Solar Panel Weight?

I don't know how much it weighs exactly, but I guarantee you that it is nowhere near 700 lbs... and NO, it does not alter the fuel efficiency.

 

Another well informed sales person.
I don't know either but if it were 700 pounds the 825 passenger and cargo weight limit would be sorely compromised. One 125 pound driver and no other passengers or cargo? I don't think so.

I suspect the sun/moon roof part of the package is the bulk of the weight.

 

I have the solar panel and love it and love the prius. No problems to report yet, everything is working smoothly.

 

Is there any indication that those of us lacking these options can add some of these weights to our maximum payload?

 

Is it possible for someone who owns a Prius V to have the solar roof installed later? Will the dealership do this, if I purchase the assembly?

 

There have been many discussions about this. The real answer is that it weighs about 65 1bs (but I can't find the particular post). I've heard salesmen sayiing it weighs 200-400 lbs, but the one that told you 700 lbs takes the cake! Here's one thread that talks about weight:

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-main-forum/61454-solar-roof-mpg.html

 

Back in my motorcycle racing days, we would talk about how we could shed a 1/2-pound here and there on our bikes, thinking that it would make us faster. The sponsor would say that we were riding it, not carrying it. Really, 65 pounds doesn't seem as if it would make much of a difference. Just my two cents . . . . .

It's just a car that gets extraordinary good mileage. What more can we ask except for a plug-in.

 

Whereas 60 pounds makes little-to-no difference when it comes to fuel efficiency, it does make a difference in cornering when almost all of it is located at the highest point of the vehicle. It might potentially have some small effect on braking/acceleration traction as well.

(The negatives are all about CoG height and weight transfer effects.)

The easiest demonstration of this is something that many of us already do on a regular basis: bolting a bike rack on top and loading it up with some wares. You'll definitely feel it in the curves.

I used to love sunroofs/moonroofs, but after developing a creak in it (from chassis flex) in the last car I had and unbolting parts of it in an attempt to to re-tighten it, I had a first-hand experience as to how much mass (100-ish pounds!) it was, and therefore will not consider it in the future for anything except overbuilt luxo-barges well-into the 2-ton range.

Just my 2 cents, and nothing more.

 

I love the solar roof. It's still fairly rare to see one on a Prius and they look really neat when opened up. The other advantage is the solar cell ventilation. While it doesn't cool the car, it keeps the interior bearable when the car is parked in the sun on a hot day.