Sky Light Roof ?

[dbarrans]

Seems like another aftermarket opportunity: Sell a more effective sunshade for the Passion.

- dan

[Fredvon4]

jonnysan sent me a sample of a Mylar mirror silver plastic "foil"

It took a bit of fiddling but I finally managed to slip the "foil" above my sun shade and get it to roll in and out properly

The section jonnysan sent was plenty long enough but about 2" shy of being wide enough to completely block the sun

I personally noticed an immediate reduction in the heat up near the sun shade...in fact where the stuff was shy of fully covering I could feel the difference in temps

On the way to the restaurant my wife asked what had I done...did I get the roof tinted as she suggested (I hate window tint as a rule)

Bottom line is the "foil" sample works very well and reduces the solar gain significantly in our full sun days...

This is simply a theory test and not a final solution... you need to get a full sized sheet of the mylar silver mirror film and find a way to more securely attach it to the top of the sun shade.... MY sample is too narrow and because it works with the sun shade closed there is not much keeping it in place...if you open a window the crinkling fluttering from the wind blowing the film around is annoying

My local tint guy called his supplier and they decided they will NOT tint my clear roof because they fear the heat and polycarbonate will continue to out gas for some time and if the tint film gets bubbles they can not fix it. They are also concerned that the glue will react poorly with the poly roof and might not be able to be cleaned off the poly glass roof if the film ever needed removed

[rawlus®]

another thought might be to use the white perforated 3M film used to wrap bus windows and the like with. i don't know if it'll work in an above-head application, but i know some of the versions of it are static-cling and can be removed and reset easily.

[smartyPantz]

I bought a silver mylar blanket, as a camping accesory, for a few $'s from American Science and Surplus. I bet with some scissors, I could wrangle an shade liner... hmmm

[2SmartNM]

I didn't like the thought of the reflective surface and I searched for alternatives. What I found is called "Energy Film" Energy Film - Homepage that insulates the window without tinting. It applies without adhesive. Here in NM the sun shines 300+ days a year and is unrelenting, especially in the afternoon. My wife also has a smart and parked side by side with a remote temperature sensor on the floor of the cars, the filmed inside of mine was 107 and the unprotected of hers was 131!, the exterior temperature was 93. I am thinking that if I had also covered the rear window, the temperature would have been even lower. This was also without a windshield cover.

My next experiment will be to replace the black roof curtain with a white one.

[Fredvon4]

Update

I hate window tint simply because as a motorcycle driver I learned a long time ago to save my life by taking cues from what a cage* driver was, or was not, paying attention to. Most window tint, even of the legal darkness, is too dark to effectively see into most cars and trucks so over time I have become frustrated trying to determine what stupid or logical action the driver was going to do.... you know, those things like left turn signal on but looking right for a place to turn... little tings like that

Any way...today my local shop will tint my smart with 30% both driver and pass windows, 15% on the small door window rear section, 15% rear hatch, and 15% trim on upper windshield. They refuse to tint the poly roof as the owner had a long discussion with the 3M engineer and they asked me for the technical info on the poly roof...

Bottom line is they say there is no way to apply it and guarantee that it will not bubble, and they are concerned that if the film ever needed replacing the adhesive would not be able top be properly cleaned off the poly with out damaging the roof... Some of their concern comes from smart claim that the roof is an integral part of the structure and safety features... so in essence they 3m do not want to be on the hook for ANY liability

A compromise I am going to do is this:

My installer will custom cut a sheet of reflective 3M film... I will remove the sun shade and place the film in place and clear tape it's perimeter in the black painted surround area. Then reinstall the sun shade

BTW my thermal IR gun shows 147F if pointed at the area at the base of the windshield around the rev and clock pods after a few hours in full sun and no windshield shade... with the shade in place the temp is down to 103F

Sun through side window on black Leather seat = 127F

4 hours into full sun on roof with no silver mylar in place = 132F right near the passenger air bag light....with mylar in place = 108F

All temps taken on a 101F @ 43% outside temp day

My guy is charging me $160 for the tint job using their top tier 3M stuff

If you think I am getting ripped off do not bother to tell me...it will be too late... and will only make my anger at tint worse....

I am opting to not use a car cover for several reasons...mostly the PITA to put in on and off several times a day... my job requires a fair amount of zooming all over Ft Hood each day... and when raining (afternoon thunder storms)... a wet cover in the dinky car is a moldy mess waiting to happen

*Cage = car or truck in motorcycle speak

[hampyoung]

Hey Fred,
I think $160 for tinting the car (and cutting a piece for the roof) is a deal.
Your temp measurements are very helpful -- thanks for those.
What's the name of the really good 3M stuff; I'm going to see about getting some to do my sunroof when my 'real' smart comes in early next year.

H

[sandiegoway]

- wondering why the German engineers never thought of driving a Smart around the hot desert sun for a few weeks.

Maybe they would have thought of installing something to completely block out the sun from the panoramic roof.

Don't think I'll ever drive to Las Vegas from San Diego again in the summer!!

[RussBarnes]

Here's another cat skinned: I had some bubble wrap laying around from a 50' roll I bought at Lowe's. I made pieces that I installed between the window glass and shade in my RV for the summer and it drops the inside temp there by many degrees. So I cut a 27" x 30" and pushed it in from the rear of my smart roll-up shade. It really helps! No scientific tests performed, just SOPOBU (seat of pants on black upholstery). I can't roll the shade back but if I could have ordered a Passion with a metal roof and good insulation I would have since long ago I decided that I hated these sun and moon holes in the head(liners).

[vividracing]

All cars get hot in Az it's just a matter of how fast the cool down.