Does carbon fibre look cool

[waynne]

Carbon fibre is becomming very popular. It is now in more use as a cosmetic modification than it was intended. We know about the performance benefits of carbon fibre but do you think it is getting a bit Passe now? Does it only look good on certain cars?

[Prince]

It's used a little bit too much sometimes. Not every single car needs a carbon fibre bonnet. Granted that it looks good on some cars, but not every car!

[pgarner]

i think the people whove taken the time to get some things custom made such as driveshafts and even wheels looks good. even those who fit carbon panels but have them painted so there not so easily noticed looks good

[blacklineninja]

If it shaves a fraction of a second off the quarter mile time, then yes, it's very cool.

If it's on a 1.0 litre rustbucket at MacLard's car park, no it doesn't.

[waynne]

I think I would be the sort of person that fits it and then gets it painted. My wife and I noticed a Lexus LS200 with really shiny carbon fibre bonnet. She said "it looks nice but it's a shame he couldn't get a matching bonnet!"

When I took the time to explain that this bonnet cost the guy £100's of pounds and pointout out the weight and asthetic benefits she just said "well I still think it looks like he's had an accident and could get a matching bonnet!" Some people eh?

I quite agree that it can look daft on a 1.0 shopping car.

[Hansi]

it can look good when used right. This is kind of like the discussion that was about the chrome a few weeks ago and I say the same as I said then, when used right it can look great but done wrong it can look really, really bad.

The best looking are often the subtle changes like small panels here and there but a carbon fiber bonnet can look good on the right cars but is of course a matter of personal taste. In my opinion the subtle changes often look the best. For example eyebrows or mirrors in carbon fiber can look good and then it can allso look great when painted even though it might be tough to see it's carbon but they often make body panels out of carbon that you can't get in other "finishes".

When used to much it can look terrible

[jarrus]

I tend to think that chrme is from americans and carbon fibre is for Uk/europe...

thats what i think judging by the styling of cars over there and here....

[fingers]

Not really no. I can't see the point of fitting a panel and no painting it, you wouldnt leave a steel wing in primer would you? You wouldn't fit fibreglass without painting it either.

[TITAN]

i think carbon fibre looks gd on certain colours of car

for example i think it looks rlly gd on gloss white or gun metal grey cars but dnt see much point on having it on a metallic black car as its not rlly noticeable

i also agree wiv waynne's wife's view that on cars that maybe have never been sprayed and have for example just the sun worn factory colour then it does look tacky and look like just a replacement part for a car that hasnt been colour coded

[CROOKY]

Carbon fibre is expensive, I used this water pressure transfer film,it gives the exact same effect and professional finish. Take a look here..
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...MESE:IT&ih=008

[pgarner]

ive seen that stuff used before and it looks terrible after a while as it starts to peel and rub off. dont know what that stuff itself would be llike as it says about using laquer over the top of it.

worst ive seen is someone use it to cover a bonnet. it couldnt take the heat and melted in the middle. carbon effect bonnet with a big yellow patch in the middle very nice

[Prince]

But the point of carbon fibre is to reduce weight.

Welcome to the site by the way.

[CROOKY]

Originally Posted by pgarner

ive seen that stuff used before and it looks terrible after a while as it starts to peel and rub off. dont know what that stuff itself would be llike as it says about using laquer over the top of it.

worst ive seen is someone use it to cover a bonnet. it couldnt take the heat and melted in the middle. carbon effect bonnet with a big yellow patch in the middle very nice

Very true it will look bad after a while if you dont laquer it. This stuff is basically a base coat of paint and like all base coats you have to apply a top coat of laquer and the more laquer the better as for the bonnet this stuff is only 800mm wide and wont fit on most bonnets but for small dash parts, wing mirrors and other little things this stuff is perfect for the same look as carbon fibre.

[CROOKY]

Originally Posted by Prince

But the point of carbon fibre is to reduce weight.

Welcome to the site by the way.

Thanks!

Yes we all know the point of carbon fibre is to reduce weight and that its stronger than steel but it also looks nice and theres no real reason for having lighter and stronger dash parts. If we all had pro race cars none of them would have a dash! In most cases people just want the Carbon fibre look and arent worried about the weight!

[waynne]

The actual qualities of carbon fibre varies a lot. I've seen some really badly faded genuine carbon fibre. You can get a gel coat that paints on and restores the shine. It hardens in UV light.

[Escapethefate]

Well it is 15 times the strength of construction steel and 3 times the rigidity of Steel ....but is it much lighter????

Or do you have to spend $$$$ to convert ur entire car into carbon fibre to see benefits in weight reduction??

Ive also heard there are many different types of Carbon Fibre, like different qualities. All depends on how high the temperature is that its been cooked in. The higher the better i guess.


oh...And yes i believe it looks pretty cool. I def wouldn't mind a nice custom carbon fibre bonnet for my alfa, would look rather nice with the red.

[waynne]

There are different grades with some being softer than glass fibre and heavier than steel.

I think the plus is the combination of extra strength and lower weight but hey - it looks cool on the right car.

[Prince]

I think its cool to have it for the right reasons...its cool if you are trying to reduce weight and increase performance, but uncool if you are just going for a look. Like when somebody just puts a carbon fibre bonnet on a car with no performance. With most styling options, it looks good if done right.

[sion7790]

i'm all for carbon fibre panels, they can look pretty awesome, what i'm not a fan of is painting panels to look like carbon fibre. I saw a corsa the other day (ridiculous with carbon fibre anyway) that had its bonnet painted to look like carbon fibre. awful yet hilarious

[waynne]

That I would love to see! That is so ESTATE it is almost unreal!

[old-git]

Originally Posted by Escapethefate

Well it is 15 times the strength of construction steel and 3 times the rigidity of Steel ....but is it much lighter????

My carbon fibre boot weighs 1.05kg, as opposed to the original fibreglass one that weighed 6kg.

[waynne]

Wow - I didn't realise that FibreGlass was so heavy in comparison.

[old-git]

Originally Posted by waynne

Wow - I didn't realise that FibreGlass was so heavy in comparison.

Well, not quite. The edge area of the fibreglass boot is double skinned (hollow) in order to make it rigid. The CF version doesn't need that so there is less material to start with. Also, the CF boot is not QUITE so rigid as the original, but rigid enough for purpose.

[HDi fun]

No

[HDi fun]

But it's so very light. I owned a high modulus carbon fishing rod which was fourteen feet in length and weighed 6 ounces. The lightest glass fibre equivalent was about 28 ounces!