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07-11-2007, 01:04 PM | #1 |
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First post --- to get CF roof or not
Hey all,
I have been lurking for a while now but I just put in my M3 order last week through the military car sales here in Germany. Right now, it is just a blank order since the final price and options haven't been officially released yet. One of the options that I do know of is giving me some trouble deciding which way to go ... the roof. I am really torn about either getting the steel roof with a sunroof or the CF roof with no sunroof. Hopefully you experts can help out on my questions: 1. Is the weight savings with the CF roof really that significant to the handling of the car? The only comparison I can find is that the M6 CF roof saved 11lbs from the total weight, so I think the weight savings would be close to the same. 2. I don't plan on selling my M3, but you just never know what can happen in life. I wonder which roof would have a higher resale value / desire in the US market if I had to sell it. What are most of you soon-to-be owners going with? BTW...really enjoy reading and learning from all of you V/r SMSgt B |
07-11-2007, 01:14 PM | #2 |
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Welcome to the board,
1. Im not a engineer but i would say it would not make a world of difference, unless your a track freak and every little detail terms of performance/weight saving matters to you. BMW engineers say that the lightweight roof lowers the center of gravity and will increase agility and directional stability along with reducing understeer. 2. IMO i think the CF roof would have a higher re-sell value, i never use the sunroof in my car now anyway nor do i know anyone that uses it on a regular basis. I will be going with the CF |
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07-11-2007, 01:23 PM | #3 | |
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I'm not an expert, but for what it's worth, I have ordered the CFRP roof. I don't believe it will (for me at least) make any perceivable difference to performance, but I do think the feature will preserve resale value. It is a shame they are not painting the roof, because I think it looks gimmicky (once the material is commonplace, no-one will be doing this - same as with cycle frames) and it does not seem to look good with my chosen colour (Jerez black). For this reason I plan to pursue the opportunity to have the roof painted as an Individual option. |
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07-11-2007, 01:27 PM | #4 |
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I also plan to get Jerez black, what makes it not look good? Besides having no contrast...
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07-11-2007, 01:43 PM | #5 |
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You can't just compare CF vs. steel when thinking of the tops. You must think in terms of CF vs. steel and moonroof, which is significant IMO.
CF. /end thread. J/k! |
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07-11-2007, 01:45 PM | #6 |
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It's not the lack of contrast so much as that I just don't think black and blue go well together (and the Jerez black definitely looks blue). Didn't the E46 cabrios come with a blue top if you ordered blue paint?
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07-11-2007, 01:47 PM | #7 | |
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If you plan on painting it over and don't care about the supposed performance gain then I would def jus go for the moonroof |
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07-11-2007, 02:01 PM | #9 |
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The CF roof does not offers the same protection against bear attacks as a steel roof.
I am going with the CF roof because I don't use moon roof. It's nice to have the sun in california but whenever I open it I find it noisy. |
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07-11-2007, 03:14 PM | #10 |
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07-11-2007, 03:17 PM | #11 | |
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But despite my natural cynicism, what residual faith I have in human kind tells me that some people like the CF roof for its supposed technical benefits rather than its appearance. This actually ought not to be too difficult because the naked CFRP looks frankly ridiculous and (along with iDrive / Satnav) will (IMO) be the feature that causes the car to age soonest. I guess I'm hoping that people are simply happy to be told it is there, even if they cannot see it, the same as with many other features... |
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07-11-2007, 03:49 PM | #12 |
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The CF roof is a signature feature of the new M3 and it looks nice, but I'm pretty sure I'm going with the steel roof + sunroof. I'm sure there will be decent resale for both cars. As they say in the car biz, "there's an a$$ for every seat"
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07-11-2007, 03:50 PM | #13 |
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As a slight aside, to any UK folk who have spec'ed your cars, do you remember whether the sun-roof was even an option (because I don't)?
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07-11-2007, 04:06 PM | #14 |
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1. I would never buy a car without a sunroof as I use mine everyday (and I live in the north ha ha...). This was the sole reason I didnt buy a 350z pre-launch a few years back. And yes, I do track my car regularly
2. I havent made up my mind about resale... but you can look at the M6 for reference. IMO a car with a sunroof will be more popular than a car without a sunroof since most buyers are looking for the ///M badge and use these as DD. Think about the previous M cars, how many non-sunroof M3 do you see around? If this was a dedicated track car like an Elise or something, that's a different story. Obviously the CFR is a cool marketing idea and a nice conversation piece, but not sure how much real benefit there is otherwise for this type of application. It is cool to see BMW thinking outside the box though...
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07-11-2007, 06:23 PM | #16 |
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I think the answer is definitely YES. I have a CF wing on my Evo, and there have been problems with the clearcoat "delaminating" on a number of cars. Me, I let some bird poop sit on the wing too long. Months later, there's a hole in the CF coating. I suppose I can get it covered under warranty (others have) but I haven't asked yet.... It's one thing that scares me off from having an entire roof in CF. Yes I know the M3 is not a Mitsubishi. But we are talking similar coating technolgies here, I would think........ |
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07-11-2007, 06:48 PM | #17 | |
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My 2 cents
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Also... |
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07-11-2007, 10:00 PM | #19 | |
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07-11-2007, 10:19 PM | #20 |
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Seems absurd. Only reasonable excuse would be for 2nd owners.
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07-11-2007, 10:24 PM | #21 |
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CF/suroof
There's no structural reason you can't put a sunroof in a CF roof; BMW wisely decided to offer two discreet options. I'm torn, becuase I love sunroofs, but the CFRP roof is very cool.
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07-11-2007, 10:25 PM | #22 |
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