The only good moonroof pictures I've seen are from this site.

http://www.elysianplains.com/autoshow/mazda/

I choose a yellow with the touring package. I neglected to see that it's a moonroof.. and a black moonroof on a yellow car will look like a gaping black hole.

I think I will have to either

1) get the touring package in titanium

2) get the sport package in yellow.

either way, the moon roof is an eyesore.

maybe it's better that way... it's 1600 bucks cheaper to get the sport package. then I'll just dump 1600 back into fixing the console for a stereo.

 

Save the $1600. If you really like the moonroof get it. For me I really wanted to get the moonroof (touring package) but after I saw how it looked when the tilt function was all the way out, I changed my mind. Not only that for it to open this much was not worth it.

http://images.rotarynews.com/images/...3/mvc02035.jpg

IMHO the moonroof on the yellow would throw of the sleek look of the car. I opted to get the Sports so that I could put ~$700 and below on a nice sound system :D.

You can read my thread I did awhile back...

http://www.rx8forum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1925

... and why I decided to get it w/o the moonroof.

 

Thank you very much! That made my decision quite firm. That sunroof is ugly!

Now if I coudl only decide on color... hmm.. yellow or titanium.

 

Wow that was a fast reply. I bet you been waiting for a reply all night :D .

It took me a long time to get over the moonroof. I really wanted it until I saw the Laguna pic. Not only that I stared at the Mazdaspeed 8. I really like the dip on the roof without the glass. It brings out the sleekness of the car. Since I'm going straight performance on this I wanted to make the car as light as possible. The moonroof gone takes away at least 50lbs.

I do admit that the yellow looks nice and girls dig yellow :D . I opted for the titanium since it was a metallic look. I wanted a car that looked shiny during the day and dark at night. Plus it is close to the color that was on the 7 Spirit R. I feel in love with that color when I saw it at seven stock.

I am not telling you what you should not get but just giving you my thoughts. I was in the same boat as you but with the help of the fellow members it made my decision a lot easier. Hope this helps.

 

I had already planned before seeing the pics not to get a sunroof simply for a lighter weight and the placement of that weight. I agree though, the tilt/opened layout of the sunroof is a little surprising. I would have thought they'd slide in into the sheet metal. It gets pretty noisy when it's sticking out like that...

 

I was in the exact same situation pertaining to the sunroof. The car I have now has a sunroof and with my new car I wanted a sunroof. The BOSE I could take or leave, but the moonroof is something I would like. Then I began seeing pictures of the sunroof and was not impressed. It seemed small to me, and I dont like the type that stick out of the roofs as opposed to those that retract into the ceiling. Factor in my specific headroom requirements (I'm 6'4"), the fact that it adds weight, and the added cost it was a tough decision to make.

Then one day my Dad asked me, "How often do you use your sunroof now?"

I have ordered a titanium RX-8 with the sports package and couldn't be happier. :D

 

I may not open mine often, but I like the extra light in the cabin from a sunroof.

 

True, so do I, but I dont have the kind of money to spend ~$1600 on extra light in the cabin. :o

 

same here, i rarely open the thing but i like the open airy feel of the skylight.

 

If you are really hardcore and want to save some weight, but keep the light you could take out the motor and replace the glass with lexon (would probably have to be a custom job though).

 

I just cannot imagine owning any hardtop car without a sunroof; from early spring to early winter that baby is OPEN!!! It has to be real hot outside for me to close the roof and turn on the air (unless I’m wearing my suite). The size of the opening and the tilt action is also not a problem; my current car is a Mazda MX-3 with the same size/tilt sunroof.

However, the one criticism that I must agree with is that the lighter coloured cars will not look as sleek as the darker coloured cars with this sunroof.

Having said that, I’m still getting mine in yellow. :D

 

Yeah, and after you take out the motor you would save a little more weight when you cut the holes in the floor but wouldn't you look a little silly driving your car like Fred Flintstone. :D

To compromise maybe you could get the sunroof and keep it open to let heat out and take out the air conditioning to save weight.

 

Bridal, executive, or lounge?

 

Umm, I'm pretty sure he meant the motor that powers the sunroof.

 

He did say, "If you are really hardcore. . ." :D