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What’s the deal with glass roofs? Are they cheaper for the auto mfg? Or are the mfgs just blindly copying Tesla? I do not want a glass roof. It seems stupid and

by mint2 3y ago

What’s the deal with glass roofs? Are they cheaper for the auto mfg? Or are the mfgs just blindly copying Tesla? I do not want a glass roof. It seems stupid and pointless.

bozhark 3y ago
Blindly. Even the Lucid sales guy admitted the car is not designed right yet. Reflections of the dash in the window -always. Glass roof? Always sun in your eyes.
- natch 3y ago
  > Always sun in your eyes Never once yet in four years and 90,000 miles. But I’m in another car with a glass roof, not a Lucid. Can’t speak to those, just can say that not all glass roofs are bad.
chiph 3y ago
They do get you more headroom in the car. But downsides include annoying reflections, heat and cold (they aren't insulated), and should you be in a rollover accident - broken glass raining down on you (it's laminated but the inner glass will still shed some particles). As to why everyone is installing them? They do look cool. And Tesla did it...
- HeyLaughingBoy 3y ago
  > they aren't insulated Really? I don't care how much you crank the heat, on a -25F night that has to suck.
KRAKRISMOTT 3y ago
They are much easier and cheaper to install than the traditional multi-piece roof. The glass is a giant slab that’s glued on to the frame. Can be installed very quickly.
natch 3y ago
“seems” pointless yes. But they increase headroom by at least an inch if not 3-4 inches. For those who like that. YMMV.
- sparky_z 3y ago
  As someone who knows nothing about cars, I'm trying to figure out why a glass roof would necessarily result in more headroom and can't find any more info. I've found other references to this stated as a given, but with no explanation. Surely you could just build a "normal roof" at the same height as a glass roof, right? Are normal roofs more than 3-4 inches thick and glass can be much thinner? Surely, say, sheet metal could be thinner and lighter than glass. Or is there some reason why it enables a different cab geometry with a greater height? I'm stumped.
  - chiph 3y ago
    On cars without a sunroof, you have the sheet metal roof, a small air gap, and then the headliner - somewhere around 1/2 to 3/4" of an inch. On cars with a tilt/slide sunroof (most of them) the mechanism takes up somewhere around 1.5 to 2 inches.

by mint2 3y ago

What’s the deal with glass roofs? Are they cheaper for the auto mfg? Or are the mfgs just blindly copying Tesla? I do not want a glass roof. It seems stupid and pointless.

bozhark 3y ago

Blindly. Even the Lucid sales guy admitted the car is not designed right yet. Reflections of the dash in the window -always. Glass roof? Always sun in your eyes.

natch 3y ago
> Always sun in your eyes Never once yet in four years and 90,000 miles. But I’m in another car with a glass roof, not a Lucid. Can’t speak to those, just can say that not all glass roofs are bad.

chiph 3y ago

They do get you more headroom in the car. But downsides include annoying reflections, heat and cold (they aren't insulated), and should you be in a rollover accident - broken glass raining down on you (it's laminated but the inner glass will still shed some particles). As to why everyone is installing them? They do look cool. And Tesla did it...

HeyLaughingBoy 3y ago
> they aren't insulated Really? I don't care how much you crank the heat, on a -25F night that has to suck.

KRAKRISMOTT 3y ago

They are much easier and cheaper to install than the traditional multi-piece roof. The glass is a giant slab that’s glued on to the frame. Can be installed very quickly.

natch 3y ago

“seems” pointless yes. But they increase headroom by at least an inch if not 3-4 inches. For those who like that. YMMV.

sparky_z 3y ago
As someone who knows nothing about cars, I'm trying to figure out why a glass roof would necessarily result in more headroom and can't find any more info. I've found other references to this stated as a given, but with no explanation. Surely you could just build a "normal roof" at the same height as a glass roof, right? Are normal roofs more than 3-4 inches thick and glass can be much thinner? Surely, say, sheet metal could be thinner and lighter than glass. Or is there some reason why it enables a different cab geometry with a greater height? I'm stumped.
- chiph 3y ago
  On cars without a sunroof, you have the sheet metal roof, a small air gap, and then the headliner - somewhere around 1/2 to 3/4" of an inch. On cars with a tilt/slide sunroof (most of them) the mechanism takes up somewhere around 1.5 to 2 inches.