soopa

You know how when you open the sunroof (slide it open that is) that black flap pops up at the front...

What the hell is it supposed to do?

If you hold it down while your driving... the sunroof is like a thousand times quieter.

I think our sunroof has more wind noise then any other in the business.

You can open a sunroof in a BMW and not know that its open or not.

What does this flap accomplish? Why cant we get rid of it.

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2001 Acura 3.2 CL Type-S
San Marino Red (Navigation)
PIAA 19173 Ion Yellow Fog Lights
Aftermarket Black Wood Trim Kit

MilPaint

I have noticed the same thing. I had a 1988 legend coupe and it had a metal deflector much like the plastic piece the CL has. It was larger and did seem to cut down wind and noise. Maybe it is a wind deflector that does not work?

Rock Dog

That flap is designed to direct air up and over the sunroof hole. It isn't there to reduce noise, as much as it is there for aerodynamics.

There are many factors when comparing our car to a BMW, or any other car for that matter.
The BMW's winshield rake may be higher than ours.
The seam where the windshield meets the roof could be a smoother design.
One roof maybe flatter than the other.
There are many varibles that go into aerodynamics. Any of the above reasons, plus others, could be why our car produces more noise through the sunroof.

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- As long as people will accept crap, it will be financially profitable to dispense it.

01 Type-S
Satin Silver/Ebony
Navigation-Spoiler-Muds-Wheel locks-35% Tint-PIAA wedges-V1 and remote

Scorpius

My old 87 legend had a silver deflector. I asusmed it was for aerodynamics. I don't know if my mother's 1990 Legend has one or not.
With the sunroof (moonroof?) fully open what is the maximum speed the car can achive without getting unstable? Maybe that metal/plastic flap increases that to highway speeds.

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Red 3.2 CL-S.
"Life is too short not to be Italian." -Paul Sorvino
"How do you expect your date to turn over if your engine doesn't?" -Original
"Too many news programs have become public relations friendly" -Bill Oreilly
"People spend too much time finding other people to blame, too much energy finding excuses for not being what they are capable of being, and not enough energy putting themselves on the line, growing out of the past, and getting on with their lives." - J. Michael Straczynski

Wyle E. Coyote

Well, it's supposed to reduce (not eliminate) some of the downward wind flow. I had the dealer remove mine because it vibrated badly (and made a horrible sound) at speeds above 50 mph. Now it's like the TL and is MUCH, MUCH better (and quieter)!!! Remove it and see what you think, if you don't like it that way put it back on. Mine is in my garage, and that's where it's gonna stay!

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2001 Acura 3.2CL Type-S
Satin Silver/Ebony
No Navi/No Spoiler
Competch springs
35% tint
PIAA 19169 bulbs
K&N 33-2178 air filter

The Aviation Zone

cl-driver

it's a noisemaker. the faster you drive, the louder it gets.

mdaniel

I wonder if its there to improve mileage. When you retract the moonroof, air could get into the cavity between the top of the moonroof and bottom of the car's roof. The deflector directs the airflow over this "sail" and might reduce drag .01%. Given what they did to up on 4th gear, I imagine they were looking for every last bit of mpg they could find.

I just took a look at the deflector. Is removing/replacing really as simple at two screws?



[This message has been edited by mdaniel (edited 04-14-2001).]

soopa

Well I dont know...

Acura never cared much for aerodynamics. heh

If it creates that much noise... its safe to say it creates a lot of drag.

If you hold it down... you cant feel any more air entering... but you can hear that its much quieter.

And MikeN... the TL sunroof is anything but quiet. Its just as loud as ours. I had a TL. The only thing better about the TL sunroof is its about twice the size of ours.

I think Im gonna try to remove that flap. Hope I dont fuck anything up.

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2001 Acura 3.2 CL Type-S
San Marino Red (Navigation)
PIAA 19173 Ion Yellow Fog Lights
Aftermarket Black Wood Trim Kit

Wyle E. Coyote

Yeh, but I just meant that the TL moonroof doesn't have the flap.... meaning, it must not be that important. I've had no leaks or anything since removing mine.


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2001 Acura 3.2CL Type-S
Satin Silver/Ebony
No Navi/No Spoiler
Competch springs
35% tint
PIAA 19169 bulbs
K&N 33-2178 air filter

The Aviation Zone

davo-cls

Also between 30-40 it shakes so hard, you think it's going to break off.

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'01 CLS #4055 Red/Parchment-all the goodies

ktown378

i believe it's to equalize the pressure inside the car. if you notice on cars like the prelude where the sunroof/moonroof slides OVER the roof of the car, there is no flap. but on our cars, they move under, so the flap is there

soopa

Gotcha.

But... Im pretty sure the TL has that flap too... its been awhile but I could swear it has the same flap.

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2001 Acura 3.2 CL Type-S
San Marino Red (Navigation)
PIAA 19173 Ion Yellow Fog Lights
Aftermarket Black Wood Trim Kit

rwwlaw

Every car I have had a sunroof on has the flap! 90 4Runner, Lexus LX470 Acura RL, Nissan Stanza, etc... It is there to direct air away from the occupants.

Wyle E. Coyote

Nope. My dad has a '99 TL .....no flap.



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2001 Acura 3.2CL Type-S
Satin Silver/Ebony
No Navi/No Spoiler
Competch springs
35% tint
PIAA 19169 bulbs
K&N 33-2178 air filter

The Aviation Zone

MikeS 18

You guys are all wrong. Its to keep the car from getting airborne when it spins and is going backwards at 125mph....duh!

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CL-S #22,299 Black/Parchment/Nav, spoiler, door & fender guards, wood trim, PIAA 19169 & 9005, V1 w/remote, trunk & winter mats, no headers, no sway bars, no springs, no CAI, no money! (but I got a nice new kitchen!)

Morris

I don't find the noise of the sun roof that much louder than most cars I've had.

My car does have a resonance (sort of a rumble) between 30-40 MPH that really detracts from having the sun roof open in town.

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Black 2001 CL-S Nav, delivered 2/29/00
No mods.

Wyle E. Coyote

Nah, only NASCARs have those.



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2001 Acura 3.2CL Type-S
Satin Silver/Ebony
No Navi/No Spoiler
Competch springs
35% tint
PIAA 19169 bulbs
K&N 33-2178 air filter

The Aviation Zone

Tom2

It is there to reduce wind buffeting. Try this--- Drive at highway speeds with the sunroof fully open and both windows fully up. Relatively quiet, huh? Now reach up and pull down the deflector. You'll get loads of annoying buffeting. Putting the windows down cures the problem too, though.

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dead CL-S and M3

rick

I was actually playing with this flap in my '90 toyota camry. At about 70, I found the toyota to be quieter with the flap down than up. However, the flap does seem to deflect rain and perhaps debris over the car instead of into the sunroof.

Tom2

You're missing my point-- The flap is there to reduce wind buffeting with all the other windows UP. It won't do jack shit if the windows are down, as there is no buffeting with the windows down. Besides, the your Camry is not a CL and each car would differ due to design anyway (as far as wind noise etc.....)


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dead CL-S and M3

Rock Dog

I had this flap on my 300M. The wind noise when the sunroof was open was minimal. The flap didn't cause any problems. But just about everything under it did!

------------------
- As long as people will accept crap, it will be financially profitable to dispense it.

01 Type-S
Satin Silver/Ebony
Navigation-Spoiler-Muds-Wheel locks-35% Tint-PIAA wedges-V1 and remote

rwwlaw

Correction! Just went for a ride in my RL, NO FLAP!

rick

Tom, I was alluding to the possibility it was required to direct debris away from the back seat passengers. Soopa's last post indicates otherwise.

Sycd

Nope, not in my CL-S. Very loud at highway speed with the sunroof open, and that wind deflector shakes like mad too


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2001 Acura 3.2 CL TypeS -- White/Ebony, No Emblems
1998 Honda Prelude -- Black/Black, MN5

Scorpius

My dad's ML320 has a flap too.
My insurance guy in his 300M has one as well. Also, I went to dinner with my parents and two of their friends in their Continental, it has one too. I had them open it and stuck my head up there. So just to show you I care, I made a dope out of myself!

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Red 3.2 CL-S.
"Life is too short not to be Italian." -Paul Sorvino
"How do you expect your date to turn over if your engine doesn't?" -Original
"Too many news programs have become public relations friendly" -Bill Oreilly
"People spend too much time finding other people to blame, too much energy finding excuses for not being what they are capable of being, and not enough energy putting themselves on the line, growing out of the past, and getting on with their lives." - J. Michael Straczynski

Nashua_Night_Hawk

Flap no Flap this is not the problem, the problem is that with noise it makes at HW speeds, do the other flaps make the same horrobile noise too?

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Black, Ebony, 3.2 CL Type-S, NAV.
- 3M clear bra, by Stonguard (full front bumper, and side mirrors, and partial hood)
- Acura Spoiler, Moonroof visor
- Splash guards, Winter mats, Trunk liner
- Valentine V1 Radar Locator
- HELMS Service Manual
- PIAA 19169 road lamps
- 03/19/01: Injen Polished CAI
- 04/13/01: 235/40/18 NITTO 555 on 18x7.5, +45 offset, Koing Imagine in Silver with wheels locks

Al Uminum

Morris
That resonance your hearing is a "feature" of the car. Your dealer (unless he's from Neptune) knows about it and will fix it for you. If you want, do a search here on "resonance" or "harmonic" or "helicopter" or "moonroof noise".

Good Luck



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"01" CL Type-S
White\Black
Comptech Springs
Comptech Sways
Navigation System
Burlwood Shifter
Guards+Fenderwell Trim
PIAA16969
Smokers Package
My Car

CLS899

The flap has to be lowered by about 3/8 in to stop the noise. A pad on the flap stop will do the trick. Acura dealers should have the pads. I will bring my CLS to the dealer to install the pads.
Silver CLS on LI.

soopa

Well... our Nissan Pathfinder has this smae flap...

I was playing with it on the highway yesterday and it certainly does direct air OVER the sunroof... rather then it blowing on back seat passengers.

But the difference between the Pathfinder and the CL... the pathfinders flap doesnt make more wind noise like that of the CL.

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2001 Acura 3.2 CL Type-S
San Marino Red (Navigation)
PIAA 19173 Ion Yellow Fog Lights
Aftermarket Black Wood Trim Kit

soopa

Well. Drive a BMW... you wont be able to tell if the sunroof is open or not. Pretty impressive.

Even our Nissan Pathfinder has a quieter sunroof then ours.

You would think a company would factor in the aerodynamics of the sunroof when its a standard feature.

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2001 Acura 3.2 CL Type-S
San Marino Red (Navigation)
PIAA 19173 Ion Yellow Fog Lights
Aftermarket Black Wood Trim Kit