After installing 15-17 parts next week (including Tenabe Full Cat exhuast), my next project is making T-Top, Targa Top or Glass Roof Top(like New E-Class). I asked a few experts, they all said "Don't do it!" because no one is going to make right support strcuture bar for my roof.

So any advise guys?

Thanks.


P.S Please someone tell me how to upload sound clip or video clip?

 

I would probably listen to them, as cutting the roof like that will seriously alter the stiffness of the car. The engineers probably designed the roof to help take torsion and bending, making large cuts without aditional support could jepardize the integrity of the rest of the car. Just my 0.02. I even question just a hole for a moon-roof (although not nearly as bad).

 

Thanks You

 

email them to me, I'll host them for alittle.

kev328ci@bellatlantic.net

 

I don't recommend cutting your roof at all, but if you must, check out the sunroof a member had done and see what you think. American Sunroof Corp.,in Socal, did the job and I wouldn't have anyone else do it if you are adamant about this. I am still against it, but its your car. If you go cheap on this or even if you don't, you will drop your resale by an enormous amount, trust me.

 

As a elctrical engineer, I am not qualified to make the call, but you may want to pursue this further. Looking at page BL 154 of the service manual, you'll see a flimsy looking "roof bow". It seems the roof bow's only purpose is to support the roof. Therefore a sunroof should be no problem.

To install a T top or targa top is another story. The same page shows the outer front pillar and inner side roof rail, which the roof bow attaches to, are high strength steel components. This means altering those members will affect the structural rigidity of the frame and possibly create a safety hazard.

 

Totally I agree with you guys. I think I could do something special, but guess not... Hu~~~ Thank you alway and have a great day man.

 

These concequences are going to show their major impact on the track, and in cases when you roll over though, correct? It won't make a difference on a head/side collision? And it won't make a huge difference on the cars performance at medium speeds (up to 100-110), correct?

 

Experts say "I will lose nice handling on high speed especially making hard sharp turns." They also said that I could feel the handling right away with or with out correct roof sturcture bar.

 

Ok, this is one of those mods that is going to cost a chunk of change, thats a given. So why not fab a roll cage integrated into the design of the targa roof. That should gain you back all your rigidity and then some. If you don't have the skills to fab it yourself make sure you find someone that will make the cage hug the interior of the car as closely as possible, then upholster the cage very tightly with tweed or something else matching the int color. A roll cage can make your car look tacky, or if done right, it can look even better than stock witout loosing much space.

 

Good suggestion, if one must cut the roof. I would never cut the roof.

Suggestion. Buy the 350Z, don't take out the 240's straight 6, I know about the V8 conversion too. Leave the original in and modify, if you must. The chassis is still 3 decades old and adding 100% more power may be problematical, besides its a classic.

 

Newport Conversions in C.A. is the place to go. They do all types of targa and convertible conversions. I have seen their work and it is awesome. I saw a convert NSK and it looked factory.. But, I think its around 6k for a targa and 10k++++ for convert.....
www.newportconvertible.com

 

with a unit-frame car like the 350z, any modifications to the structure of the car will adversely affect its crash performance.

one of the reasons the car performs so well in crash testing is because every component of the car works together to absorb impact.

think about it this way- if a single truss or structural member in a building fails, then the weight of a floor overloads the remaining beams. if those fail, that weight falls to the next floor, overloading it, and on and on. the same concept applies to a unit-frame vehicle. if a structural member is damaged, modified, or removed, extra load can be transferred to portions of the vehicle not meant to bear that much stress- and catastrophic failure can occur.

if you cut the roof, which i wouldnt suggest, then make damn sure you put in a good roll cage- chromo tubing, mandrel bent, heliarc welded, with nodal construction. dont skimp on that stuff.

and even THAT isnt a guarantee the car will still perform properly in a crash situation.

indulf

 

Here's the simple solution: trade it in for the 350Z Roadster.

 

yep, thats the best idea

indulf

 

I have to clarify your statement, as a construction professional with structural engineering emphasis.

Before anyone looks at skyscrapers or other buildings and thinks that one failed member can bring an entire building down, please remember that structural engineering principles create what's commonly referred to as "redundancy" within the structures. Redundancy in terms of buildings allow single members, or even groups of members, to yield and fail without ruining the integrity of the structure as a whole. The same principle is applied to vehicle engineering, as the concept of redundancy in vehicles is commonly referred to as "crumple or crash zones."

Someone is going to ask, or think about both the WTC towers and the OKC Federal Building. Why did those buildings fail? The actual answers could vary from what I explain here, but the principles are the same. Both the twin towers and the Federal Building were designed a long, long time ago, and not all conditions were accounted for in the original designs. We didn't think about 747's crashing into buildings (although the Empire State Building was designed to withstand a small aircraft crash into it and survived one) or terrorist bombings by groups that understand structural design theory. As such, structural design will always have some degree of susceptibility because of the nature of engineering - there's always a trade-off of certain items, no matter how you work with elements. What brought the buildings down in NYC and OKC were that enough of the members or areas were brought to yield and failure that it created the catastrophic failures we saw.

So, where does this fit in with vehicles, and putting a targa top into a Z? Well, remember a couple of things:

- You could cut the roof, and it would impact rigidity and the system as a whole, but not necessarily to critical failure. However, the design was done the way it was for a reason.

- Remember that there's always a balance that has to be made in any engineering, whether it's structural systems or suspensions (hint, hint). You can't add or take away something without making a change to offset or negate it in something else. Like tire wear vs. cornering ability.

Whatever you decide, leave it up to professionals (like has been suggested above), and do what you want to do. It's your car.

Disclaimer - I am not a licensed, professional engineer, so please don't use the information provided above as a professional statement of fact. Keep in mind that the principles are valid, but the applications should be professionally engineered to ensure that the right compromises are made.

 

Hi Guys,
Micky I had the same idea, of putting in a glass top electrochromatic roof on my Z. But as the other members say, I am worried about the structural integrity and flex of the car.
However I did find out that Nissan has a glass top roof product called the SkyView which they fit to some models like the Maxima (04)
Does any1 know if they will fit it to the 350z tho?? or if this has been considered before.

PS
The coupe is to be launched in SA only next month and the roadster is not promised for another year if at all. So that option is out