Hi all,
I’ve heard that it is possible to get hold of full sets of carbon fibre bodywork for comparatively sensible prices (3-4k). Anyone know the lowdown on this? It seems unfeasibly cheap to me.
TIA
-= mike =-
There is a Chinese company selling out of Hong Kong, to a German reseller!!
The parts are mostly S1 Elise sizes (bonnet, doors and possibly sills will fit the Exige).
Prices are 10k Euros for full carbon and 7K Euros for carbon top layer and carbon/kevlar lower layer.
From pics quality looks very good, but will be getting a German mate to check out quality/sizes before buying!
Same company may well do Exige stuff.
Motorsport clams (same as Exige AFAIK) are made in Germany by Red Motorsport, not sure on price. Lotus will also make them for you, as they will in Elise sizes. but at a high price (~2.5k+vat per clam).
There is a Chinese company selling out of Hong Kong, to a German reseller!!
There was a guy posting on the 340R board about this - not sure I may have my wires crossed but I thought he was based in Hong Kong, had a 340R and had just bought a carbon fibre factory in China…
Bell and Colvill are selling this for nearly 10k.
Bell and Colvill are selling > this > for nearly 10k.
And it looks like thats without the Motorsport engine cover!
It is a very sexy material though, remember seeing a saleen just finished in carbon fibre and lacquer - if I had carbon fibre then I would not paint it.
Mark Waldron with support from Horizon Motorsport races a carbon Elise with a 1.4 turbo engine.
It’s in pieces at Horizon at the moment but I believe he’ll be getting back together for 2006.
i’ve had my entire car done in carbon locally (including doors). guy here still has moulds as i recently just replaced rear clam after a bingle. they are motorsport NOT exige panels and differ mainly with respect to rear clam having 3/4 panels for easier removal. cost me about $17000AUD 2 years ago and saved a LOT of weight. can look into it if anyone’s interested. drop me an email.
Thanks everybody for the informative replies. Sounds like this �3-4k idea is out the window unless it’s a case of getting lucky with some used ones. I’d seen the B&C and Lotus options, the price on the former being hair-raising (and I was simply assuming it would be on the latter too) plus I notice you don’t even get the doors for that money. Sounds like I’ll be staying with the fibreglass bits for the foreseeable future then!
Cheers,
-= mike =-
It is a very sexy material though, remember seeing a saleen just finished in carbon fibre and lacquer - if I had carbon fibre then I would not paint it.
Hi Steve,
Isn’t there a problem with unpainted carbon going yellowish under exposure to daylight? I remember this being a problem with certain Subaru spoilers although maybe it’s just a matter of using the right coating to protect it.
-= mike =-
to be honest I know very little about carbon fibre and how best to look after it. Could the yellowing have been the lacquer rather than the carbon fibre itself?
It is a very sexy material though, remember seeing a saleen just finished in carbon fibre and lacquer - if I had carbon fibre then I would not paint it.
Hi Steve,
Isn’t there a problem with unpainted carbon going yellowish under exposure to daylight? I remember this being a problem with certain Subaru spoilers although maybe it’s just a matter of using the right coating to protect it.
-= mike =-
It definitely should not yellow, Kevlar goes brown after exposure to sun, also depends on curing process and make up of the layers under the carbon.
We are busy repairing a S1 this week after a small track incident, whereafter we will be making up moulds of the body, which are more than likely going to be 3 piece. As soon as i have time frame and details once we have done the costing I will post the details.
Problem with having unpainted carbon bodywork is it becomes difficult to repair without noticing. For track work I would recommend and will be going for woven glass, lighter than std but easier to repair. Only the roof rear cover and bonnet will be carbon, they don’t break that often.
Drop me a PM if anybody would like some more info.
It definitely SHOULD yellow if unpainted/lacquered. Epoxy (the resin) chemistry cannot resist UV very well and the resin will yellow. UV blockers in the lacquer will slow this down, but not stop it (unless you use one very specific German brand).
It definitely SHOULD yellow if unpainted/lacquered. Epoxy (the resin) chemistry cannot resist UV very well and the resin will yellow. UV blockers in the lacquer will slow this down, but not stop it (unless you use one very specific German brand).
Interesting, whats the brand name? My car is kept in a dark garage most of the time, but i’d rather it didn’t go yellow when out and in the midday sun
It definitely SHOULD yellow if unpainted/lacquered. Epoxy (the resin) chemistry cannot resist UV very well and the resin will yellow. UV blockers in the lacquer will slow this down, but not stop it (unless you use one very specific German brand).
Remember seeing a second hand Esprit Sport 350 at a dealer’s once and thinking how unnattractive the rear spoiler was compared to the rest of the car. It looked like it was covered in urine.
Of course it might just have been used in yet another tuner pissing contest!