I am down to two cars, both have LSD, similar miles both are 2006 cars.

One has no options, no sunroof no cruise, manual air control, the other has most options.

are the non sunroof cars more stiff as well as lighter up top? Car will be used ONLY for autocross and track, I will drive to the track but it will never be driven to work.

It'll definitely save 50-60 lb. Rigidity is hard to guess at - the hard top is 27000 Nm/deg compared to the cabrio's 9000 Nm/deg. That tells you how much the roof adds in general. That doc doesn't quote different rigidity for the sunroof option.

My guess would be not much impact (cutting a hole in a plate doesn't affect the stiffness much in-plane).

all other things being equal I'd go no sunroof. I've tracked both a sunroof and non sunroof mini and couldn't really tell much of a difference, but the non sunroof car is a bit lighter and probably some stiffer. Also if you're at the track and the sun is beating down on you, the hard roof will probably be a bit shadier inside the car and a bit cooler.


Personally I like the manual air controls better than the auto climate control.

I sold my MC w/ sunroof and bought one without. decent difference, not just in weight - a lot more headroom on top (helmet clearance) and I always that the mesh shade was stupid/didn't block out enough.

Are 90% of folks good enough to tell the true difference?
If you are trying g to go to nationals or doing it for a trophy....maybe....but for most, just go have fun....most folks are just focusing on their times right and improvements right?! I think a good corner weighting properly setup suspension is a bigger factor....and maybe race compund tires....
Just my opinion.....
Yes...I had a sunroof....and yes, I kept it covered with a Zippy shade 90% of the time....the mesh screen sucked...but for venting heat out. And letting light on some occasions, it was useful....just wish mini had a similar cover to VW...a vented solid cover that can slide....
If it a track ONLY car and you are that serious....imo find a GP.

my current car I did a vinyl roof wrap in flat black, went right over the sunroof it's 100% shade now.

My 135i, x5 and 528i wagon all have a cloth insert that slides shut blocking all sun too bad mini's did not do that.

I think I'm going with the non sunroof car, I don't cruise around in this car with it open, I use the 135i for those mountain drives

As others have said, there's little to gain from losing the sunroof. I love mine. Yeah it can get hot, but that's what windows and A/C is for. The MINI wouldn't be the same without the sunroof.

I hate mine in my current r53. But if more room for my helmet already sold,. Will have to mount my gopro and data logger somewhere else

I had a leaky drain a couple years ago and it's been rattling for a while, so I'd go without one. I actually plan on removing it and replacing the roof skin with a plain one when I'll get the car repainted.

will see if I miss the sunroof, this thing sure rattles a lot less, amazing how much noise the sunroof makes going down a gravel road