Nice one mate - I should get me one of those

 

Well... got the UV analysis in but weather (as in cloudy with periods of rain) did in the thermal testing..for the moment anyway...

Bit of commentary..Why museum standards note the limit set at 75...not very scientific... because that is what ordinary incandescent lamps produce. In comparison, general (as in office setting) fluorescent is 40-250 and tungsten-halogen incandescent 130 UV mircrowatts per lumen (µW/l).

Now to the sun roof test (UV only... my thermal gain analysis was to be today but guess what.. total clouds and periods of rain..so will save that for another day).

Testing Device
Crawford Type 760+ series UV monitor

Test Conditions
Cloudy Bright; 92 deg F
Full Sun; 92 deg F
Test outside car with meter at 90 deg to sky
Test inside car thru transparent top with meter 90 deg to sky

Test One
Cloudy Bright (no direct sun but filtered thru clouds…and to debunk a myth… cloudy skies do NOT have less less UV effects (as in “sun” burn causative agents) than sunny sky..in fact cloudy bright skies can have 200+% more UV than a sunny sky
Reading outside: 650 µW/l
Reading inside thru transparent top: 200 µW/l
Reading inside thru transparent top w/ shade closed: 200 µW/l

Test Two
Full Sun; 92 deg F
Reading outside: 550 µW/l
Reading inside thru transparent top: 225 µW/l
Reading inside thru transparent top w/ shade closed: 225 µW/l
Although this is a very simple test that does not take into account as to position of the sun or time of year, it can suggest a few conclusions:

-The MINI sun roof (trans top) effectively eliminates about (ave) 63% of the UV rays passing into the interior
-Sun shade open or closed has no effect on UV reading thus is a 'shade for thermal reduction' only (which is good)
-If you work in an office environment with your average fluorescent light fixtures you are getting about 200 µW/l over a much longer period of time than most spend in the MINI driving about... so you need to start using sunblock in the office

So the MINI sun roof does a very good job in reducing UV... could it do better? Sure... the C6 roof does a much better job and maybe the addition of tint will help. But that is for another test
Michael

 

Thank you very much for the info!

I saw there was some discussion earlier about ceramic tint - I posted this in another thread and thought maybe I should add it here, too. Here is the specs page on the Hüper Optik ceramic tints. I have Hüper Ceramic 30 on my side windows (pics in my gallery) and love it. Not too dark and blocks a lot of the heat. If they'd had the 60 at my local tint shop I would've gotten the 60 on the sunroof (alas, they only had the 30). All of the Hüper ceramic tints block 99% of the UV. I haven't tried the Formula One but if debating between tints you can just compare the specs and see which looks better.

http://www.huperoptik.com/CeramicCompare.asp

 

Sorry ! Hadn't popped into this thread in a while.

I got that roof graphic from Aesthetic Creations (vendor here on NAM) and had it installed by a pro near where I live (Baltimore area).

Thanks for the compliment... appreciate it.

 

Yeah... everything matches. I'm a little weird that way.

The wheelbarrow just happened to be sitting outside, I had a new tree to plant that day.

No comment about the novely hammer on the wall ? I get more comments about that than anything in the garage ! Except the MINIs, that is.

 

So I don't even have my Mini yet, but I already love the sunroof because I love sunroofs.. haha Quick Question: With the shade closed, does light still come through? how many configuration are there with the shade and window and how much light would come though?

Sunroof Window open, shade open = Full Light
Sunroof Window open, shade closed = partial light??
Sunroof Window closes, shade open = full light though the window
Sunroof Window closed, shade closed = no light???

Would that be correct?

 

No. The shade on the MINI is notorious for allowing quite a bit of light through.

 

So light is going though all the time? Even with everything closed?

 

Close... With the shade closed, light still comes through. The shade is a mesh material. A lot of people complain about the mesh but what I like about it is if you have the glass of the sunroof open but it's a little too sunny, you can close the shade (and leave the glass open) and air will still flow through the shade.

Sunroof Window open, shade open = Full Light
Sunroof Window open, shade closed = Partial light (through the shade which is mesh)
Sunroof Window closes, shade open = Full light though the window
Sunroof Window closed, shade closed = Partial light through the window (through the shade which is mesh)

If you want to block all of the light from the sunroof, you can get after market sunshades (or fabric, or paper, or whatever you want to that fits), or you can get a roof graphic on the outside of the glass. Actually you can get roof graphics that let some light in, too, they don't have to be solid. Some tint their sunroofs to make the glass darker and/or to block UV.

 

I would say your correct up to the last statement, the shade acts as a light diffuser, it does not completly elliminate light. It also restrict any objects from entering the interior, such as leaves, bugs if you park the car with the window open.
With the window closed and shade closed some light still is present.
I recently had sunroof graphics installed which was a perforated material and further difussed light with the graphics, the window closed, shade closed. But does not block all light.
I'm sure other will chime in on this.

 

Unless you have a solid roof graphic or some aftermarket sunshades, yes.

 

No, the roll-up shades are like Very Heavy window screening and cut nearly half the light when closed. The Glass Panels are tinted and cut less than a third of the light.

It has been reported that w/Black roof, the light through is less.

 

Thanks for all the info folks. Anybody have a pic of light going through the shade? I am so curious... I ordered my car on June 6th and I didn't get it yet so I am so anxious and curious with so many questions!

 

Thanks for all this great info. It helps justify my position that a car without a sun roof is like, well someone else's car because I won't buy it. 2 notes:
1) Interesting that you have the cloudy sky thing as a myth. Because I'd always heard it exactly as you state - you are more likely to get sunburned under cloudy skys because the UV punches right through but people don't put on sunblock. Probably because I grew up in Houston and it's real easy to get burned there so people have more real world experiences to debunk such myths with.
2) Especially useful information in the comparison of UV penetration vs office light. While some would say that I'm folically challenged, I prefer to say that all men get the same amount of hormones, but men with hair choose to waste thiers growing hair. It's nice to know that my MINI will block enough to not sunburn my head.

And to respond to this thread - I LOVE my sunroof's. Our last five cars have all had them (and three were MINIs).

 

I cant believe it, I just got a quote from Morristown Mini for $250 to install a sunroof graphic (thats just for the labor, the price for the graphic itself is great) they must charge for 2hrs, hilarious.

 

I had quotes as high as $425 to install my graphic. I found a pro that did it for $120, and after watching him do it, I felt like I was stealing from him. Because of that and because he was SO far under all three of the other quotes I got, I gave him a very fat tip.

$250, full roof with sunroof.... not that bad a price, IMO. And if one person can do that job in two hours, they've either done many of them or they're not very good. That's a pretty huge job.

 

No it wasn't for the full roof, this is for just the sunroof, I cant imagine it would be much harder (infact, it should be quite a bit easier as its thicker and self adhesive or press adhesive) than tinting them, and most tinters charge around $100 and that includes the tint. I also couldnt imagine it taking more than an hour.

 

Ah yes, you did say sunroof graphic. In that case.... ... way too much money. You can install that yourself.

Get the graphic from one of the aftermarket vendors, too... their vinyl is higher quality than the OEM vinyl.

 

Ok so a very stupid question here, I have an 04 MCS with the dual pane sunroof. I have looked through the owners manual and I cant find anything on how to flip up the rear pane, does the 04 MCS rear pane actually flip up and if so how? maybe mine is stuck, or maybe i am more brain dead then I thought.

 

Yea a 2004 (R50 or R53) rear pane will not flip up thats only a feature on the 2007+ (R56).

 

Sunroof closed w/ shade half open below:




Sunroof open w/shade half open below:



These were taken at 2:30 and 2:31 PM in full South Florida Sunshine and I have never felt any need for more shade or tint