Carbon fiber?
Thread Starter
6th Gear Member
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 5,736
From: MD/WV
RE: Carbon fiber?
ORIGINAL: Soaring
I've heard about some hoods, but not much else. I have also heard it is pretty brittle, but I don't have any experience with it to back that up.
I've heard about some hoods, but not much else. I have also heard it is pretty brittle, but I don't have any experience with it to back that up.
I ♥ Acer
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 17,565
From:
RE: Carbon fiber?
Yep Kevlar is used in bullet proof vests and in helmets. My son wan an MP in the Army for 9 years.
http://www.pacificbulletproof.com/pr...***/index.html
http://www.pacificbulletproof.com/pr...***/index.html
Thread Starter
6th Gear Member
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 5,736
From: MD/WV
RE: Carbon fiber?
One of my future dreams is to make an awesome sleeper.Mind you, this is years in the future, so it doesnt matter now, but weight is a huge factor. Things like our monte carlo bars and export brace could be made into tubular carbonfiber. They would bejust as strong, lighter, take less room(compared to stamped steel export brace) and not rust. Sway bars would be MUCH lighter.
These things are sitting in front of me, so I just thought of those first...
These things are sitting in front of me, so I just thought of those first...
4th Gear Member
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,018
From: SE Minnesota & SW WI & Bloomington, IL
RE: Carbon fiber?
Monte Carlo bars are pretty darn light as it is. My brother used carbon fiber control arms for his FSAE car in college and he said if they hit a cone or a rock flew up and hit them while racing on the track that they would snap in half.
5th Gear Member
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 3,566
From: Marquette Mi
RE: Carbon fiber?
True carbon fiber parts are hideously expensive due to the need to cure the part in an oven at a controlled temperature. It is what comprises a large amount of modern military aircraft.
The hoods you see on hondas and scions that are black with the weave pattern have not been heat cured, they are molded with a fiberglass resin. High end race teams can afford to have real carbon fiber body parts made, they are very light and incredibly strong. The ricer crowd wants the race look so they made parts that look like the real deal but are simply fiberglass resin impregnated black colored matting.
That stuff isnt big in the classic car world. Due mostly to the fact that most of them are not trying to be something they are not. Flashy stuff that does nothing just isnt in the budget for most people who own domestic vehicles built between 1950 and 1980. No need to look fast and furious. There just isnt a market for flashy BS and things to make your car "look" faster like there is with the Honda crowd. I still cant figure out why they like that buzzin weedeater noise that can be heard for miles.
How stong the black stuff is depends entirely on thickness and the composition of the resin, same with what it weighs.
The hoods you see on hondas and scions that are black with the weave pattern have not been heat cured, they are molded with a fiberglass resin. High end race teams can afford to have real carbon fiber body parts made, they are very light and incredibly strong. The ricer crowd wants the race look so they made parts that look like the real deal but are simply fiberglass resin impregnated black colored matting.
That stuff isnt big in the classic car world. Due mostly to the fact that most of them are not trying to be something they are not. Flashy stuff that does nothing just isnt in the budget for most people who own domestic vehicles built between 1950 and 1980. No need to look fast and furious. There just isnt a market for flashy BS and things to make your car "look" faster like there is with the Honda crowd. I still cant figure out why they like that buzzin weedeater noise that can be heard for miles.
How stong the black stuff is depends entirely on thickness and the composition of the resin, same with what it weighs.
Thread Starter
6th Gear Member
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 5,736
From: MD/WV
RE: Carbon fiber?
I didnt say anything about ricers or the fake carbon fiber look. I know my one buddy with a VW got a carbon fiber hood and it dropped the weight from nearly30 pounds to 4. I know a company makes carbonfiber driveshafts that are stronger than the aluminum ones and weigh less...