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Join the Discriminating Few Who Love The Look and Style of the Sunroof

Posted by admin on April 29, 2012

Some automobile manufacturers offer the world when it comes to factory options for your sunroof.  But choosing the vehicle with the best roof system comes with its own limits.  

One automobile maker gives you the option of manual or electric sunroofs.  Another advertises your choice of glass or fabric.  But who needs limits when looking for perfect vehicle to fit your lifestyle?  

With a little knowledge and education, you can make sure you get the right type of sunroof product that makes you stand out from the crowd.  

As you might have already guessed, a sunroof is an opening in a car, truck or Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) that gives additional light and supplies a flow of fresh air.  

Your sunroof can either be fixed or operable, manually operated or electric.  Plus they come in many different shapes, sizes, and designs depending on the make and model of the vehicle. 

The characteristics of factory sliding sunroofs often cause them to be marketed as moon roofs.  This terms was first coined by a Ford marketing manager by the name of John Atkinson for Ford’s Lincoln Continental Mark IV. 

Nash Motor Company was the first auto maker to offer sunroofs as a standard option for a select few of its 1937 models.  Since then, numerous variations of both factory installed sunroofs have automatically become the norm in a wide range of vehicles.  

As stated earlier, your sunroof can be either manual or electric.  A manual sunroof can be lever actuated for pop-ups or crank operated for sliding systems.  Electric sun roofs are basically cable driven by a separate motor and boast some kind of sliding opening.

 Nowadays, the vast majority of vehicles with factory installed sunroofs are electric and have a combined pop-up inbuilt or spoiler type configuration.  

Sunroofs are most often installed at the factory but can also be installed aftermarket by a sunroof installation expert for car dealerships or at the request of a private customer.  Once a vehicle leave the assembly line without a sunroof, it can not receive the factory option. 

Here’s a brief description of the most commonly used sunroof industry based terms to help give you an idea of what your options are:

 

  • Pop-up Sunroof:  Fairly inexpensive and removable with manually operated tilting panels. 
  • Tilt and Slide Spoiler Sunroof:  Brilliant combination of the popular pop-up feature and sliding roof system that tilts to vent and slides open above the roof.  
  • Glass Panel Inbuilt Sunroof:  System that slides in between a metal roof and the interior headliner.  
  • Folding (Rag-Top) Sunroof:  This European styled sunroof will give you the convenience of a traditional sunroof and opening of convertible.  
  • Top-Mount Sliding Sunroof:  Also known as a rail mount top slider – the most attractive feature of this type of sunroof is that it has a wind deflector that gets rid of wind noise. 
  • Glass Panoramic Sunroof:  Large, multi-panel sunroof that has openings right above the front and rear seats.  It can be operable or fixed.  
  • Removable Sun-Roof:  Referred to as T-Tops or Targa Roofs, this system has two removable panels and opens the car’s roof to the side windows.  

Clearly every automotive maker has their own look and style but with the straight talk about sunroof products given to you here, you can make a better buying decision and discover how to get the most bang for your buck.

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Having a Sunroof Installation

Posted by admin on April 29, 2012

Even with the convenient and superb features, there are some things that the great cars you have lack but still customize. Getting your car fixed with a sunroof is one of the modifications one can have on the car to give you the right ambience you need when you are ridding. The sunroof in automotive industry can be described as a roof that can be open to allow ventilation through the roof. The mechanical process can be by either sliding or venting. This process can be manual or operated by motor. This is to allow more comfort in the passenger’s compartment with more light and air allowed in. The net effect of sunroof eased airflow expelling stale air. The effectiveness on this accessory is determined by the sunroof installation. The first one is the car model with respect with the kind of sunroof installation   in mind. The second one is the type of sunroof installation   that one would want to have.

 

 There are various types of sunroof and each with its own way of operation. One should go for an efficient sunroof that will add style and class to the car. The pop-up sunroofs would require manual operation they are the most affordable sunroof installation   and can be installed on many car models. The installation can be undone when one feels to take a break from its service. One can also choose to have a spoiler as the sun roof of choice. The mode of operations would come the sliding and tilting features. The venting is achieved by the sunroof tilting while the sliding of the same will open up the roof. They are mostly electric and one would have the option of integrating sunshades on the design. This sunroof is ideal for short roofed cars. Others include inbuilt, folding, panoramic and top mount are available for choice.

 

 The sunroof installation   is a technical undertaking and how best this is done would determine if the chosen type will function properly. Numerous firms would do sunroof installation for you. Once you have decided to have your car fixed with a sunroof, you can check around for a reputable firm to install the roof for you. You can do this conveniently online. Modifying your car to allow a sunroof would require one to have experienced and the necessary knowledge over the same. This is the main reason that one should be highly selective when looking for a sunroof installation   firm. This venture would cost you some considerable amount but this cannot be compared to the convenience that one would eventually get when the sunroof is fixed. The firm should also install quality features that are long lasting. You can check the ratings and reviews as you compare and contrast several sunroof installation   firms online.  With Apart from allowing comfort in the car and assisting the air conditioning system, one can actually use the platform created for a more enhanced picture-taking platform. You can also solicit professional advice on sunroof installation.

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Sunroof vs Moonroof

Posted by admin on April 29, 2012

A sunroof, usually automotive is an operable or fixed opening in the roof of a vehicle that allows illumination and fresh air to enter the passenger’s compartment. They come in twos: Those that are manually operated and those that motor driven. They vary in shape, size and styles. Traditional sunroofs meant you could not see through them but they cold slide to allow fresh air to aerate the passengers compartment.

 

Sunroofs now are either manual or electric while moonroofs are predominantly electric. Moonroof however is a term that was created by Ford in the 70s but is now used to mean an inbuilt glass panel that is electric. To make it a little clearer, you can say that, all moonroof are sunroofs but not all sunroofs are moonroofs. This is because, originally, the term sunroof meant a metal panel that would only allow in light and air when opened. Popular with the tourist vans. A moon roof however or the term described a glass panel which can allow light to pass through it even when it is closed just as long as you slide the fabric-covered panel to reveal the glass. From the above deduction, many sunroofs are really moonroofs that is panel of tampered glass, mostly tilted to allow flow of air.

 

There are two basic makes of sunroofs and moonroofs: Inbuilt-This opens and closes at various spots harnessed within the vehicles frame. The other one is the topslide.  It is usually on smaller vehicles have a roof that slides out atop the vehicle also referred to as the spoiler roof. They both share the feature that they have tampered glass that has a plastic sunblock panel, which is inbuilt. Some though have outside coating that looks like a mirror.

 

Other types include:

 

l  Pop-up: These sunroofs are operated manually by tilting panel. This tilting of the panels   provides ventilation in the roof or a full opening when the panel is removed because it is usually removable.

l  Spoiler: This one has attributes of both pop-up sunroofs and sliding roof system. They do not give a large opening as other roof systems do but give the convenience of a self-storing panel.

l  Inbuilt: These have a sliding panel between the metal roof and the interior headliner. It provides a full opening in the roof though there is loss of headroom

l  Folding sunroofs: Often referred to as rag tops. Common in Europe and open more like a convertible. The panel is made of out of a vinyl fabric that folds back as it opens.

l  Top-mount: Sliding sunroofs that have a large glass panel that slides open in tracks on the roof. Has no headroom but has a wind deflector to rid of the noise made by the wind

l  Panoramic roof system: This is a modern type of a big multi-panel moonroof that has an opening above both the front and the back seats. It can be both fixed and operable.

Sunroof and moonroofs adds the aesthetic value of you car as they serve their purpose.

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What is a Moonroof?

Posted by admin on April 29, 2012

Moonroof was a term used in 1970s which described glass panel inbuilt electric sunroof. An inbuilt sunroof is the one where the panel which is operable slides between the roof of the vehicle and the headliner.The sunroof is mostly operated with external power; however, at times it is also operatedmanually.The moonroof is now used as a term to describe all kinds of glass panel inbuilt sunroofs. Hence, a moonroof is nothing but a sunroof and there is no difference between the two.

The moonroof is basically an opening in any motor vehicle which can either be fixed or can slide or popup from inside of the vehicle.Moon roofs are traditionally opaque and slide open to let air inside the vehicle.Most of the factorysliding moon roofs are made of glass panels today. 

The various kinds of sunroofs include Folding,Spoiler, Pop-Up, Inbuilt, TopsliderPanoramic roof systems, Removable Panel (T/Targa) and large roof systems. The sunroofs can either be OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers) or they can be installed aftermarket. More than 70% of aftermarket sunroofs today are installed for new car dealers before sending the vehicle to the dealer for sale.

The moonroofs are mainly used to allow the air or sunshine inside the vehicle. The word moonroof probably became common because even though you can open a sunroof and allow air or sunshine inside the car, in the night the air could be chilly but people could still want to open it during the night to let the chilly air and moonlight moonlight to come inside the vehicle.

In modern moonroofs, a sliding shade which matches the roof colour inside the vehicle are very common which hide the moonroof behind it.

The demand for vehicles with moon roofs is increasing because of the dual benefits of style and facility to let air and light in.

Motorized power moon roofs can be operated suing a simple push-and-hold switch or can have an electronic control module (ECM) which enablessingle-touch express opening, express closing or auto-closing on turning the ignition off.

The moon roofs can have leakage problems sometimes due to faults in either of the frame seal, drain Tubes & their Fixing points, the rubber Seals or the fitting. In order to repair the leaks,one of the faults needs to be repaired.In order to make sure that the leak is repaired, it helps to check for all the faults and trying to repair them.

Moonroofs are always static, meaning they can’t be moved once fitted.The only thing about moon roofs that can be controlled from inside the car is a retractable covering.However, sunroofs can be moved. The sun roof glass can be either lifted up or retracted.

There are many good models of cars that have moon roofs like Honda Accord, Toyota Prius, Toyota Camry and many more.

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