Sunroof (Webasto Hollandia 730) Installed!

Hi All,

I took the plunge and had a sunroof installed in my VX!
It's a Webasto Hollandia 730.

The installation quality was great!
The product is even better!

The headliner/ceiling was lowered by about 2 inches. For some (tall people) this could pose a problem. I'm only 5'10", so not a huge issue. I do feel the ceiling when moving around sometimes, but not a big deal. I tilted the seat's backrest a tad and all was better.

I made a quick video of the final product:
Sunroof Video - Click here

I'll post pics that the tech took during the install as well (soon).

No leaks, no whistles. The only thing negative I found was that there is a little wind buffetting at about 30 mph when it's fully open. So, I just close it about 3 inches, and it's fine.

Also, if you forget to close it when you leave the car, it closes automatically.
I want to see if there is a way to temporarily disable this feature if needed.

Next step... remount my roof rack/basket. I checked, and it does contact the mount bracket ever so slightly when the sun roof is tilted. A small die grinder cut on both front basket mounts will fix the problem.

Overall... extremely happy!
Now to pay it off............. ($1200) ;eeky;

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SilverBullet75

Overall... extremely happy!
Now to pay it off............. ($1200) ;eeky;

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that is seriously cool it looks great i really want one but thats a lot of greenbacks -
i didnt think about financing... priorities recalculating...

Interior shots, before...
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...nroof_-_01.JPG http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...nroof_-_02.JPG

During... and after.
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...nroof_-_04.JPG http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...nroof_-_03.JPG http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...nroof_-_05.JPG http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...nroof_-_12.JPG http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...nroof_-_07.JPG http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...nroof_-_10.JPG http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...nroof_-_08.JPG


http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...nroof_-_09.JPG http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...nroof_-_16.JPG http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...nroof_-_15.JPG http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...nroof_-_14.JPG http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...nroof_-_13.JPG http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...nroof_-_18.JPG http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...nroof_-_19.JPG http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...nroof_-_20.JPG http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...nroof_-_21.JPG http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...nroof_-_22.JPG

Do those things account for the draining of any water/rain that might get into the assembly/housing past the weather seals? I know on the factory sunroof of a car I used to have anyway that there were drain tubes that ran from the sunroof channel, down the windshield pillars, and into the engine bay which then emptied onto the ground.

Edited to add...I'm jealous. Looks great, and is always a nice addition to ANY vehicle.

Yes, they mentioned these tubes during my first information gathering visit... though I forgot about them and didn't ask about them during the install. I'll see if i can verify.

Also, I just found the .PDF brochure for the 700 series sunroofs, if anyone is interested: Click Me

Looks AWESOME SB!!! Bummer on that 2" drop, my head already brushes the ceiling (I'm 6'6"), if I recline my seat back any further I'll be thug rolling, LoL! :bgwo: Still really nice looking. What shop did you take it too?

Looks great Jim. :thumbup:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Knigh7s

Looks AWESOME SB!!! Bummer on that 2" drop, my head already brushes the ceiling (I'm 6'6"), if I recline my seat back any further I'll be thug rolling, LoL! :bgwo: Still really nice looking. What shop did you take it too?

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I'm with ya. ;)

Little too tall for the VX already and can't sacrifice any interior space. :_brickwal

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Knigh7s

What shop did you take it too?

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The shop's info is:

Desert Mobile Auto Accessories
704 W Sunset Rd. #A-10
Henderson, NV
89011
702-567-0009

Looks like you have a two tier headliner now though? Can you take a pic from the cargo area facing forward?

Here you go...
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...humbs/0742.JPGClick here for larger picture

Wow, much less noticeable from the back (and doesn't look abnormal anyway, just an observation). I wonder if they could have extended the lowered headliner all the way back?

wow that is huge...

...lovin it! congrats.

That's just awsome. They did a great job with it.

I'm seriously jonesin that mod. Like others have said though, I don't think I could lose the headroom. I'm only 5'8" but with a long torso so my head already brushes the headliner. If I were to do this mod, I'd have to take the plunge & lower the drivers seat as well.

This is a mod you're gonna be lovin more & more as time goes on. Even though the initial investment was pretty high, I'm sure you'll forget that part quick enough.

Looks great! I want one.

That looks awesome. Mine hade one installed last fall, but I think it must be a slightly smaller model, because from pictures it looks like theres some space between the glass and the rack rails, unlike yours and other on the forum. :( i honestly havent even seen it yet in prson, my vx is in Cal, with my folks. Hope its as awesome as your video.

They did an amazing job installing your SR. I have been going back and forth for years on getting this done to my VX, but I think I'm finally sold. Thank you for taking the initiative in posting all the pics, docs, and video.

regards,

G.

Hi all! Update:

I just finished modifying the roof basket mount to allow it to work with the sunroof. All good!

Before... The corner of the bracket just barely pushed in on the felt around the glass:
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...unroof_-_1.JPG

After... I removed the corners of the mounts by cutting them with a die grinder. There is now a 1-2mm clearance between the brackets and the glass.

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...unroof_-_5.JPG

Also, I didn't like seeing about six inches of basket obstructing the open-air view from the inside, so I loosened the mounts and pushed the basket back a bit, and tightened it back up. Now I only see about 1-2 inches.:

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...unroof_-_8.JPG

Here's the VX with the rack remounted back a few inches:
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...unroof_-_6.JPG
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...unroof_-_9.JPG
I found out how to stop the auto-close feature too. When you turn off the car, push any of the buttons and it stops the auto-close feature.

I took the VX on it's first night drive the other night. Oh man... It felt like a completely different vehicle. I LOVE THIS MOD!!!! :yesgray:

Again, that looks amazing! I'm considering this mod (if taxes are decent! :bgwo:)

I'm wondering if there is a slightly smaller version.

Also, can the controls be mounted anywhere? if I chose not to have it installed up top? I'm wondering if it is as simple as extending the wires...

Hi Adam,
Yes, I'm sure the switch can be mounted elsewhere.
Just tell the installer where you want it.
:)

OH! By the way! So, I was worried about the $1200 total cost at first...
Well, we just refinanced our house last month, and in the mail yesterday came a check out of the blue for $1800!!! (Escrow refund...)

Woo Hoo! The sunroof is now paid off!
LOL
:dance::clap::LineWave:

This is awesome. They did a fantastic job on that install. A sunroof is the one thing I miss having on my VX - every other vehicle I have owned had one. My only dilemma....do I drop the money for this mod on a vehicle with 145,000 miles? I already located an installer here in Denver, and I have the money. And $1200 is almost 20% of my purchase price! LOL

But Spring is just around the corner....

Dang. What to do.

So I found that the smoked plastic fairing on the roof basket is way noisy on the highway with the sunroof open. So I removed the fairing this morning. It cut the noise in half... but... it's still a little noisy.

I'm going to remove the roof rack and basket tomorrow morning to see just how different the noise level is.

I'll test it with just the rack too.

If the rack and/or basket generates too much wind noise, I may end up selling the Rage basket (that I just bought...:upsetgray) and the stock rack.

The noise kinda negates the worth of the sunroof. If I can't have it open on the highway, it's not worth having the basket/rack.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SilverBullet75

So I found that the smoked plastic fairing on the roof basket is way noisy on the highway with the sunroof open. So I removed the fairing this morning. It cut the noise in half... but... it's still a little noisy.

I'm going to remove the roof rack and basket tomorrow morning to see just how different the noise level is.

I'll test it with just the rack too.

If the rack and/or basket generates too much wind noise, I may end up selling the Rage basket (that I just bought...:upsetgray) and the stock rack.

The noise kinda negates the worth of the sunroof. If I can't have it open on the highway, it's not worth having the basket/rack.

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I'm interested in the outcome of your test, as that basket is something I was considering! Love to hear your feedback.
~Noctis

So I take it the basket was just for looks then? Why can't you just keep it in the garage for whenever you actually need it? Those things cut fuel economy and generate noise so unless you're actively using it I think it's a waste to leave it mounted.

Just my $.02, spoken from personal experience - I only have my Thule on whenever I need to carry the spare on the roof.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by vt_maverick

Just my $.02, spoken from personal experience - I only have my Thule on whenever I need to carry the spare on the roof.

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x2...if you need it you gotta have it, but leave it off when you don't.

Impressive! I like that mod a lot!
Peace.
Tom

So sure enough, turns out I got a webasto 700. Oh well. Smaller than what most others got, but had I not really looked into it, I wouldn't have known the difference. Figured if I was happy in ignorance, I should still be happy... :)

Awesome mod. First time I ever saw one in person was on AC's gorgeous Kaiser - he lives a few towns over. Took me all of a minute to decide I needed to do it.

That'll be this summer's treat.

-V