Carbon Fiber vs. Kevlar vs. Fiberglass

[nissanguy_24]

MR. Are you going to be carrying CF or those FRP parts? and what all are you interested in producing? I think there is a BIG market for aftermarket Silvia conversions. It cost so much to get Silvia front end pieces if you can make relatively cheap and lighter aftermarket pieces, either stock or with vents or whatnot i think you can make a killing.

[mranlet]

The first products off the line will be front bumpers for S13s in a few styles. I have all sorts of b!tchin ideas that haven't been done before (to my knowledge).

The vast majority of the parts will be formed in Fiberglass, not only for it's low cost and ease of forming but also because I think its the most practical materail for parts that are going to get abused. Carbon fiber may be in store for future endeavors, but for right now the cost is just too great.

Someone I know has a Silvia Conversion that I may be able to use as a template for one-piece (hood, bumper and fenders all one unit that lifts off to grant fulll access to the engine bay) or multi-piece bolt-on units.

Expect to see bumpers and hoods at first for primarily S13 and AE86, but later on the parts catalog will expand to include fenders, side skirts, trunks, rear valences/diffusers, hatches (FRP with Lexan windows), mirrors, battery boxes, headlight covers for flip-up models, as well as parts that nobody else makes for the difficult project cars and parts that you wouldn't think of replacing with lightweight pieces!

There's a possiblity that I might also be able to package kits to remove underbody and floorpan coatings...

All this is going to come together in the next few months, so stay tuned (website also coming soon!)

-MR

[nissanguy_24]

Keep me informed man, Im shooting for sub 2500 lbs when its all said and done with this S13, so we may have to do some talking once i get the engine in it.

[mranlet]

I sure will man - 2500lbs would be easy to achieve simply by removing other things, but lightweight parts would definately help!

-MR

[MrodDrft]

nah i was talking about the real stuff they got. Like coilovers and stuff

[MrodDrft]

Cressida body kits would b nice Conversions for the Cressida for JZX81 Chaser, Mark II and Cresta. Especially the fenders. FRP doors would b great too to reduce weight. TRunk and watever else

[Ghost]

I like your thinking

[abstrakt01]

mranlet, is the shop your opening in tampa? because i live in st.pete and i think it would be cool for me and my friends to sport home town kits that are just as good as some of the jdm kit makers. and how long untill you start producing them?

[180fan]

here's the lowdown on composite fabrics

best ---> worst
cost e glass s glass kevlar graphite ceramic
weight kevlar graphite s glass e glass cermaic
stiffness graphite kevlar s glass ceramic e glass
heat ceramic s glass e glass kevlar graphite
toughness kevlar s glass e glass ceramic graphite
impact resistance kevlar s glass e glass ceramic graphite

they're probably mixing kevlar in there to prevent chipping of the carbon parts since kevlar is the same stuff in bullet proof vests and can take impact like nobody's business. Kevlar's also lighter than carbon, just that it's 40% less stiff than carbon. If you've had a rock hit your carbon hood then you'd know that if it hits hard enough it'll crack/chip the carbon. All the composites are flexible fabrics when dry, when you wet them with different polyester resins, they get hard.

importfan has alot of stuff, but their fitment in general's pretty bad. you'll spend a bundle getting them to fit properly, although i've heard pretty good things about their new carbon hatch for the s13's. For those looking for JDM stuff, check out chargespeed's website.

[Ghost]

ah see...lots of good information...thats why i love this site

[AtroXR7]

Nascar bodies are made of a carbon/kevlar composite. the problem with carbon only compisites is that thay explode when damaged... not like a bomb, but they shatter. Kevlar(Aramid fiber is the proper name) is flexible when it brakes, so when you see a nascar crash and you see the body pieces flapping in the wind, you can rest assure there is kevlar in the mix.

now to compare glass, carbon and kevlar fiber composites... its all give and take. Glass has a lower tensile strength than steal, so what every you do in fiberglass, you're making it weaker in order to make it lighter. But on the good side... for thinks like hoods and interior panals, it shouldnt have to be that strong... and its cheap. Kevlar doesnt have a the high strength like carbon, but it has an amazing resistance to abbraision. (dont try to sand down kevlar, its pointless) but that in itself can be a great quality. Thats why they use kevlar to make kayaks, they resist rock scraping very well. Rather expensive too. Carbon has extreamely high tensile strength and can be thinner, tougher, and lighter that steal. But on the bad side, cloth is very expensive and if you do surpass its strength, it doesnt break gracefully.

Composites are extreamely sensitive to mixutes tho. A properly mixture of resin can make fiberglass much much stronger than one with too much resin. Plus heat factors... it goes on and on if you want to research it.

[GRiDRaceTech]

All this show carbon fiber makes me sick. Little to no weight difference when compared with fiberglass. "Dry" carbon fiber is where the weight loss is at, but it's mega-expensive. The same with carbon-kevlar weaves.

In reality, the fiberglass parts you can find (hoods, trunklids) are most likely as light as the comparable carbon pieces, but marginally less durable and about half as expensive. I usually like to extol the virtues of fiberglass, as it is much easier to make yourself. Also, if properly made, it can be very strong. (Racing seats that are FIA-approved, anyone?) Oh, and like MR said, it's highly repairable.

So... most carbon fiber body parts equate to bling, not weight loss. Might as well save that money, buy a fiberglass bodykit, and have the shell seam-welded.

[AtroXR7]

carbon does have areas its very usefull for tho, such as door panals, some vehicles have very heavy doors and the thought of using fiberglass is kind of scary. But i guess it would be an easy place to conceal loads of sandwich material to pickup the need strength.

[nissanguy_24]

I am still waiting for the Full Light weight (any material!) S13 oem body parts.. Silvia parts would be great.. Fenders hood, rear quarter panels, lets see.. also plexy glass rear quarter windows (whatever there called) rear bumper too, trunk..

You know, looks pretty stock but the whole thing is alot lighter.. i would shell out for that easy.

[Ghost]

yeah, I'm about to get this ae86 sr5 hb and I wanted to get some j-blood stuff for it...does anyone have a good link?