Saratoga Sunroof - Bulk-Buy
- Thread starter zcacogp
- Start date
jonnyporsche
PCGB Member
944Scott said:
When they do get sent out (forever the optimist) I'll be interested to see what happens the first time someone uses a pressure washer on one [
] "Fit for purpose" comes to mind [8|][8|]
bumperblue
New member
Yes, I would never use a power washer near mine either. Particularly near the original fit sunroof as the Porsche design of edge sealing is so fit for purpose..........
Ian
Ian
jonnyporsche
PCGB Member
I've never used a power washer on mine either so amend to "a bucket of water" so you get the idea
944Scott
New member
I hope that's not the case. looking back through the septics thread I see they had problems a few years back with them, you would like to think by now they would have been able to come up with a solution.
If they are still having problems I think they should let us by the glass at cost and resolve the matter amongst ourselves
If they are still having problems I think they should let us by the glass at cost and resolve the matter amongst ourselves
First of all, happy new year to you all!
Secondly, apologies for not being in touch sooner, it was a bit of a hectic Christmas for me as I'm sure it has been for all of you. The reason for the apology is that I should have updated you all sooner.
I got a call from Nick just before Christmas to say that they had replaced the mushroom fittings and that he would like to try it on an actual car. So, he sent me the first unit and I picked it up on Tuesday. I then fitted it onto my car on Tuesday night.
Also an apology for the standard of the pictures...I really couldn't be bothered to get the car out of the garage! But, as I live and breath, I have a Saratoga roof on my 944!
Once again, sorry for the terrible image quality!
So, the big question: are they fixed and fit for purpose?!
Yes, and no, it depends on your point of view.
First of all I have made Nick promise to remove the gunk left by the packaging as this was a pain to clean up (see last picture part way through the clean up). Secondly, the rear mushrooms are the original ones and not as nice as the new front ones but as they are under constant tension (to hold the rear locks in place) so I think they'll be fine.
The new mushroom heads are good and strong and the roof is held in place really tightly, I can't imagine there will be much noise from it either as it really compresses the seal nicely.
As for the wobbly seal, I don't think it's too bad and I was able the get it just right with some careful placement back into the roof in the first place.
However, my biggest concern (which I have raised with Nick) was this:
This shows the new mushroom head tensioned up by the cam. It appears to be slanted forward and unevenly compressing the plastic spacer underneath. Now, I think the cam is actually too tight and that with a little adjustment there will be a sweet spot between too tight and not tight enough. Nick has confirmed that they have used a little loctite to fasten this all together which is fine, I can get this off and adjust the new mushroom head accordingly.
Nick has passed this onto his colleagues in the US for their opinion on the durability of the plastic washer under this pressure and if this fixing is OK on the glass and has suggested that I have a go at adjusting it which I am happy to do.
So, this is the other bad point. He has suggested that they are sold with instruction to adjust this to individual taste and I think at £420 a pop they should not need adjustment! Having said that I won't be sending mine back! If I had been scared of making an adjustment here or there I wouldn't have bought the car all those years ago!
Sadly, they've salted all the roads around me so I didn't really want to get the car out today and take better pics but if I get a chance over the weekend I will.
I'll update you if I get a call back from Nick about what his team in the US say and if he decides to dispatch them I'm sure you'll hear soon enough. It is of course still up to you if you want to purchase or continue to seek a refund. As I said though, I won't be seeking a refund, I am lucky enough to be able to confirm that it is lovely having a glass roof on the 944, even in January! []
Secondly, apologies for not being in touch sooner, it was a bit of a hectic Christmas for me as I'm sure it has been for all of you. The reason for the apology is that I should have updated you all sooner.
I got a call from Nick just before Christmas to say that they had replaced the mushroom fittings and that he would like to try it on an actual car. So, he sent me the first unit and I picked it up on Tuesday. I then fitted it onto my car on Tuesday night.
Also an apology for the standard of the pictures...I really couldn't be bothered to get the car out of the garage! But, as I live and breath, I have a Saratoga roof on my 944!
Once again, sorry for the terrible image quality!
So, the big question: are they fixed and fit for purpose?!
Yes, and no, it depends on your point of view.
First of all I have made Nick promise to remove the gunk left by the packaging as this was a pain to clean up (see last picture part way through the clean up). Secondly, the rear mushrooms are the original ones and not as nice as the new front ones but as they are under constant tension (to hold the rear locks in place) so I think they'll be fine.
The new mushroom heads are good and strong and the roof is held in place really tightly, I can't imagine there will be much noise from it either as it really compresses the seal nicely.
As for the wobbly seal, I don't think it's too bad and I was able the get it just right with some careful placement back into the roof in the first place.
However, my biggest concern (which I have raised with Nick) was this:
This shows the new mushroom head tensioned up by the cam. It appears to be slanted forward and unevenly compressing the plastic spacer underneath. Now, I think the cam is actually too tight and that with a little adjustment there will be a sweet spot between too tight and not tight enough. Nick has confirmed that they have used a little loctite to fasten this all together which is fine, I can get this off and adjust the new mushroom head accordingly.
Nick has passed this onto his colleagues in the US for their opinion on the durability of the plastic washer under this pressure and if this fixing is OK on the glass and has suggested that I have a go at adjusting it which I am happy to do.
So, this is the other bad point. He has suggested that they are sold with instruction to adjust this to individual taste and I think at £420 a pop they should not need adjustment! Having said that I won't be sending mine back! If I had been scared of making an adjustment here or there I wouldn't have bought the car all those years ago!
Sadly, they've salted all the roads around me so I didn't really want to get the car out today and take better pics but if I get a chance over the weekend I will.
I'll update you if I get a call back from Nick about what his team in the US say and if he decides to dispatch them I'm sure you'll hear soon enough. It is of course still up to you if you want to purchase or continue to seek a refund. As I said though, I won't be seeking a refund, I am lucky enough to be able to confirm that it is lovely having a glass roof on the 944, even in January! [
]Ex Skyline
New member
blade7 said:
YEEEEE HA!! Ride 'em Cowboy !! [
]
GlennS said:
Hi Glenn. They are the original ones so that are slightly pitted and lacking the smooth finish of the new ones (that is the only difference). However, they do the job and I have plans to replace them with sprayed up ali ones that I have already had made up to match the nice new front ones as they just bolt through the glass and do not support a cam.
They definitely do the job and at least Pilkington are letting me keep the roof now so I can make adjustments without worrying.
On another note, I have had another email from Nick this morning stating that Pilkington US have suggested that adjusting them to your own preference is the way to go as each roof is different. Not sure I buy this as it does feel like being fobbed off (again) but at least he's had the decency to put it in writing! He has also confirmed no reports of the spacers splitting under extreme tension so that's good too.
He is now just waiting on confirmation of one further issue before putting them all back on sale.
zcacogp said:
Hi Oli,
If you look at the second image in my above post you can you can see one of the cam clamps. This is the front of the roof panel and yes, they replace the lift off levers on the front of the standard roof.
Its very straight forward to fit.
The only other issue I have found is that the roof now doesn't tilt up very far. I think this is because the central prong is fixed and not sprung so as the roof tilts, the prong releases the micro switch and stops the system working. Given that the originals were the same though it seems daft to complain about this!
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