I am working right now on a sponsorship with a company that is going to make true dry carbon parts for the 350z. I'm going to work with them to bring true race quality parts to us rather than the cheap stuff that we have been seeing from Seibon, VIS, etc.

For example, they currently manufacture a 5 Series bimmer hood that weighs in at 8 lbs! That is just ridiculous.

This old thread really urged me to move forward with this project since I was shocked on how many people did not know the differences among "carbon fiber" products that were made for our vehicles.

https://my350z.com/forum/exterior-and-interior/156831-cf-hood-differences.html

My question to the Z community is, how many of you are willing to pay a bit more for a quality part that is race-bred and will actually save weight and keep structural strength?

I know that some people were/are misinformed about the truth behind CF products and I personally would pay for a quality product as long as I see it as being worth it. I think the Z community has owners that are more willing to pay for a quality product when they see it similar to why we purchase quality wheels such as Work, Volk, HRE, etc instead of the crappy 1200 rims at the local rim store.

 

Exactamundo. Couldn't have said it better myself. Though I am curious to see crash tests first...

 

Sam, you can punch my headlights at the next show to see how strong they are So you really want to see crash tests on CF hoods and hatches? You're kidding me right?

 

I'm definitely willing to pay more to get true dry carbon parts that actually weigh less than the stock components (unlike most of the stuff out there). But I'm not willing to pay $3k for an Amuse dry carbon hood, and $7k for dry carbon doors. If the company you're working with can deliver a high-quality product for around half the price, you have my business.

 

Yes, with true dry carbon parts you won't see an OEM style dry carbon hood weighing in at 24-29 lbs like the Seibon stuff. From the talks so far, we should be able to meet your goals if not exceed them Once this project is full up and running and in its final stages I can release the company's information, which I am sure you will be happy with. They work really closely with one of our most favorite vendors on this site

I also appreciate the awesome post as I think this topic is open for good discussion

 

I am curious as to what your definition of 'pay a bit more for quality' is.

I would like to have a quality product (personally I am desperately looking for an interior) but the price quotes I have seen so far are outrageous. $4k for a door, $3 k for a hood, and over $4k for some interior replacements.

I love quality work, but for right now, that is out of my price range.

--B

 

I'm down for it! Thats awsome if you can get that kinda hookup. I presonally have never like any of the wet carbon parts you see from most of these vendors. The weave always looks... Well.... Sh!tty. like its floating in epoxy resin. You figure that you buy a car for $30,000 to almost $40,000 and put parts on that wont hold up on the streets, let alone the track make no sense at all to me.
Hey... I'd also suggest that when or if JP ever start to sell that awsome prototype front bumper your sporting now.... Please suggest Urethane. It'll be worth paying a little extra for I think not to have to pay for fixing cracked fiberglass later.

 

I am in!!!! Of course, if I am only saving a few pounds more than Seibon or VIS or even stock, than the price is going to have to be right around those comapny's prices as well. Unless of course, they want to sponsor two gutted track Zs...

 

From my talks so far, it should not be that high. However, igf people are paying from $500 to $1700 for non-dry carbon hoods.... I would pay 2K for a dry carbon hood in a heartbeat

 

I agree! I love the look of dry carbon. I feel like tearing in my eyes every time I look at the weave on quality CF parts. I love your sense of quality. It always baffles my mind when people purchase crappy products and throw them on a Z. The Z is not the best car out there, but it is definitely not a 2-3K Civic EF either.

About the Jp prototype...it should be here in March or April if not sooner. I am not sure if they are going to make fiberglass or polyurethane. I personally don't like urethane since paint wrinkles and is a ***** to fix

 

It will definitely not even be close to the oem hood or the VIS (Seibon). The 5 series hood they make is 8 lbs, so you can see the difference. OEM hood weighs in at 24lbs I believe on our cars.

 

It all depends on the price though. I would not pay 2k for a hood even if it weighed 8 ounces. At least not right now. Thats too much for a hood IMO. So maybe I am not down for dry CF parts lol...

 

yeah you know how everything is JDM blah blah blah honestly performance over go all the way... ive just been hesitating on that warranty also since mines is daily.. but yeah i agree with rick, quality is better you pay for what u get whether its JDM or what not, good **** is good ****... you can settle for less but dont expect to get much out of something that is half assed..

 

That is where I think the line is drawn between people that want to extract every pound out of our cars versus those that are happy with settling. "Spitters are quitters!" I see your point however as I would not pay for example 6 k for doors

 

I mean I may pay for that eventually, after everything else on my car is done and I have nowhere else to go but to start shedding those extra few pounds. I am not going to rush out today though and drop 2k on a hood. I will try like hell to get a sponsorship before I do that though lol.

 

Thank you for the complement. I can see your point regarding the fiber vs. poly but what about combo of the two like c-west. That might be good to right?

 

 

Man, you are a GOD! I was thinking about the Cwest stuff as I was replying to your post. Unfortunately, I don't think JP has that type of mix

 

Here is a perfect example of what a lightweight car can do with a stock motor. Gave Signal Auto's skyline a good run for it's money!

http://www.c-westusa.com/labs/s2000_time.asp

 

with the prices for pre-preg CF nowadays... aiya..... good luck finding a market ... if you're talking $2k for a hood? no way.

$3k-$5k for a hood mold, three layers of pre-preg CF @ close to $50/sq yard, + honeycomb support, with a hood being 1.5ydsx1.625yds not including the undersupport u'd need to use.. basically round up to approximately 2.5 yd x 2.5yd and you'd have to cut down to get it out of the mold..

$312.5 each layer x 3 layers = $937.5

+ $ for honey comb + $ for labor for someone to lay it down + $ vacuum bag or $ for oven usage.. i'd estimate each hood approximately $1200-1500 each @ cost!!

pre-preg weight for a hood? probably 5 pounds. stock weight 11 pounds. that's $200/lb saved.

if you did a whole dry CF car, then wow. you'd probably be able to afford another Z.

imho unless you're in some serious SCCA competition and no race budget.. go for it.. for the majority of the ppl on this forum, they wont appreciate the effort. and they'll be like.. why isn't it glossy?