Carbon Fiber project?

Post by **FriendshipRacing** » Mon Jul 28, 2003 7:40 am

I am thinking about using as much carbon fiber parts on my car as possible for looks and weight reduction. What is everyones opinion on this idea. The body will have carbon fiber doors, hood, hatch, fenders, and maybe add a carbon fiber body kit. Let me know everyones opinion's on this idea.

Website · Post by **TurboKA37** » Mon Jul 28, 2003 7:40 am

sounds cool, but there are alota ani-anythingexceptenginemods people in here that may disagree.

Post by **FriendshipRacing** » Mon Jul 28, 2003 7:40 am

I am going mostly for a race car set up, so I am trying to make the car as light as possible, with as much power and handling as possible...this is just my idea not everyone will like it I am sure. and thanks for your reply

Post by **jacob360** » Mon Jul 28, 2003 7:40 am

You should replace all your glass with Lexan.

Post by **FriendshipRacing** » Mon Jul 28, 2003 7:40 am

That is a good idea, I will most likely do that also

Post by **MainEvent212** » Mon Jul 28, 2003 7:40 am

i like carbonfiber personally, have you ever seen that entirely carbonfiber R-34? looks sweet imo...if you can do somethin like front bumper, side skirts, rear bumper w/ carbonfiber..

then hood and trunk...that'd look sweet...and take out your sunroof if you have one and replace it w/ a carbonfiber insert...

Post by **Radian** » Mon Jul 28, 2003 7:40 am

Is there a company that makes CF parts for the 240sx like that? Doors?That'd be very cool though, not many people are going to say makeing a race car as light as possible is a bad idea.

Is it possible to make your own CF parts? Maybe lay the sheets like fiberglass, or is that just not possible?Hmmm....

Post by **FriendshipRacing** » Mon Jul 28, 2003 7:40 am

Yeah that R-34 is sweet, I have a hatchback, but so far I have found the hood, doors, and the body kit (bumpers and sideskirts) and my friend said he found a hatch, so all I need is the fenders.

Post by **yeswepromise** » Mon Jul 28, 2003 7:40 am

^^^its the Option r34. they built it up from a r34 shell.anyways...is this going to be a pure track car or are yu gonna street drive it as well? hope that youdont get in any type of accident if you street drive it.

Post by **FriendshipRacing** » Mon Jul 28, 2003 7:40 am

There is a company called HPI that just came out with the doors for the 240sx. http://www.hpi.co.jp/eng-newparts.html

Post by **FriendshipRacing** » Mon Jul 28, 2003 7:40 am

the only street driving I might use it for is to a local show or around the block on occasion, otherwise it is going to be for track.

Post by **jacob360** » Mon Jul 28, 2003 7:40 am

I swear I remember seeing carbon fiber fenders somewhere. I think Jspec.com might have had some a while back.

Post by **MainEvent212** » Mon Jul 28, 2003 7:40 am

they're like z3 fenders tho...:-\ if you could patch up the hole it'd be nice tho

Post by **Fawaz** » Mon Jul 28, 2003 7:40 am

I'm in the process of doing that to my 240 already. I am working on a carbon fiber 1pc front end for it at the moment, as well as a carbon fiber belly pan and rear diffuser. the rest of the body will be the same except in carbon fiber. Im not sure about your experience with carbon fiber but if its anything less than extensive then be prepared for a lot of heartache. These are not as easy to produce correctly as some might think becasue of the properties of carbon fiber, you have to design certain things into the panels so that they are durable. Be wary of shops that sell pieces and ask them if they have been vacum bagged, etc. I've seen some operations and frankly its quite scary. They treat CF like grey fiberglass cloth, and dont use any of the correct procedures in producing the parts. Also make sure that there is no fiberglass backing hte carbon fiber. If that is the case then chances are that the "Carbon Fiber" panels you bought are heavier and weaker than a much cheaper properly hand laid fiberglass piece would be. What a lot of shops do when they produce carbon fiber pieces is use a thin layer of carbon fiber as a "veil" then put tons of chopper gun fiberglass (weakest, heaviest, cheapest form of fiberglass) or chopped strand mat (almost as bad as chpper fg) to reinforce the veil. Make sure the pieces that you buy are all carbon fiber if you are doing this to save weight, anything else is going to be much heavier than much cheaper fiberglass and possibly your steel panels, and will not give you your desired results. If you want I can sell you some of the panels off of the molds I made for my car, but you will have to be patient as my project is not done yet. If you have any questions about your project that I might be able to help you with please feel free to e-mail me at [email protected] . Good luck with your project.

If you plan on switching all your glass to lexan make sure its marr resistant lexan. Anything else will scratch up so much that in a few months its will be impossible to see out of. I also work with lexan and trust me on this one. Even washing lexan can cause horrible scratches in he finish (dont even think about windshield wipers), that is why some lexan that is used on widows is opaque and not clear anymore, its because it isn't mar resistant.

Hope this helped

Post by **FriendshipRacing** » Mon Jul 28, 2003 7:40 am

Thanks for your advice, you had alot of good points to consider and I will deffinetly be emailing you about working out something on getting you to produce the panels you can for me.

Post by **180fan** » Mon Jul 28, 2003 7:40 am

The doors are super expensive...about 1k for them alone plus shipping from japan...*shivers* Dunno if anyone'll do a carbon hatch though, since it seems like a pretty big project. Simple enough to mold and build from the look of it, but still going to be a pain in the butt because of its size. Also another thing to remember about carbon, it can chip when getting hit by a rock on the freeway.

Post by **FriendshipRacing** » Mon Jul 28, 2003 7:40 am

Yeah I was expecting for it to chip or possibly shatter if hit by a rock that is why I am pulling the car off the road. the doors are expensive but quality is never cheap. I know they make carbon fiber hatches for the RX-7 and I have heard that they make them for the 240 just got to find them.

Post by **yeswepromise** » Mon Jul 28, 2003 7:40 am

i know they have FRP hatches.

Post by **FriendshipRacing** » Mon Jul 28, 2003 7:40 am

who sells those? I will check them out too.

Post by **Tweaky_Tom** » Mon Jul 28, 2003 7:40 am

You could take the bags of rice out of the back seet? JK, just remember, Power to weight ratio is important but you'll find out that Cost to Benefit is MUCH MUCH MORE IMPORTANT! I'd rather be turboed and stock body that stock and carbon fibered, but that's just me.

Post by **GatorS14** » Mon Jul 28, 2003 7:40 am

hpi makes s15 doors do they make s13 & s14?

post links to carbon fiber body parts!!!!!

Carbon Fiber project?

Carbon Fiber project?

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