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carbon-fiber vs fiberglass vs metal


vega

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So as it states in the title. im starting to restore the 280z i have at least the body work, and i have been finding so carbon parts metal parts and fiberglass parts. im trying to find the weight saving advantages here.

 

has anyone switch to the fiberglass hood? how much lighter than the metal is it?

 

has anyone switch to the carbon-fiber hood? how much lighter than the metal or the fiberglass is it?

 

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does anyone make fiberglass front fenders at all? or carbon fiber? or doors?

 

i did find a rear hatch on race on made of carbon-fiber.

 

just for some reference check out raceonusa.com for some carbon parts.

 

im NOT stripping the car though i would like to get the body as light as possible. for the lack of making carbon parts myself i would like to find as many available pre-made parts.

 

any help would be awsome.

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Normally I keep my mouth shut...

 

Right now BetaMotorsports (me) is only vendor making real carbon fiber hoods and hatches for the S30 and hoods for the S130. Raceon and other vendors sell a fiberglass hood with a layer of carbon fiber on top.

 

A BetaMotorsports carbon fiber hood for the S30 weighs 5 to 6 lbs. Our fiberglass hood weighs 12 to 15 lbs. A typical fake carbon fiber hood weighs more then our fiberglass hood.

 

We also sell a real carbon fiber rear hatch skin that comes in under 3lbs while a full carbon fiber hatch weighs around 5 lbs. Our fiberglass rear hatch weighs 12 to 15 lbs.

 

You can save 85 lbs over the stock steel parts by installing a real carbon fiber hood and hatch.

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btw have you considered doing other carbon parts? fenders, cowl, doors, dash, etc?

 

Yes but the market for those items is too small to justify the cost of the tooling. CF dash makers have come and gone. RaceOn does make a fiberglass cowl with a layer of CF on it. Doors would be tough because its hard to find an original, undamaged/repaired door.

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Carbon fiber does not turn yellow and chip. Do you guys just make this stuff up? The crappy clear coat put on most bling bling fake CF parts turns yellow and chips off. And yes, carbon fiber body parts are often primed and painted - look at any of Formula 1 race cars.

 

EDIT: Also, if a polyester resin is used to make the carbon fiber part the resin itself will yellow and crack when exposed to ultraviolet light. Polyester resin is used for fiberglass parts. Epoxy resin is used for carbon fiber parts but some cheap composite shops use polyester when they work with carbon fiber.

Edited by johnc
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I've never used polyester resins when doing FG, West Systems epoxy is my "Go To" when I need to fix something up... I need a new set too, the old rowboat is starting to fall apart and I need to fix it back up so I can go fishing again. The only time I would use poly resin is when it is on a part that needs to flex. Epoxy and glass mat is far stiffer structurally when cured.

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as johnc states of course you can paint it. as far as a dash goes anyway i was considering covering it in leather as well as reupholster the seats in the leather as well. btw does anybody make a kit for seat upholstery to change to leather at all? i did nto see it in Victoria British at all.

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as johnc states of course you can paint it. as far as a dash goes anyway i was considering covering it in leather as well as reupholster the seats in the leather as well. btw does anybody make a kit for seat upholstery to change to leather at all? i did nto see it in Victoria British at all.

http://www.thezstore.com/store/merchant.mvc?

Search seat upholstery, they have it in leather there.

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Also, if a polyester resin is used to make the carbon fiber part the resin itself will yellow and crack when exposed to ultraviolet light. Polyester resin is used for fiberglass parts. Epoxy resin is used for carbon fiber parts but some cheap composite shops use polyester when they work with carbon fiber.

 

Thanks for the clarification, John. The reason I mentioned this was because I was interested in buying a CF hood awhile back and the products that I had seen used a polyester resin. So they didn't do to well in the sun. As long as your product doesn't use this then I'm all for it. By, paint over it, I should have asked If it were possible to paint over the CF as is or would I have to remove the clear coat? Oh, and for the record I didn't make it up as you can see.

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Guest Gr8White

John Washington @ Reaction Research makes the mildly flared Subtle Z front fender for wider wheels, dunno about a stock fender. I have his Subtle Z hood and I can say it's very good quality, the fit is excellent as are all of his parts. I'm not sure how much the hood weighs however, I'm sure John could tell you.

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Guest Gr8White
Normally I keep my mouth shut...

 

Right now BetaMotorsports (me) is only vendor making real carbon fiber hoods and hatches for the S30

You can save 85 lbs over the stock steel parts by installing a real carbon fiber hood and hatch.

 

 

Oh man, I just checked out your carbon fiber hatch on your website...VERY nice. I didn't know anyone was making these. How much does your carbon fiber hatch weigh vs. the stock hatch? Not a bad price either.

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Oh man, I just checked out your carbon fiber hatch on your website...VERY nice. I didn't know anyone was making these. How much does your carbon fiber hatch weigh vs. the stock hatch? Not a bad price either.
It's listed on his site:

 

http://www.betamotorsports.com/products/products.php?cat=4

An early 1970 240Z OEM rear hatch weighs 47 lbs including the glass' date=' latching mechanism, hinges, and one support strut. A similarly equipped late 1972 240Z OEM rear hatch weighs 49 lbs.

 

The carbon fiber rear hatch, by itself, weighs 5 lbs. The hatch is two parts for strength and includes a foam core. It is shipped primed for paint and the pin and OEM mounting points are reinforced.

 

We can also make just the outer hatch skin using two layers of carbon fiber and Nomex core reinfoircements. That part weighs 2 lbs. 3 oz. and will accept a polycarbonate rear window either bonded or fastened in place.

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Normally I keep my mouth shut...

....

We also sell a real carbon fiber rear hatch skin that comes in under 3lbs while a full carbon fiber hatch weighs around 5 lbs. Our fiberglass rear hatch weighs 12 to 15 lbs.

....

 

^ to the above question of hatch weights in case the full and original post wasn't read or edited at some point.

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