1988-04 glass sunroof and composite top weights
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Cool thread. If anyone has a glass roof for sale please PM me. I bought ArtB's black Esprit and may wish to replace the solid composite panel. I am located in GA.
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Interesting information but I don't think the 2.6 lb. weight difference is going to come into play when somebody decides which roof to put on.
I have both and even here in hot sunny Florida I prefer the glass roof which is heavily tinted and doesn't seem to make the cabin any hotter than when using the composite roof especially as it gives you more headroom and makes the cabin seem brighter and more spacious.
I have both and even here in hot sunny Florida I prefer the glass roof which is heavily tinted and doesn't seem to make the cabin any hotter than when using the composite roof especially as it gives you more headroom and makes the cabin seem brighter and more spacious.
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Simple. The hat weighs 83.5 lbs. based on the fact that it's a 10-gallon hat with a gallon of water weighing 8.35 lbs.This guy might not care about the extra weight of the glass roof but he WOULD appreciate the headroom.
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Does anyone dare ask how much his hats weigh? LOL
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Yes - it is a factory OEM tinted safety glass roof (frameless) from a V8 Esprit. It fits on my 88 but the gasket needs to change. I added foam to it to allow use with my existing composite roof gaskets (shorter height).
The glass roof is pretty rare and expensive. Just keep in mind you can buy the individual parts (I think from SJ Sports and others) for around $1400. I saw an eBay auction that went higher than that.
There is some thread discussing the plexiglass roofs - I can't remember if plexiglass was a different year OEM or aftermarket.
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Check out my solution to this that allows use of both tops without changing the original composite top seal:
Lotus Esprit Glass Roof Gasket Install Photos by eberin | Photobucket
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Hey, every pound counts - add lightness, yada yada!
Actually, I was told the glass top was significantly heavier than the composite, so I figured why not get a number?
RE: glass roof DEFINITELY makes cabin hotter. On a California summer day, put your hand on the glass on the INSIDE of the car - it is HOT. The composite top is cooler to the touch.
But the headroom of the glass top is definitely worth it (about 1/2" more)
I drive with the top off when possible (like today).
Dave,
Yours is a Saratoga Plexiglas top which was only available for a short time around 1990-91 I believe.
Jim
The first Stevens "glass" roof panels were indeed a sort of plexiglass or plastic. It was found that they would "bulge out" after exposure to the heat. So later cars were fitted with an actual glass roof.
Just searched for the changeover points, couldn't find them online or in my '88 - 92 parts book. I'm sure someone else will chime in...
EDIT Thanks Jim!
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Weeeeeeeeeell.... not quite true, the 88 Commemorative was the first to offer the 'glass' roof and it was 'glass', there was even a safety recall on them as they found out that they were not quite tinted enough and were burning heads :scratchhead: so a darker version was swapped out free of charge.
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Eddie B,
Interesting. I ended up buying all the bits to make a glass roof assembly for mine earlier this year. For curiousity sake I weighed both the original composite roof the came with the car and the replacement glass (Lotus) assembly and they were within a quarter pound of each other. One variation I noticed was that the replacement glass was marked as a 'Pilkington' unit rather than the original Triplex, so I'm assuming Pilkington bought Triplex at some point or simply decided to take over the highly lucrative Esprit replacement sunroof glass market.... Right...
Anyway, I'll dig up the numbers I have, but is your weight based on the original Triplex glass, or the more recent Pilkington replacement?
Derik
Interesting. I ended up buying all the bits to make a glass roof assembly for mine earlier this year. For curiousity sake I weighed both the original composite roof the came with the car and the replacement glass (Lotus) assembly and they were within a quarter pound of each other. One variation I noticed was that the replacement glass was marked as a 'Pilkington' unit rather than the original Triplex, so I'm assuming Pilkington bought Triplex at some point or simply decided to take over the highly lucrative Esprit replacement sunroof glass market.... Right...
Anyway, I'll dig up the numbers I have, but is your weight based on the original Triplex glass, or the more recent Pilkington replacement?
Derik
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Repasted here with the update - verified as XXX Lotus Glass Assembly 43R-00014
The 1988-04 glass sunroof weighs 18.0 lbs.
The 1988-04 composite top weighs 15.4 lbs.
Looks like the glass top weight is very similar, but the composite top maybe is more dense for sound deadening?
Just remembered - my glass top has added foam strips (not particularly light) - could account for some of that 0.4 lbs difference
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