What is the roof like with a moonroof?

[theschoolbus]

Is it still a carbon fiber roof with a moonroof in it? Or is the whole roof steel? Or other?

 

[robthebold]

Is it still a carbon fiber roof with a moonroof in it? Or is the whole roof steel? Or other?

The non-glass part of the roof is not steel. It feels more like the paneling on the rest of the body. It runs from what would be the B-pillar back to the hatch, a little more than 1/2 the total area of the roof. BTW, the actual opening area of the sunroof is much smaller than the glass cover, since it's really a T-top and also doesn't extend as far back. The two manual sunshades are not fully opaque, and you can feel the warmth of the sun overhead with the glass and shades both closed.

 

[stumbledotcom]

Yes, the roof panel between the glass pane and the rear hatch is carbon fiber, just as with the non-sunroof version.

In the interests of accuracy, the i3 sunroof is not a t-top. Actual t-tops have two removable panels, either solid or glass. When the panels are taken out, the center bar and anchor point remain. If a window is down, you have exposure from the top of the door to the overhead bar. The i3 design is a variation on the contemporary moonroof—a single glass panel that tilts and slides open. But the i3's pane retracts above the roof rather than the more common under variety. Inside the car, the headliner has two ports, one above each front seat. The center piece that separates the ports appears to be part of the headliner, not a structural section.

 

[jadnashuanh]

One reason why they did not appear on the first model year in the US is a rule requiring the roof to be metal. Not sure how they got the approval keeping it carbon fiber, but it did take them a couple of years what with the speed of our regulatory agencies. Like a steel roof is stronger than the carbon fiber...

Now, if they only would update the headlight rules that require a dedicated hi/low headlight switch...we might get the flexibility of the laser lights that can vary and adjust for the conditions the rest of the world can enjoy.

If you haven't seen a demo of the Euro laser lights, you should look it up...it's pretty slick!

 

[robthebold]

Yes, the roof panel between the glass pane and the rear hatch is carbon fiber, just as with the non-sunroof version.

In the interests of accuracy, the i3 sunroof is not a t-top. Actual t-tops have two removable panels, either solid or glass.

To be pedantic, I think this is more in the interest of pedantics than accuracy.

But as to the back half of the roof, mine does not look or feel like carbon fiber. I'd like it to be, since that would be cooler. And if it is, it's been disguised quite well. And like a global doomsday device, why would you hide that? Because the rest of my exterior is Fluid Black, maybe? (Although, since we're going there, one could characterize carbon fiber as plastic (adj), what with it being molded or formed.)

 

[jadnashuanh]

THere's a clear coat on the CF roof. FWIW, the roof is made from cutoffs and scrap from the frame, so it's not a contiguous single sheet. It's strong, but doesn't need to be as strong as the frame, thus, savings are obtained by making it out of scraps versus a virgin sheet(s).

 

[Stevei3]

Hi guys,

in the first years of production (like my first i3) the roof was made out of clear-coated cfrp for both cars with and without sunroof. They switched over to a painted aluminium roof for the cars with sunroof later (like my current i3).

Regards, Steven

 

[stumbledotcom]

Hi guys,

in the first years of production (like my first i3) the roof was made out of clear-coated cfrp for both cars with and without sunroof. They switched over to a painted aluminium roof for the cars with sunroof later (like my current i3).

You could be right. My 2014 without the sunroof definitely had the CFRP roof panel. In bright, direct sunlight at certain angles, I could see the weave. A casual observer would probably conclude the panel was painted black since you really had to look for the patterns. When I swapped into the 2017 with a sunroof, I assumed the panel was the same. I looked at it this morning in hazy sunlight and I can't say what it is beyond it's not the thermoplastic that makes up the rest of the vehicle's skin. A cursory web search didn't reveal any info either. Still a switch to aluminum could explain why BMW USA finally could offer the sunroof option two years after the model launched.