloring, but I guess if you hold a heat gun on it long enough it'll discolor.

91civicDXdude

i say you get the fiberglass plug and then just remove it when you want to roll with open sun roof.

elmalouno

how bout weld some sheet metal? extra ridged