[jayee88]

I'm considering doing a carbon fiber roof swap eventually, but the thing that worries me is whether or not there's a significant chance of it causing problems down the road. Since it's essentially cutting off the roof and gluing/bolting a carbon panel to it, I'm thinking there is a good chance that annoying creaks may surface down the road. However, I was reading that BMW is now offering carbon roof installs on cars after they were manufactured. I figure that if BMW is offering it through their dealers, it has to be a pretty reliable install... right?

Hoping to hear from some people who have done this swap on an M2/M2C or any car for that matter. Any advice? Is it worth the 10lbs or so in weight reduction or should I just wrap my roof and save the money, time and potential problems.

https://www.getbmwparts.com/oem-part...el-41312460277

https://ind-distribution.com/product...ber-roof-panel

[///MPhatic]

If BMW can't get it right, and they can't, you're likely to have issues. It's just not a good idea IMO.

[allinon72]

The dealer isn't going to do the install, they are going to sub it out to a body shop they have a relationship with. You don't know who that body shop is or have any way to vet it, so you might as well just cut the middle man out. The only way I would do this is through IND, they have a body shop who has done 40+ conversions. That's the type of body shop you want doing the work.

[chris719]

Originally Posted by jayee88

Hoping to hear from some people who have done this swap on an M2/M2C or any car for that matter. Any advice? Is it worth the 10lbs or so in weight reduction or should I just wrap my roof and save the money, time and potential problems.

It's not worth it at all. I've driven an F82 with and without carbon roof and noticed no difference. In fact, it's just a liability. Many of these roofs delaminate from clearcoat failure and become a costly problem in the end.

Just search the CS forum and you'll see that even their special one-piece "sandwich" roof, which is the only type that brings real benefits, has issues and will probably be a liability down the road.

[swampfox94]

I personally would just get a wrap if you want the looks then spend the money on a carbon hood and trunk. Should end up with the same or more weight loss but not risk any structure issues with a bad install

[allinon72]

Do not do it for weight savings, if we're honest with ourselves this is a cosmetic mod, and an expensive one at that. I want to do it bad

[M Fifty]

But surely, if you're chasing lap time through the Porsche Curves the reduction in top weight is key?

But otherwise yes, its cosmetic. So spend the money on stuff that will make it nicer to drive/faster for your Use Case...

[allinon72]

I'll be honest, I priced it out with IND, because visually I think it transforms the car and takes it to that next level. Hard to imagine that it came standard on a base M3 in 2015, looking back we didn't know how lucky we were. As time went on BMW removed many of the bespoke parts that, visually, set the M cars apart

[P4rD0nM3]

I've had a carbon fiber roof for almost three years now. It's from IND's RKP brand, installed by the same shop that handles IND's cars.

0 issues.

My car has full PPF including the roof.

[///MPhatic]

Originally Posted by P4rD0nM3

I've had a carbon fiber roof for almost three years now. It's from IND's RKP brand, installed by the same shop that handles IND's cars.

0 issues.

You need to be buying lottery tickets with any spare cash.

[allinon72]

Originally Posted by ///MPhatic

You need to be buying lottery tickets with any spare cash.

I don't get it…if installed properly, it's no different than a metal roof. Yes you have to use extra care with the clear coat but that's easily mitigated. F80 had it stock for 4 years and F82 5 years. :

[to_riffic]

Weird. Guys over on the E46 M3 forums want this so badly compared to the F87 crowd. They've been trying to do a groupbuy for ages and I keep telling them it's going to be at least $4k to get this done, but everyone over there seems to have money to spend apparently.

[chris719]

Originally Posted by allinon72

I don't get it…if installed properly, it's no different than a metal roof. Yes you have to use extra care with the clear coat but that's easily mitigated. F80 had it stock for 4 years and F82 5 years. :

There's just no real benefit so might as well do a wrap instead and spend the difference on something that will be noticed in terms of performance.

[Sundinisagod]

Originally Posted by allinon72

I'll be honest, I priced it out with IND, because visually I think it transforms the car and takes it to that next level. Hard to imagine that it came standard on a base M3 in 2015, looking back we didn't know how lucky we were. As time went on BMW removed many of the bespoke parts that, visually, set the M cars apart

Would you mind sharing what the price is?

[BAN_M2C]

@ATH_M2 did on his car and it looks amazing. Its more aesthetics but worth it. A good installer will do this with zero issues.

I dont plan to do my M2C but I will do a carbon roof on my E46 M3 to eliminate my sunroof.

[to_riffic]

Originally Posted by BAN_M2C

@ATH_M2 did on his car and it looks amazing. Its more aesthetics but worth it. A good installer will do this with zero issues.

I dont plan to do my M2C but I will do a carbon roof on my E46 M3 to eliminate my sunroof.

[Fabb]

Originally Posted by to_riffic

Weird. Guys over on the E46 M3 forums want this so badly compared to the F87 crowd. They've been trying to do a groupbuy for ages and I keep telling them it's going to be at least $4k to get this done, but everyone over there seems to have money to spend apparently.

I think there're just the over abundance amount of sunroof e46 m3 on the market. Sunroof is even heavier and takes off the headroom.

[jayee88]

Thanks everyone for the input. Not pulling the trigger on this anytime soon since it'd no doubt be pretty costly (probably $4-5k) and I'd need to find a shop I can trust to do a proper install. I had considered driving out to IND's shop as an option, but that would require me taking a week off work and spending more money on hotel and a lot of gas. I'll probably end up wrapping the roof for now and see how I feel about it in a year or two. Getting my DME unlocked and midpipe/exhaust installed are definitely higher on the mods list as far as priorities go.

[KevinC]

Originally Posted by obodeals

Can you refer me to IND? cant seem to find any info about them

https://ind-distribution.com

[IND-Distribution]

Originally Posted by obodeals

Can you refer me to IND? cant seem to find any info about them

Can email us at info@ind-distribution.com or check out our website as shown above.

[M2_MEDUSA]

Not worth in my honest opinion.

[OG Shark]

Overall weight savings are not that much - but it is at the highest point of the car so a great place to lose. If done properly should be pretty much oem quality moving forward. Fairly expensive when parts and labor are totaled up. Looks great imo though.

We pulled the top off my M2 to make it easier to build the full cage. Made the decision easy & going back with an RKP roof from iND. Otherwise not sure I would have done it on this particular car since it didn't have the sunroof (to me that is usually the main driver in swapping). Would not be concerned about problems moving forward though.