Arkansas

Ok....kinda thinkin bout getting rid of the a/c in my 400...and going with a roof scoop for air ventilation. Searched the forums...nobody has done it but somebody had thrown the idea out there. Whats the opinion...good idea if done properly? Or dont say it cuz its an unholy idea? Id be shaving weight with it by getting rid of the a/c compressor and the sunroof parts. Would fiberglass be a better option to fill in the big hole in the roof than metal? How should the vent be made to open to let the air in? Just wanting some opinions and ideas is all

matrixgts

iTrader: (1)

why.bother

BenStoked

iTrader: (3)

what's wrong with the sunroof?
if you're trying to cut that much weight, you're asking on the wrong forum.

and I don't think it's "unholy" (I drive the same toyota you do), I just think it'd look goofy as hell.

edit: maybe make a plexiglass popup roof to replace the glass? allow ventilation, and you wouldn't have to work so hard filling on a 2'x3' hole in the roof.

Arkansas

Nothing wrong with it. Just want to do a little something different with my sc400. And I made the unholy comment because I know there r die hard stock fans and people who would believe it to be "rice". Im thinkin bout doing it just to be a lil different from the pack and possibly give my car a slighly more aggressive look race-wise

cmh

im guessing that that would cause hurricane like winds in ur car at high speeds... our cars werent built to have air circulated into them forcefully. i also think it would probably crack more often then u think. also what happens when it rains..

not trying to burst ur bubble but, i like to think of the bad before i change anything in a car...

Arkansas

Ive thought of the rain thing actually lol. Thats something I was tryin to figure out how to get around

cmh

umbrella... lol.

2jznosht

just keep the sunroof. Save weight with carbon fiber body parts

Arkansas

Plan on those. At least a hood anyways. And like I said wanna do something a bit different

hellasc92

something different,, not to be mean but this isnt Need for speed under ground 2 lol

hellasc92

i mean dont let any one stop you everone likes something different

Arkansas

Just thought itd be neat to bring in a new idea. Wouldnt have posted something on here asking for opinions if I was goin to be offended

Kira X

iTrader: (24)

I've seen hood scoops on SC's before and it looked pretty bad. There was a local SC for sale a while back that had some ridiculous body kit with a hood scoop and it looked terrible. You might be able to pull it off, but it will be hard.

However, if you're doing it for strictly performance reasons, I say go for it.

CrazySC300

iTrader: (16)

You must be referring to this part? It was offered as an optional oem part on JDM Toyota Soarers only...They're pretty functional since it has an adjustable hood scoop that diverts air into the cabin...I got it several years ago for my SC because of it's rarity...Although it's not very desirable among these forums because it makes the car look too much of an early 90's car and kinda ruins the lines of the SC (As I was told)...But I like since it's an actual optional part for the Toyota Soarer.

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

Awkward as optional OEM wind deflectors and redirectors are on many cars, THIS is nice from a functional standpoint. Soarers had so many technological ideas coming out of their seams for the time.

To the OP, I can understand your desire to see what can be done but honestly I would not recommend going this route (unless it is to acquire the JDM part referenced above which seems to do exactly what you are trying to achieve).

Removing your A/C will not do much to net you more horsepower and is a modification usually reserved for race prepared cars that do not see the street very much if at all. Additionally, creating a permanent roof scoop may cause sealing issues in adverse weather as someone mentioned.

If weight is a concern, the most significant marginal gain could be achieved by removing the entire glass and motor system from the roof and creating a carbon fiber plug with custom sealing but this would again be so extreme to shave only a bit of the car's weight. It would improve the center of gravity but only to a small degree you'd never notice on the street. You'd also want to create a small X-brace to cover any structural rigidity lost by removing the sunroof hardware. Finding an original solid hardtop SC300/400 and starting from there would make more sense but even then it isn't necessary when you could plexiglass the rear windows and redirect air into the cabin that way. Again... all this is racecar stuff.

On Preludeonline (my old forum) there was a LOT of discussion on this very topic since all our cars came with sunroofs from 1997MY onward. Some people built CF plugs and fitted metal X braces but they were for stripped out autocross or road racing Preludes that never saw street duty.

Rally cars have roof top scoops to vent air into the cabins but this is because they are driven flat out in excess of 90-100mph.

I'd look for the JDM accessory above if this is what you're after. Toyota did all the engineering for you.