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Sunroof: Hollandia 790 in 2010 FJ

27K views 35 replies 17 participants last post by  darkhorse13 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi everyone,
I wanted to share my sunroof story with the community and shed a little more light on subject. I know that there is another great write up of this sunroof somewhere in the so-cal regional forum too.

Just got a Hollandia 790 installed in my 2010 FJ two days ago. Awesome!

First impressions:
1) The sunroof itself and the company that did the work (Midwest Auto Air in St Louis, MO) are both outstanding. The fit and finish looks stock, the sunroof opens, tilts, and closes quietly and very snug. There are 3 programmable buttons as well as a single touch open and close button (5 altogether). They did replace my entire headliner (retained my stock front dual "clicker" map light) and the new cloth matches perfectly. The sunroof's rubber trim ring molds around the FJ roof ridges very nicely and I don't fear it leaking. It does have a 3 year stock warranty from Webasto and a lifetime warranty from the company as long as I own it. I paid $1456.65 total

2) I do wish I would have asked them to install it about 3in further back from the front to back allignment. I am sure each company follows an install template because all of the interior pictures I have seen of this particular sunroof the very back edge of the sunroof is almost right in line with the back edge of the side grab handle. (I have seen one exterior pic floating around the web where the sunroof looks to be about 5in further back...I will attach the pic) To give you an example, I am 6ft tall and have the seat adjusted front to back where my left leg has a slight bend when my foot is on the dead pedal and I have a slight lean back (nothing gangster). In this seat position the back of the sunroof is approx 3in in front of my forehead. Imagine wearing a hat and the tip of the bill would exactly hit the back edge of the sunroof. In every car I have owned the sunroof always opens up to at least my forehead and sometimes the crown of my head. I will have to get used to this in the FJ as I don't quite get that "wind in the hair" feeling of freedom. I still love it none-the-less and the view out the top is amazing, but I wish when I look up I would see sky and not headliner. The only advantage to having the hole a little more forward is the fact that if the sun was beating down directly on top of the car your head would not get fried. I also removed the side sun visors as this sunroof is HUGE and they cover up too much of the precious view that I spent my money on. Finally, it would be cool if the shade slider would go further back when the glass is closed. (When the glass is back the shade goes all the way back with it. When the glass is closed the shade loses about an inch of retraction...enough wishing though, here is why you need a sunroof.

3) The airflow is amazing! On the highway with both windows down the air actually tries to flow around your head. I would say that there is about 40% less wind turbulance that causes one to get a "hot ear" on the left side of their face. With the windows up and the sunroof open it is not overly loud by any means and you get a little air in the cabin (not alot though, you HAVE to crack one of the side windows for air circulation. That's just the way it works with nothing being able to open up in the back of an FJ. I imagine an open sunroof and open rear hatch glass would be perfect. Going to try it tomorrow.) With the sunroof vented and no windows open it lets some hot cabin air out or the cool morning air in, but again you need to crack a window if you want cabin circulation.

4) With the sunroof shut and the cloth slide shade closed the cabin is JUST AS QUIET AS it would be stock. Even with the shade open and the glass closed at 60mph there is very minimal change in noise level in the cabin. For kicks and grins, we used the decibel meter on my friend's i-phone before I got the sunroof. We set the smoothing on the decibel meter to .5 hertz and drove at 65mph on the highway. The FJ cabin averaged around 82db (his VW Passat averaged 85db by the way! I think he was disappointed)

5) I absolutely have the way it looks and plan on getting a stock rack for the time being to actually enjoy the view rather than look out a set of Baja Rack bars. I will report of wind noise with the rack and with the i-phone soon.

I will be happy to answer any questions as I had a ton myself.





Driver side, no flip down, need to cover holes

Passenger side, you can see how much the visor blocks :(




I would have loved to have the front edge of the sunroof at the rear of the roof rack brackets for that 3in









Thanks,
John
 
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#2 ·
So you have a Baja Rack on top of that? But want a stock rack?

I have a stock rack... I ship to you, you ship to me... fair trade? :)
 
#3 ·
DarkHorse,

Congrats on your sunroof. Great choice, btw! ;) I've had mine in for over three years now and absolutely love it. No rattles, no leaks, no issues whatsoever. Noise level does increase somewhat, but in the 3+ years I've owned it, I have so many other mods that add to the noise level that I don't even notice anymore.

As far as aftermarket racks go, you might consider going with a custom Gobi rack. They can easily modify one of their stock rack designs to accommodate a sun roof. That's one of the main reasons I went with theirs over some of the competitors. Here's a top shot of my setup in case you're interested.



Cheers,

Jeff
 
#4 ·
Clemson, I am buying a stock rack for now to enjoy the open view of the sunroof. Sorry, I don't have a Baja.

BoxOnWheels, that custom Gobi is perfect looking! Unobstructed view and lots of cargo floor space still. I really like the placement of your sunroof too. The front edge of your sunroof is just behind the the roof brackets where the rack feet attach which probably puts the back edge of the sunroof right over your head. The front of my sunroof is directly in line with the front of the roof rack brackets. You have that 3in I am looking for.

I will have pics up soon, promise.
 
#7 ·
From what I've read and from the DIY sunroof post from a while back, those braces are not solely for rollover protection. They keep structral integrity to the roof skin and once the sunroof is installed, the actual bracing from the sunroof frame self restores the integrity of the roof skin.

I personally do not feel that removing this ONE brace is going to diminish anything in case of a rollover. I believe that there are 2 or 3 more braces behind the sunroof still and I think that the brunt of a rollover would be absorbed through the windsheild frame and rear pillars of the vehicle. I also don't believe that Webasto or any other aftermarket company would create a product for a vehicle that would destroy the integrity of that vehicle. Maybe that is naive thinking though...

I would be interesting to find an FJ, with the owner not hurt of course, that has a sunroof and has been involved in a rollover. I imagine a lap full of glass, but not a caved in roof just over the driver. I can say that when I slam the door of my FJ I see very little roof line shake or movement with the sunroof, but I have not been wheeling yet with it to flex it out. I also drive on a very bumpy and potholed road on my way to work and I will say I was suprised and relieved that the FJ had ZERO rattles or shakes. I actually tried to hit a few more of the bumps and holes today just to see if I could get a weird sound, nothing!

Again, 99% thrilled with my purchase just 1% disappointed with the placement. You will not regret the decision and the beautiful view!
 
#8 ·
Thanks Spencer,
As long as the rain holds off until I get home the pics are coming tonight! I am torn though, the Demello sliders just came in late last night and I really want to put them on before I take the pics...not enough daylight to do both though.
 
#11 ·
Hey Mike,

Here you go. Their sign says Midwest Auto Air but I guess they go by Auto Air. They have been around for 35 years. The owner is Jack and both of his younger sons work there...bottom line I don't think they plan on packing up shop anytime soon. Knock on wood. If you ever want to check out the placement on mine in person let me know. I am in Arnold, MO.

Auto Air Company‎
1175 South Kingshighway Boulevard, St Louis, MO 63110-1599
(314) 534-8080‎
 
#14 ·
John the install looks awesome. That's one thing that i do wish came from the factory. How much did it cost you with everything said and done? It might be in the cards for the Stealth Bomber... after some new wheels and tires, of course.
 
#15 ·
@dpr422: I've had this same model sunroof in for over 3 years and the FJ has been off-road many times since the install. I've had no structural issues due to excess flex, and no leaks, creaks or rattles. They do cut out one of the support beams to install it but it doesn't seem to affect the integrity of the vehicle in any way. Like Darkhorse said, at least to some degree, the sunroof itself most likely makes up for the loss of that front cross member.

@Darkhorse13: Great pics! The install came out nice and clean and actually looks pretty smooth with no rack on top. Also, I originally had the stock roof rack which worked really well because the front portion is open and straddles the sunroof quite nicely. If you do decide to go with a custom Gobi setup down the road there's more information and photos of my final install below.

Custom Gobi Stealth Install

Cheers,

Jeff
 
#20 ·
If you guys do go down there and get it done the install took 1.5 days but he told me it could take 3 days. I don't know if Jack would budge off the price but if we can even get a referral bonus then drinks on me!!!

Corbin, you get new tires lined up yet?
 
#22 ·
I just had a Inalfa 925 series installed through the local dealer here in Northern Altanta and the size is 19" X 37". I've had it for about 2 weeks and absolutely love it. Got it installed on a 2007 maroon FJ and it looks amazing.

Looks very similar to yours and I agree exactly with the placement too far upfront. ONly complaint. Other than that, the Toyota dealership honors the lifetime warranty and everything installed out the door at $1100.

No complaints here and will post pictures as soon as I setup a profile. I'm new to the boards and am finally posting instead of just lurking.

:cowfrown:
 
#25 ·
Awesome sunroof, I would love to get this installed in my FJ but cant quite afford it right now :(

A little off topic but looking at your visors I think they're upside down... Did you do this on purpose for more coverage? Or did the shop not install them properly?
 
#27 ·
Ha, thanks Spencer. You know what, I immediately took them both off after the photos I posted here for comparison so I don't even recall.

Could be that the shop indeed installed them wrong when they put back on the headliner.

Maybe I could start a new trend though??? I think it gave me about 2hp more:rocker:
 
#29 ·
Thanks. It's been awhile but as I recall, I actually saved some money (off the standard price) because my requested design didn't require as much material to produce. I had them eliminate the middle top cross bar, and ~1/3 of the expanded metal and bottom cross bars were not required because the front section needed to be clear for the sunroof area.
 
#30 ·
I know that normally the Gobi racks come with 2 cross bars, but noticed in your pic, you only have one. Is that something that can also be customized? Do you or anyone know where to get the best deal on the Gobi Stealth? $1,500 is a bit out of my range at the present. Thanks.
 
#32 ·
If you are the first one at a red light, can you see the light through the sunroof instead of ducking down to see it?
 
#35 ·
Who else installs these in the St. Louis area? Illinois? Missouri?

The fit and finish on that is impeccable. I'd love to have a sun roof, but a lot of the installs I've seen on them internets look like hack jobs. This is the first I've seen that looks truly factory.
 
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#36 ·
Going to revive this since there's a sunroof question out there as of 2017.

No leaks to date after 7 years... install was very professional. Yes, Midwest Auto Air is out of business in STL (Kingshighway location). I believe that Auto Trim in Ballwin MO might be a Hollandia installer?

John
 
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