Just a thought I had today. I've seen alot of fiberglass stuff, but no carbon fiber aside from that imitation stuff. I know carbon fiber is expensive, but for a gearhead who's obsessed with shedding pounds off their ride, it's a must. Does anyone currently offer carbon fiber parts?? By that, I mean like mirrors, hoods, decklids, body kits and such. If not, then would anyone be interested if they became available?

The only reason to install a carbon fiber mirror is to 'impress' weak minded gear heads.

quote Originally posted by phonedawgz: The only reason to install a carbon fiber mirror is to 'impress' weak minded gear heads.

Really? So I suppose the plastic Z car mirrors I plan to run on the solo car is weak minded, too?
I can make some really lightweight fiberglass pieces if anyone wants them. Instead of my usual 3 layers of 1 1/2 oz. mat, I do one layer of mat & one layer of very fine woven. Makes a very thin strong part. Not planning to make mirrors, but the hoods & decklids I'm working on (as well as other parts) can be made that way.
http://angelonearth.net/customfiberglass.html
http://angelonearth.net/DV.html
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

A health dump saves more weight than a carbon fiber mirror does.

There would be some people interested in Fiero carbon fiber parts. I would certainly be interested in a drop-in hood replacement that uses 300ZX headlights. Also, most of our dashes are cracked and falling apart. I am sure that a lot of people would be very interested in a drop-in dash replacement.

A word of warning though. A lot of people in the Fiero community are cheap low-ballers. If you offer a dash kit for $600 (a real bargain) then there will be people who say it is overpriced.

quote Originally posted by Doug85GT: A word of warning though. A lot of people in the Fiero community are cheap low-ballers. If you offer a dash kit for $600 (a real bargain) then there will be people who say it is overpriced.

What do you mean by dash kit here? $600 for a full dash made out of CF is insanely cheap. The JC Works CF dash kit (couple of trim rings, and snap-in panels) for the new Mini Cooper, is over $1200, and there isn't much to it.

quote Originally posted by dobey: What do you mean by dash kit here? $600 for a full dash made out of CF is insanely cheap. The JC Works CF dash kit (couple of trim rings, and snap-in panels) for the new Mini Cooper, is over $1200, and there isn't much to it.

I know how much real carbon dash kits go for. On my other car I have a CF drive shaft and hood.

My point is that this forum has a lot of low-ballers on it and to not listen to the low-ballers.

quote Originally posted by Doug85GT: I know how much real carbon dash kits go for. On my other car I have a CF drive shaft and hood. My point is that this forum has a lot of low-ballers on it and to not listen to the low-ballers.

Yes, sure. I'm just wondering what you mean by dash kit. Do you mean a full dash frame? A clip cover for the dash? Or just the gauge/stereo surrounds? If the last one, $600 could be high, for a Fiero. I was just thinking about how I would actually make the surrounds, and how much materials/time would cost for it, and I could probably come up with some good quality ones for about $300, and some insanely good quality ones for $600+.

quote Originally posted by dobey: Yes, sure. I'm just wondering what you mean by dash kit. Do you mean a full dash frame? A clip cover for the dash? Or just the gauge/stereo surrounds? If the last one, $600 could be high, for a Fiero. I was just thinking about how I would actually make the surrounds, and how much materials/time would cost for it, and I could probably come up with some good quality ones for about $300, and some insanely good quality ones for $600+.

There is more need for the full dash frame. The urethane on most people's dash, including two of mine, are brittle and cracking. The plastic around the gage clusters does not break that often and when it does, it is easy to replace.

A full dash frame would certainly be worth paying $1200 for. I would buy one for that price.

quote Originally posted by Doug85GT: There is more need for the full dash frame. The urethane on most people's dash, including two of mine, are brittle and cracking. The plastic around the gage clusters does not break that often and when it does, it is easy to replace. A full dash frame would certainly be worth paying $1200 for. I would buy one for that price.

Ah, ok. Yeah, $600 would be an insanely low price for a full dash frame/body. Even $1200 would probably be quite low. Especially if it's going to be a bolt-in and go kind of thing. It's hard to compare to current custom fiberglass dash offerings though, since they all seem to come as a kit with door panels, center console, and ecm cover too. And they all seem to need lots of work to be usable.

quote Originally posted by retroman: Just a thought I had today. I've seen alot of fiberglass stuff, but no carbon fiber aside from that imitation stuff. I know carbon fiber is expensive, but for a gearhead who's obsessed with shedding pounds off their ride, it's a must. Does anyone currently offer carbon fiber parts?? By that, I mean like mirrors, hoods, decklids, body kits and such. If not, then would anyone be interested if they became available?

I work with carbon fiber all the time and have made parts for some of the members on here. If you are serious about a true carbon fiber hood or decklid, not just a stock hood with a layer of carbon fiber on the top of it, the cost of actually making a full carbon fiber hood with the proper reinforcements and latches and factor the freight charges to ship it, it really would not be affordable to the Fiero community. There are people on here who have great jobs and could afford the cost but unless there was a true demand for these, I could not justify the time in making them. As far as mirrors, you can buy carbon fiber racing mirrors from several race car websites but again, they are not cheap.

I never said it was cheap, but I know that most Fiero owners aren't wealthy. If we were, we'd probably have at least one Ferrari in the garage by now. But I've also seen alot of owners plump down a good chunk of change on their Fieros too. Everything aside, how many of us are guilty of putting 9-10 grand into the engine??? I know I've put a chunk of change into a motor before just to prep it for supercharging, and SCs aren't exactly cheap either. And I also know a few who have spent 3-4 grand on a non-carbon fiber body kit. Sometimes, you never know until you try.

Its not so much that Fiero owners are cheap, rather Fiero's in general are still quite inexpensive and do not have a 5-figure sale price. Its hard to justify spending $500, $1000 or $1500 on a single part when "most" Fiero's are only worth $2-$3000... To make and sell a product, you have to have something that 65-75% of Fiero owners need/want. Its hard to make money if your catering to the top 10% of Fiero owners who can pony up 1/3 - 1/2 of what the car is worth for a single part...

Making 3 or 4 of one part can be quite expensive. When your making 300 - 400 of a part it can be made/sold more cost effectivly because your initial start-up and investment is devided amungst a larger qty...

Just my .02

quote Originally posted by retroman: I never said it was cheap, but I know that most Fiero owners aren't wealthy. If we were, we'd probably have at least one Ferrari in the garage by now. But I've also seen alot of owners plump down a good chunk of change on their Fieros too. Everything aside, how many of us are guilty of putting 9-10 grand into the engine??? I know I've put a chunk of change into a motor before just to prep it for supercharging, and SCs aren't exactly cheap either. And I also know a few who have spent 3-4 grand on a non-carbon fiber body kit. Sometimes, you never know until you try.

Problem is nobody wants to lose money on it. If you make something and sell it cheap enough, you might too many orders to keep up with. And if you price it too high, and make some for stock, you may never sell them. Several people who are still, or who used to be, on this forum, have hit both sides of that coin before; with several different types of parts. Problem is that for most of us, it's too much of a risk to try and invest in it, as it would be a spare time thing. And the market is way too small for any bank to invest in a business centered around it. It might be easier to try and get some of the companies already making CF parts for more common cars, to pull a mold and sell you a part.