I've had 3 991s, all three had sunroofs. Zero squeaks or rattles in any of them. And I do autocross about 7 times a year so I don't exactly baby my car, either.

 

I suspect, for the majority of owners, the Carrera T is primarily about the fun of driving. If a sunroof seems like more fun to you, then go for it. On those rare nice days here in Pittsburgh being able to open the roof and get closer to nature on the way to work is totally worth the minuscule performance sacrifice.

 

Imagine that! Porsche engineered the bodyshell in anticipation that some looney owners would spec a sunroof! How about that! Those nutty Germans! I think the days of an auto manufacturer cutting a hole to add a sunroof as a total afterthought (like the ones you could buy at Napa or Western Auto) are long gone?

Of course those days are gone! By the logic of some posters here, convertible 911s flex like wet noodles, right? I respect the contributors that say they spec'd their car with no sunroof as a matter of personal choice or because they like the cleaner look of the car without the lines in the roof, etc. But stating as fact that the car has less torsional rigidity implies that you've been able to measure this. I and many others have stated that their sunroof equipped cars do not show any signs of lacking torsional stiffness because as it would seem, the platform was designed to allow for a sunroof. By engineers.....who know what they are doing.

I love my 911. It's been my dream forever. But I'm not confused about what this car is......and it's more GT than pure sports car. The Carrera has grown up and grown in general over the years. It's no Lotus Elise! The additional weight and location so high in the car from a sunroof is important....in a race car. And a race car, my car is not. And I love that along with all the other comforts it offers in a fast as hell package that looks incredible! Thank you Porsche!

 

^ I really resonate with this.

Sure, I don't like sunroofs in 911s—but that's primarily an aesthetic and philosophical (which probably drives the aesthetic) decision far more than an actual performance decision. It's a matter of what makes each of us happy...if these cars aren't adding a bit of that joy and configurable to do just that for each individual, then they have no point.

And whoever mentioned the structural rigidity of modern cars was spot on. The 987 Spyder only ever felt a bit cowl-shaky after driving it back to back over rough roads with a 981 Boxster with X73 suspension...which felt (and is) more rigid than many coupes of not so long ago. So how stiff is a 991 with a sunroof? Extremely stiff. The 991 coupe roof was engineered to take a cartridge, from the standard Carrera (metal with no sunroof) to a metal sunroof, a glass sunroof, a magnesium sheet for RS, a CF sheet for RS, and an escape-hatch setup for the race cars. My guess is rigidity was optimized regardless of which cartridge goes in.

 

 

I was conflicted when I ordered my car but in the end went for the glass roof. No regrets as with that open and the windows down, you get all the sights and sounds without the resonance that windows on their own seem to make. Also, just cracked open you get better airflow through the car, maybe not needing the a/c and the exhaust noise filters back in without any buffeting.

Depending on the temperature, lights levels, humidity, etc. you can normally find a sweet spot. No leaks, rattles or any other bad behaviour so far and looks good with my silver/red/black GTS. Would spec again.

 

Yes, I live near Seattle so the windows are usually up and the sunroof is always closed - but a few days each year when the stars align I can open everything up. There's an experiment I'd like to try, but I keep forgetting to perform the experiment every time I've encountered the right circumstances. At fairly high speeds, with the windows down, the wind buffeting gets bad (lets just say at a bit above normal highway speeds). I know there are deflectors that help, but it's so rare a problem for me those aren't worth the trouble. For those of you that live in the sunroof belt: does simply cracking the sunroof open help reduce wind buffeting? Just curious - I'm still not ordering the sunroof on my upcoming new 911.

 

In my experience, yes. Over about 50-60mph with the windows down you can get a very loud, low frequency oscillation that stops almost entirely with the the sunroof tilted.

 

I agree. For me the sweet spot is to have the sunroof in the vent position at speeds below 45 mph. It gets a bit loud for me after that and enjoyment is less. But I do love to "raise the spoiler" so I can see it by cracking open the sunroof. I love this car.

 

just learned that in the full glass roof the glass weight is 115lbs.

 

I had 3 911s before and one I am driving now. They all were glass sunroofs. I love them. I do not mind it's weight, as my cars are not track junkies I have the tilt up for venting probably on 99% of days, as it's very little rain here. Even when closed, the glass give you that bright open feel inside. I use the roof open all the time here in California esp. on a warm winter days
The roof opening is big enough and with side windows down you have an open air car, You can't have this type of experience w/o a sunroof. And as I choose coupes over cabs all the time it is a must option for me.
Never had a targa though, which possibly is even better open air option too.

 

 

 

Unless i go deaf and move way up north, I'm not owning a 911 without sunroof. I love the extra ventilation and engine exhaust sound with my sunroof tilted up - love it way too much!