Alright, I finally got finished putting in my CF sunroof plug kit from lighterfaster.com. Adam volunteered to make me a custom kit for the 4th gen because they didn't offer it at the time, but now it should be available to everyone who wants it.

I must say they were great to deal with and overall get from me. Fitment was perfect and instructions were thorough and detailed. Any how, I'm trying to write a novel, so I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves...


Here's the original sunroof assembly. It's easy to remove-10 or so bolts and unplug some harnesses.


A total loss of 34 pounds The carbon panel wouldn't even register on the scale so it's like 1-2 lbs at the most.


If you wanted to leave all the panels and stuff out, you'd save another 9 lbs. I think I'm going to leave these out for while and see if it bugs me or not...


Here's a little comparison shot. Hmmmm....which one could be lighter??


Great quality.


Here's all the brackets you put in. This took almost a whole day with a dull POS drill bit.


Then you tape off the gap and put in the silicone provided.


Final product. It follows the lines of the sunroof perfect and sits very flush, but my only complaint is that the flat panel is not as curved as the original unit. I'm hoping that over time it will bend itself a bit...

 

yeaahhh 43 i need to get one of those. how much they run. and for the 5gen

 

Nice How much did the CF panel cost?

 

Oh yes, I should mention this, all the brackets are custom bent and punched aluminum and the fasteners are all black coated stainless steel so they won't rust. The fasteners are black Nylock nuts and countersunk "allen" machine screws. Since they are countersunk they fit flush with the body line and since they are black they blend into the carbon fiber. Bracket locating diagram and color instructions are included as well as sealing supplies and method for application. The most important thing it includes as a bracket locating tool. With this tool you make sure and get each bracket mounted exactly in the same position relative to the roof. This gives you an even flush fitting panel.

If you think about it you get twice the benefit of a carbon hood with this kit since you loose the same amount of weight (or more) but you loose it twice as high up which helps in weight transfer weather drag or road racing.

 

Awesome... for no more rust prone metal sunroofs. You wouldn't happen to sell just the cf sunroof to replace the 4th gen cr*p roof, would you? Or is the mounting design on it made to work only with the full kit?

 

Wow, very nice. Can you post up a picture from the inside looking up?

 

[Dumb and dumber]I like it a llllllot[/Dumb and dumber]

 

looks good
ill be ordering one of those soon

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hybridcivicex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Wow, very nice. Can you post up a picture from the inside looking up?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Blingtastic!!11! The silicone has a little transparency even though it's black, but there's no leaks or anything...

 

Brandon, did you apply the silicon underneath as well? It looks like its just on one side.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dand39 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Awesome... for no more rust prone metal sunroofs. You wouldn't happen to sell just the cf sunroof to replace the 4th gen cr*p roof, would you? Or is the mounting design on it made to work only with the full kit?</TD></TR></TABLE>

It is designed to replace the whole assembly to lighten the car up.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Brandon, did you apply the silicon underneath as well? It looks like its just on one side. </TD></TR></TABLE>


Yeah, just the top so far. I was considering doing the bottom pretty soon...was I supposed to?..hehe..

 

looks good

 

Not a huge deal but it would probably make a more durable seal plus it would be so transparent.

 

Since Hawkze_2.3 was the guinea pig and it appears to be a success, are you going to offer the panel with a bit more curve to better match the roofline? because in this pic it looks like a flat plate based on the reflection:


Other than that it looks great.

Pirate

 

Yes it is a flat plate. It is stiff enough to do what it needs to do but flexible enough to conform when they brackets are mounted correctly. There are 20 plus brackets mounted exactly at the same height relative to the roofline so the panel does acheive a curve to match the roofline. The center of the panel looks slightly flat but its not like just bolting up a piece of lexan. If I built it as a molded non-autoclave part you would also not get a glossy interior due to the way wet layup cf parts are molded. It would be a rough matte finish or I would sepnd a tone of time smoothing out the surface and re-coating. You could get a glossy surface on both sides part but it would cost $5-10 thousand dollars per kit with the type of autoclave construction we use to build the plates. This would raise the price of the kit a bunch. In an autoclave of course you get much better quality than the way most cf hoods are made. Basically I did it this way to make the kits affordable which I know every racer wants.

 

I just looked at the pictures more closely and it looks like the dome light bolts to the chassis and not the sunroof assembly. Is this right Brandon?

 

No, it bolts to the sunroof assembly. You could probably fab some sort of bracket pretty easily...

 

3rd gen (88-91) applications?

 

On a custom basis I can build 88-91's. Shoot me an Im if you want a price please.

 

damn good **** hawkze.....how much weight are you down to now?

felt any difference? handling acceleration? braking?

 

Looks good. Now all I have to do is rob a bank. Can't wait to get one.

 

that's sick good work.

 

Thats some serious weight savings. I don't think its NHRA legal if that matters. Im going to check - we were considering removing the sunroof and welding in a steel plate - doing the body work and repainting the roof. This would be so much easier.

Great job with the pictures for all of us to view. Thanks.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by OaksRacing &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Thats some serious weight savings. I don't think its NHRA legal if that matters. Im going to check - we were considering removing the sunroof and welding in a steel plate - doing the body work and repainting the roof. This would be so much easier.

Great job with the pictures for all of us to view. Thanks.</TD></TR></TABLE>

It is legal in NHRA SFWD.