Gentian21

I'm getting close to my lock date, and am wondering about the metal sunroof I've spec'd. I've read some posts about squeaking and leaking, as well as those that say that the added weight negatively affects handling. Are there any owners of a metal sunroof that have had problems or issues? I like the idea of a roof opening on a beautiful day, but I don't want a sunroof to be the weak link on the car.

Dan Nagy

Glass roof on my 991.2 and 992, no issues, but maybe the metal roof is different? Dunno. My guess is that these issues are rare.

I steered away from a Targa for those reasons, but have determined that reading the complaints here skews your perception. I think if you did a simple poll for sunroof owners, squeak, leak, no issues, you might get a decent, quantifiable response.

lucycan

I'd love to know who was able to determine that the added weight (over what - no sunroof, glass?) negatively affected handling. I'm sure it was something like "this 1.2 lbs at the highest possible point on the car slowed my lap times by 3 seconds". Come on. Really?

gcurnew

I haven't seen any published figures, but I suggest it's likely in excess of 30 pounds (and perhaps more) for the cassette and the glass compared to a thin piece of metal in a non-sunroof car. Metal sunroof would be less weight than glass. Either would affect the COG in a measurable way, and for folks who are concerned about weight and its effect on handling, a sunroof is one of the things that get deleted/added when doing a track-focused build. Also on the list would be the lightweight glass, 4-way seats (or carbon fiber in models that have them as an option), PCB brakes, and carbon-fiber roof. Aside from PCBs, each addition would have a small effect on handling; collectively a car spec'd with all the lightweight options would be more agile and capable of meaningfully quicker lap times compared to a car that was built with no concern about weight.

BIGWORM

All the former BMW M car owners of course!

That the topic of having a sunroof over the carbon roof was beat to death on bimmerpost for years on end. The sunroof option added 20 seconds to the M cars 0-60!

aggie57

If I was to bet on this I’d say the metal sunroof is a low volume option, most people want no sunroof at all or if they want a sunroof they opt for the glass one. Certainly dealers hardly ever spec it for stock cars. I don't have any stats to back that up, just 2 years or so of looking at many many 992’s and seeing relatively few with the metal sunroof.

Anyway, no issues of note with the metal one in my case after 5 months. There was a rattle in it on delivery but that was quickly fixed and it’s been fine since. Bear in mind that it uses the same mechanism and insert as the glass one so things like fit and sealing are going to be the same at least as far as the external panels are concerned.

With regards to weight, these are not light cars and the GT cars are aimed at people that want cars for primarily track or competition use. A few pounds is going to be pretty much irrelevant in the real world regardless of where it is in the car. From my one time on the track so far with my 992 you’re going to notice the soft spring rates far more (even with SPASM) and you’ll still have fun in it.

eagle1960

My 997, 991 and now 992 all with metal and never had problems.

Gentian21

Thanks for the input-- very helpful. I'm opting for the metal sunroof over the glass because I think the dark glass messes up the lines of the car. For a black or dark gray car it isn't an issue, but I'm going with Gentian Blue, and I think the glass would disturb the unity of the roofline.

mdrobc1213

Take a look at this video showing various cars I think at Champion Porsche earlier this year. The video does a great job of showing your various cars and color combos as well as other options/details such as Sport Design vs OEM and Sport Exhaust tips vs special quad Sport exhaust and even black trims vs silver trims amongst others and was a very good visual as I looked at my color choices and car before finalizing my order. In fact this was one of the first videos I saw that had Chalk in the flesh so to speak so I could get a good idea as to how it looked under light and up close alongside other cars and helped with my decision to ultimately go with Chalk as my exterior color after a bit of back a forth.


In particular...you can clearly seen the lines of the cars with sunroofs, without and also moonroofs in various colors and setups so hopefully it will help you some with your choice. IMHO I love the moonroof option as it gives me the best of both worlds allowing light in most of the time when I am driving even in inclement weather and fully open when I want it as well as providing the covered support and look (darkness) of a non-moon roof car or even steel sunroof. Good luck.

michael818

Both my 997 and 991 had metal sunroofs. I had no problems at all with them. I opted for no sunroof this time because I found that I didn't use it much and didn't like the noise and wind buffeting. As to weight, they certainly add and change the COG but, for my use, that didn't matter at all. I suppose if you were going to the track the weight MIGHT matter but it didn't matter to me. I would try to take one out for a test drive and see if the noise bothers you. I would have opted for glass not to open the roof but for the light in the cockpit but ended up with no sunroof at all.

Gentian21

The video was very helpful-- thanks. Michael, you mentioned wind buffeting with the sunroof. Did you experience this with the side windows open or closed? I would think that an open sunroof with the windows open or cracked a little would produce no buffeting, but if I'm wrong about this, I'd take a pass on the sunroof.

CodyBigdog

You have the weight thing, reversed. The glass sunroof is heavier than the metal.If you want minimal weight, don’t get the sunroof.

https://rennlist.com/forums/992/1132...-sunroofs.html

According to my local rep, glass sunroof versus metal adds about 20 lbs more...which, of course, raises the car’s overall center of gravity point. While most of us won’t notice the difference, for some porschephytes, that worry about every extra gram of weight, and where that extra weigh resides, and extra 20 lbs sitting on the highest point of the car, is not a desirable thing.

mdrobc1213

Only a real factor guys if you're racing the car most agree. Its not a GT3 or GT2 guys and the other unspoken factor is that most of those worried about the weight savings would probably do much better in spending the concern and cash on driving lessons/skills upgrades than whether the sunroof vs moonroof weighs too much as the amount of seconds off their lap times is almost minuscule to be measured. A HPDE told me he'd seen the same for many folks who obsess about weight loss vs driving skills and in his humble opinion he could swap them in and out of a negligible heavier car (i.e. sunroof/moonroof vs non sunroof) and still they would show negligible improvements in their times...its more about skill and technique at this level than who has the most powerful/lighter car was his point. Got me on the track and in heavier car than the lighter Cayman 981 I was driving proved this point then did it again by putting us in multiple 911 variants and showing us that the weight differences in the cars didn't really matter much if we didn't know what we were doing otherwise (driving lines, braking points, and vehicle dynamics, as well as our own skill levels).

If you want the sunroof get it for aesthetics...or utility...don't worry about lap times and speed and how much heavier the car will be.

CodyBigdog

I don’t worry about the weight. I’m getting the steel/aluminum sunroof. But the steel, over the glass, is considerably lighter. ...The added weight for me is noise...but for some, it may not be. I’ve read in a number of car mags that the glass on some of these large glass panoramic sun roofs (like the Taycan) can weigh more than 200 lbs. that’s not insignificant.

On every car I’ve owned in the last 30 years, I had a sun roof. I use it in the tilt mode for two reasons...(1) It improves air flow inside the car, with less noise than when you crack the window; and (2) I like how the car looks with the sunroof tilted up. I rarely open the roof open because it gets too noisy at highway speed and inevitably, I get sun shining in on my eyes. I prefer the steel sun roof because it think it looks better, with matching color, when the roof is in the closed position.

Bluehighways

The logic of cutting a hole in the middle of the roof of a perfectly good sports car totally escapes me.