beefyjoe

OK. The sunroof bothers me a bit, because:

1. It only opens to 50% of the hole in the roof. Like the sun"slot" in the 928.

2. The exterior glass panel looks STUPID. Did Madza invent this feature? Or did Honda with the second generation CRX?

The roof on the RX8 is very long, WHY didn't Mazda make the sunroof retract INSIDE the roof? (Less headroom in the rear, yes, but my kids sit there.) can it be modified to retract inside the car?

Last, can anyone tell me how to easily remove the sunroof panel? Maybe if we can pop out the panel, we could have a more open car.

MI_FamilyMan

Hey don't take this the wrong way.... but wah.

jaedcem

1. My sunroof opens almost all the way, but the shade doesn't open all the way. If you don't manually push the shade all the way back, then it seems like the sunroof isn't all the way open. (And the sun "slot" in the 928 is really small, but the sunroof panel slides all the way back.)

2. I agree that the sunroof hanging out there in the wind looks dumb. I comfort myself with the knowledge that I'm on the inside, so I can't see it. :p I don't know why Mazda didn't design it differently, but I'm glad I didn't lose another two inches of headroom. If that were the case, I may not have been able to buy the car. I doubt you could modify it to open inside without some serious modifications to the interior, and perhaps some body (roof) mods.

RX Renesis

yes u got the idea of headroom but the car was ment for having adults sitting in the back too... so if the sunroof was to slide in between the roof and interior.... the back will be pretty cramped....

truemagellen

haha! I can hear the violin playing now for this guy :p

beefyjoe

ok, ok
Wah... I have a $30,000 sports car and the sunroof is small...wahh..waaahhhh.

But still, can we find a way to pop it off easily? How does the dealer do it? I would put it in the trunk in a bag in good weather.

therm8

there's a support beam behind the sunroof to help make up for the lack of a b-pillar. there's no way to get the sunroof to retract inside with this beam there.

Emsdad

I like the look of the sunroof open. I think it's kinda cool lookin. There was a thread last week where someone had an aftermarket sunroof put in. It wound up being one that slid into the roof instead of on top like OEM.

To make a long story short, it probably degraded the survivability/crash worthyness of the car. The lady was GIVEN a newer(05 instead of 04), nicer equiped(touring instead of sport) car for the same price, to make up for the mistake. It must be a pretty damn big concern if they gave her that kind of deal.

Pretty sad thing to complain about honestly. Again, why cry about something like the design of the sunroof? Look for something good to say about the car, and make a thread about that instead.

justice4RX8

That why they call it a TEST DRIVE, you try it before you buy it!

Matt RX8

You also forgot to mention that the sunroof adds unnecessary weight to the car and decreases structural rigidity and also take away helmet room from the driver.

That is why I am very happy that I don't have a sunroof.

It's a shame that the Shinka comes with one or I might have considered it.

jaedcem

Hmmm - I hadn't thought of that. Open the sunroof, unbolt it, bag it, stow in trunk to reinstall later. Seems like a good idea, if a bit labor-intensive. I don't have the shop manual, but I imagine someone here does, and would be able to describe the removal procedure. (If they can stop flaming you with the "why didn't you notice this earlier/quit whining about your expensive car/you should have bought a different model" posts. We'll see.)

juikster

Man,can't you see it was all Mazdas master plan to do it that way in order to help keep the light *** end down on the ground at highspeed drifting conditions.


anyways,I think it looks rather cool looking at it head on:D

ÜberJumper

I had a car with one of those sunroofs you could pop out and put in the trunk. Two of them actually. SUCKED. Love the RX-8's roof, except for the fact you have to freaking HOLD the button to close it. Stupid thing... Yeah I want to PARTIALLY close my sunroof. Dingbats.

Stalker

i used my sunroof for the first time the other night and the thing i noticed was the amount of wind that gusts into the car. i used to drive a bmw and you could go 130 mph and not move a hair. i pulled the spring loaded bar down and it seemed to cut down on the wind that enters the car. i thought that was there to deflect wind but it seems to be doing the opposite.

Emsdad

^^^ Wierd, I have the opposite. I get much less wind, and noise from the 8 than from the wife's 325i (2004), with the sunroof open.

krangorx8

actually there is a reason you would want to close the sunroof halfway.... If you open it up about an inch and push the slider thingy all the way back you get a heck of a nice breeze. Much better than AC if you ask me.

Leadfoot27

I agree. I've had 4 3 series BMW's over the years. Never had a problem with either wind noise or wind rushing into the car(even without a wind deflector). I don't mind the noise too much in the 8, mostly its not a problem under 60 mph. As for the wind rushing in... wear a cap. I do wish the opening was larger, but I understand the design limitations. All in all, I'm still happy I got the sunroof. Being able to vent is a plus and I like being able to get extra light in the cabin on cloudy days.

ÜberJumper

Interesting Krango, I'll try that, thanks.

beefyjoe

That's why I complain about things - I like the car so much, I want to make it better.
I just wonder about all of the compromises made in the making of a car and why the designers did what they did.


I had a 240sx with a pop out sunroof. It was a pain, but the hole in the roof was big and wide, I liked the result. As i said compromises...

beachdog

I don't find the wind noise objectionable with the roof open all the way. Much quieter than any of my family sedans or suvs when their tops were open.

If you pop the rear vents there is no buffeting at all.

Rotario

Ditto. Besides, I didn't fit in one with the 'roof. A tall body is good for a lot of things, but fitting in a sports car isn't one of them. :p

Bill

Emsdad

I agree that the sunroof does cut out some of the headroom, but I've heard several people say that it adds weight and slows down the car.

I'm just wondering if the 20 lbs. difference is really noticable? I'm just wondering how many people that mention the weight are actually taking their car out to the track and running at 10/10ths to the point where they might actually see a differance?

beachdog

I've been temped to add this comment to the "lightening" threads, but have refrained. The quickest way to lighten the 8 is for the driver to go on a diet.

Emsdad

^^^I'm up for that one...I have just about 20 lbs. to spare too....and then I can keep my cool sunroof!

mandy24

You need to read the thread on Dealership put in wrong sunroof...now what?

Zoom44 and beachdog completely outline exactly why, Mazda did not make the sunroof to retact inside the roof.

Mandy24