Originally Posted by ricky1969
I am wondering if anyone knows if I remove the moonroof from the car and make it into a regular roof would the cutting for the moonroof still affect my handling or would it be negated.
In theory, an open moonroof increases the body flexing in extreme maneouvres.
However, with the new designs like the DC5 and the EP3, the chassis are a lot stiffer than the older DC2, and I'd guess that the main reason the DC5-R doesn't have a moonroof has more to do with weight and kafuffle and less to do w/chassis rigidity.
My EP3, even with a moonroof, is pretty darned stiff. Jack Harris thinks the EP3 (with always has a moonroof in USDM), is the best, stiffest Honda chassis ever, out of the box.
I'm not really sure what your goals are, here, but if you're just trying to get DC5-R performance out of your RSX-S, I really wouldn't worry about the moonroof so much. I don't think you lose that much chassis stiffness because of the moonroof, and whatever flexing exists because of the moonroof is virtually negated when the roof is closed.
Does the RSX Base have a moonroof? If you're really determined, maybe one of these would be a better starting point for your project.