Im gona cut right to the chase... Fiberglass panels are made and sold, say a hood for 200 bux (these are just examples im not going to make everyone panels outta Cf or anything quite yet) just doing research...

Ok, say a hood will sell for 200 brand new, ready to paint...

As far as the producer of the panels are concerned, what kind of price diffrence would a hood made of Carbon Fiber or Kevlar sell for?

I know it depends on the buyer...

I know kevlar is stronger than fiberglass and CF is lighter, theres several views on pros and cons... But would it be much diffrence in product prices? (Kevlar and CF cloth cost more etc.)

If you have any expertice in this area, please post... "Kit" hopefullyt you'll be posting here I know you make hoods and decklids out of CF etc... What are the price diffrences ?

~Tim

------------------
:::: 87 Coupe- TR Fastback project well underway ::::

There are many more differences among the three materials than you listed, but I'll just answer your question.

Carbon and Kevlar fiber products (cloth, tapes, rovings, etc.) cost several times more than E-glass or S-glass, and they are substantially more difficult to work with, which also increases the cost of finished products.

Here are three web pages from Aircraft Spruce & Specialty for price comparison:

Fiberglass
Carbon Fiber
Kevlar

[This message has been edited by Marvin McInnis (edited 04-23-2005).]

A thread posted which is somewhat related (tech. > bodywork) that i've posted... Just doing some homework before i make commitments...

https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/062143.html

Carbon has the "I gotta have it" appeal. I would suggest that you go to a good bookstore and buy some info first. Kevlar has lots of advantages over carbon and if I remember correctly is a little lighter also. Carbon shatters if you take a hit where Kevlar holds together. S glass may be the best bet. Too bad S glass doesn't sound as sexy as Carbon. Carbon gives incredible stiffness vs weight unmatched by anything. It has it's uses for sure. Aircraft Spruce is a good place to start and will probably have books too. HP Books Fiberglass & Composite Material by Forbes Aird, got it at Barnes & Noble. Some of the books can be found on Ebay and will save you some $.

Do you want to make pieces CF only, or use it on the outside layer only (for looks)? A complete CF decklid will need a lot of it which makes it expensive...As for weight reduction I think if you really want to loose weight from the car there are better and cheaper ways...

quote Originally posted by Fie Ro: Do you want to make pieces CF only, or use it on the outside layer only (for looks)? A complete CF decklid will need a lot of it which makes it expensive...As for weight reduction I think if you really want to loose weight from the car there are better and cheaper ways...

If i did it to my car it wouldnt be for looks, just weight reduction as much as possible, fabricate as much out of aluminum for the whole car as i could... and slammin the biggest engine i could find in it (we're talking some like 10 years down the road)

but as far asthings I'd sell, I relize CF is probally the most costly to purchase opposed to fiberglass and kevlar. I wqas just kinda wondering where the advantages would be for the seller... would stuff made of nothing but CF to loose axcess weight, would they sell at high prices that almost require to be set high on accont of cosst of materials and such...

Kevlar is expensive too. A big difference in fabricating: with fiberglassing you can grab another piece if you need it, with a 'visible' CF hood you need to cover the whole area with a big sheet of CF at once...you need some skills to do that right the first time. Any mistake will be visible...!

quote Originally posted by Fie Ro: Kevlar is expensive too. A big difference in fabricating: with fiberglassing you can grab another piece if you need it, with a 'visible' CF hood you need to cover the whole area with a big sheet of CF at once...you need some skills to do that right the first time. Any mistake will be visible...!

yup...

Tim -

On further reflection ... If you don't have any experience with composites (and I infer from your questions that you don't), then you really should start with E-glass. Carbon fiber and Kevlar are appropriate only where the need for their special properties outweighs the higher material cost and substantially greater difficulty of fabrication.

Once you master fiberglass, you'll have plenty of time to begin exploring and experimenting with other materials.

- Marvin

[This message has been edited by Marvin McInnis (edited 04-23-2005).]