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Pano roof or not?

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I'm set to confirm my order for a 70D with 19" wheels and am concerned about the noise level in the MS. I've owned BMW 7 and Lexus LS models for many years. I listen to satellite radio, and for reception purposes only, am forced to get the pano roof. Otherwise, I don't care to have a sunroof.
How much noise does the pano roof add to the car on the highway (especially on coarser roads)? I've driven a MS with 21" wheels and pano roof and felt it was definitely too noisy for me. The MS with 19" wheels and standard roof is quiet enough. The dealer has no demo with 19"/pano roof combo for me to assess.
I would appreciate any input from members; especially those who have the newer revised pano roof in their car. Thanks.
 
I just ordered a 70D without the pano roof but with the ultra high fidelity sound so I won't get XM radio. I didn't get the pano because of concerns about longevity, just another part that can break or leak. I have XM in my current car but didn't pay for the renewal after the trial period because IMHO music on XM sounds terrible. See if you can stream XM via the web browser then you won't need to get the pano roof.
 
I have a new one and haven't had much time in it yet, but I don't find any noise from the Pano, only from the wheels and road. I have 21s and am happy to trade off that noise for the performance. I live in SoCal and use the Pano just about every day. I love the Pano. I think you will not notice any extra noise after coming from an ICE. They are so noisy in their own right.
 
See if you can stream XM via the web browser then you won't need to get the pano roof.

You can't stream anything from the web browser -- there's no sound (or video for that matter). Only Slacker and Tunein for sound streaming by way of the music apps - not the browser. It would be great if they added a Sirius/XM app. If you don't have UHFS which requires pano for XM, then you can only stream it through your phone/bluetooth. I really like the pano roof but I am tall and need the extra headroom and I like the air in the summer without opening windows.
 
I have almost a year in mine with the pano. I have had issues with it creaking, which they are 100% working to resolve, even so I would definitely order it with it again. I love the extra headroom, I like the slights ambient light, it makes the car feel more open, I do not feel heat in summer or road noise are much of an issue.
 


You can't stream anything from the web browser -- there's no sound (or video for that matter). Only Slacker and Tunein for sound streaming by way of the music apps - not the browser. It would be great if they added a Sirius/XM app. If you don't have UHFS which requires pano for XM, then you can only stream it through your phone/bluetooth. I really like the pano roof but I am tall and need the extra headroom and I like the air in the summer without opening windows.
I stream XM from my phone (free data streaming for music via T-Mobile). Today I'm using an audio jack but I'm hoping for Bluetooth to use the Tesla's speakers. Perhaps that will work for those who opt out of pano.
 
I didn't order mine with it. In the past 6 years in my current car I don't ever remember opening it once. One less thing to worry about down the road. I did get the ultra high fidelity sound package, so I won't have satellite radio. But that doesn't bother me. I wouldn't use it anyway.
 
I have the pano and 19" wheels. Car is very quiet IMO. I've never contemplated that the pano might be adding noise as mine (knock on wood) doesn't seem to have any issues with the seal.

I've never sat in a non-pano car but I want to. Many have said that the headroom is noticeably better in the pano cars. That would be the only reason I would want to order another MS with the pano. I never open it. I'd rather have spent the money on a different feature and plan to do so on my next MS.
 
I would appreciate any input from members; especially those who have the newer revised pano roof in their car. Thanks.

We have the pano roof and 19s in a car that was delivered in 2/15 so don't know if that is the revised version or not. It is very quiet for sure. EVs generally are so much less noisy, you really cannot go wrong. I would say it is silent to my ears. You will love the silence.
 
I have a 90D with pano, UHFS, 19" wheels, and have used XM in my MS.

IMHO, the pano isn't a large contributor to noise as long as you keep it closed. As with any moonroof, when it's open (or the side windows for that matter), the cabin noise will increase dramatically, and the noise level is THEN greater in my MS than I've ever experienced with a moonroof in a former Lexus, BMW, or MBZ -- in part I suspect because the MS pano opening is massive and Tesla chose to use a fabric pop-up wind dam that I don't think is as effective as the metal versions all of my previous rides have had for years.

When my MS pano is closed, which his probably where it will be for any audiophile when they want to really listen to nuances in their music, I think the greater things impacting noise level is if you go with 21" wheels (they will be louder than 19"), if your tires become worn, the road surfaces themselves, and perhaps the front motor from selecting a MS "D" model. I come from 10-years of driving AWD Lexus RX400h/450h, and as quiet as those vehicles were even when the ICE and 2 electric motors kicked-in, my dual-motor MS is quieter -- BUT, you'll find people here that are adamant the D-models are noisy, because (I suspect) of their experience only with a RWD MS (they ARE quieter, but it's all relative to me.)

While I appreciate folks are trying to help with alternatives to use XM streaming via their cell phones, if you're not aware, all Bluetooth connectivity involves highly compressed audio streams -- it's the nature of the beast and not just in Tesla MS. Streaming XM via a phone, then Bluetooth to MS for processing and back out to the speakers will inherently have less quality, than if you order UHFS and use native MS XM directly (which of course forces you to get the pano roof because of the XM antenna being located in the cockpit -- not as an external shark fin as it is on most other vehicles these days.)

Net of all that? Living here in SoCal, I wanted the pano roof to begin with. I also wanted UHFS as I wanted improved sound quality, but I didn't want to futz with aftermarket sound upgrades and having my new MS torn up by a 3rd party to have that installation done. The side benefit to me was UHFS then came with XM. I love my music, have more than 1200 albums in my iTunes library, and appreciate the quality I can achieve. I used XM all the time with my former cars for several of the music channels, but I don't listen to Howard and the myriad of Sports Channels XM offers that are the reasons some people have XM. Be aware that unlike every other mfgr I've ever purchased from, there is no XM trial when you purchase your MS with UHFS. I went ahead and enabled XM at my expense the day I brought my MS home. Not a month later, I called and cancelled my subscription. While I like a couple of the XM channels MUCH better than what I can get with Slacker and TuneIn, and XM connectivity for me was superior than what LTE achieves (so, I get periods of silence with internet streaming music), I couldn't justify the additional expense to myself I was paying for the XM subscription each month, when I already paid, and Tesla provides, the Internet Radio channels they do. What I do hope is Tesla updates their USB Media Player support so my iTunes library becomes a whole lot more usable than the crippled state it is with my MS -- won't go into all that here. You'll find other threads on that if you're so interested.

Good luck with your decision.
 
I have a CPO S85 here in So Cal

I wanted the solid roof, after looking at too many used Model S's with pano roofs and high mileage

I wanted nothing to do with the roof, yes its looks great, but it just didnt work for me. the older ones I saw had issues with noise

and comparing the two, the solid roof is quieter. For me, I could not be happier.

I have black interior and so far so good with not getting too hot in summer.

My kid thinks I should have got the Pano, but to each his own.

I test drove enough to say I happy with my solid roof. and, i got a Tesla......

My big option that I could not live with out was the air suspension. For my needs that was the one to have.

always remembers when to raise

So go drive some cars and see which color combo and roof option suits your needs....
 
Yes ABSOLUTELY, this is the only MUST HAVE option for Model S.

To give you some background, I hate the sun in general. In my previous BMW/Lexus, I almost always closed the sunroof cover and only opened them when it's cloudy or raining or at night. This is because I hate the sun shining on me... I generally dislike beaches due to the sun as well.

However the Tesla sunroof is amazing; it blocks out basically all heat from reaching you and makes the car feel so much more open!! We test drove a car without the sunroof as well and it just felt so much worse; basically enclosed, etc. It's the BEST VALUE option on a Model S and I wouldn't buy one without the pano.
 
Yes ABSOLUTELY, this is the only MUST HAVE option for Model S.
In your opinion.
In my opinion it's nice but not essential. I didn't get it on my S. I'm fine not having it, and I'm 6'2" (however I do not sit in the rear seats, ever). I felt other options were more important and I could afford to get every option so I passed on the pano and the air suspension.
I have had sunroofs on various other cars. I never opened them. I lay got them because most cars on dealership lots that I was interested in had them. Of course with Tesla there is no "lot", you custom configure the car as you wish. So given a choice, I did not choose the pano.
 
I just ordered a 70D without the pano roof but with the ultra high fidelity sound so I won't get XM radio. I didn't get the pano because of concerns about longevity, just another part that can break or leak. I have XM in my current car but didn't pay for the renewal after the trial period because IMHO music on XM sounds terrible. See if you can stream XM via the web browser then you won't need to get the pano roof.

XM Radio sounded great in 2002 when I had the first ever Sony radio and they had 30 stations, all in high bit rate. Then they decided to expand and reduced rates to 8kb, with terrible consequences. Housewives and truckers still love it, good news and talk shows for them.
 
Disclaimer: I don't own a model S! I think the 21" tires are generally acknowledged to be the primary source of noise in the Model S (other than a random rattle, etc.). So, in my mind, the question is "Does the pano roof (when closed) let it more of that road noise and possibly wind noise than the solid roof?" I recently test drove a P85D. I purposely wanted to drive a car with the 21" rims to evaluate ride comfort and road noise (especially on Texas' grooved concrete freeways) since I love the aesthetic of those rims, but a bumpy or noisy ride gets old....fast. Anyway, that car also had a pano roof. The road noise was definitely noticeable, but I found it completely tolerable...hardly "silent" though by any means (I would, in fact, say my old BMW M5 at cruise was quieter...engine noise loafing along on the freeway is just a non-issue in most luxury-oriented ICE cars). However, after we got done with the test drive my wife (who was riding in the back) indicated she thought it was fairly noticeable and wished I had been riding in the back to hear it - Doh!

Part of the challenge with these kinds of questions is that few folks end up owning a car with both configurations for any length of time. They "test" one or two versions and then buy one and live with it. My FEELINGS are that if you have the 19" rims your primary source of noise is greatly reduced over the 21s. Having way less noise at the source is much better than trying to "block" the noise after the fact (which can be almost impossible). There is one caveat with a large sunroof...it opens the door to more wind noise. We have a pseudo pano roof in our Volvo XC60 (large, but not MS large). I don't ever get the feeling it is "letting in" more noise that a solid roof except when we approach 80 mph or more. At that point, wind noise starts to be pretty noticeable. However, I'm not sure it isn't just because it is an SUV with big side mirrors (i.e. it is probably just noisy period).

Finally, the last (and most important, MO) variable is probably the roads you drive on. Grooved concrete is the WORST IMO for constant, wearing, road noise. Our old Chevy Volt was practically SILENT on fresh blacktop at freeway speeds (quieter than the aforementioned M5), BUT as soon as the road surface changed to grooved concrete, the story was reversed. Even though the M5 had much larger tires, it also had a ton of factory sound deadening, super thick carpet, better door seals, etc. The M5 became the quieter car.

So, in summary (sorry for the rambling stream of consciousness), quiet tires will probably equal quiet car in this case assuming no big wind noise issue (which I don't see folks complain about much around here)...
 
You can only fit roof rack if you have the Pano ... if that is important to you.

I have a portable Sirius/XM receiver with a lifetime subscription and with the pano roof and aluminium body, I couldn't get the magnetic antenna to stick to anything. So I put a bolt in the pano roof rack slot and it holds fine to the head of the bolt. I only use it when driving to and from my cabin where there's no cell coverage so it's only temporary but it works great for those times.
 
I have a portable Sirius/XM receiver with a lifetime subscription and with the pano roof and aluminium body, I couldn't get the magnetic antenna to stick to anything. So I put a bolt in the pano roof rack slot and it holds fine to the head of the bolt. I only use it when driving to and from my cabin where there's no cell coverage so it's only temporary but it works great for those times.
Nice creative fix to an all-aluminum car!
 
However the Tesla sunroof is amazing; it blocks out basically all heat from reaching you and makes the car feel so much more open!! We test drove a car without the sunroof as well and it just felt so much worse; basically enclosed, etc. It's the BEST VALUE option on a Model S and I wouldn't buy one without the pano.

+100. The sunroof in my MBZ SUV is not tinted, to my knowledge, and so I almost always have the cover pulled to keep out the bright sunshine. In the Tesla, it is tinted so well that I have not even contemplated buying the cover. I get no heat from it, but I did put PhotoSync on to reject heat when i tinted the windows just in case it gets too hot in summer.