Full Carbon Fiber Body

[Juice Lucas]

Well if one was to have a form following function mindset I don't think they'd care much for the "shiny" carbon fiber... but it's yet to be done like that on a production car outside of the Zonda R (Dry CF). Zonda F has the shiny stuff .

 

[Dusty]

We all get sucked into the vortex of carbon composite "awe." Showing the natural weave with a clearcoat looks dead sexy, and it does weigh somewhat less. About 20-30% per same density. But we're talking a body shell that in fiberglass form can already be lifted by 1-2 people. Much like working with Titanium, carbon/kevlar is more expensive to produce than E or S glass.

Be warned there are companies out there selling you myths about Carbon Fiber parts being some 70%+ lighter. Ones that claim going from a regular Corvette shell to carbon will save crazy amounts of weight. It won't, just bragging rights mostly. The old C4 vettes could shave 55lbs by using a Carbon hood, but heck the hood was almost 1/2 the body area.

My two wooden pennies or nickels.

 

[Paul Osborn]

Would CF rotors be worth the cost, as they cut unsprung weight fairly distant from the polar moment?

 

[Juice Lucas]

Would CF rotors be worth the cost, as they cut unsprung weight fairly distant from the polar moment?

Simply put... No... carbon composite brakes are $15k if you can run across a used set of ZR1s. They're significantly more expensive new apparently. I'd get a set of carbon fiber wheels and save an est. $8k and put that towards the motor. Just my $.02. I may be wrong and someone more experienced can correct me.

 

[David Morton]

CF rotors are brilliant. If you go everywhere at 200 mph. If you hit the brakes
in the last 75 metres enduring a 6g+ retardation. You become the most dangerous car on the road as you are driving something with no brakes at all. Lets pretend you never mentioned it.

 

[Les]

Would CF rotors be worth the cost, as they cut unsprung weight fairly distant from the polar moment?

Mr. Osborne:

It's a good idea that you have, to reduce unsprung weight.

Unfortunately, you may have confused the lightweight structural material carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) with the lightweight brake construction material: carbon ceramic material (CCM).

CFRP is generally used in either the car's body or frame (or both), while carbon ceramic material (CCM) is used just for brakes (from what I know). CFRP is very different from CCM.

Brembo has a nice presentation about the Corvette ZR-1's carbon ceramic brakes: http://www.brembo.com/ENG/BNA/presentation.swf .

Are carbon ceramic material (CCM) brakes worth the cost? Chevrolet, when they build the ZR-1 Corvette, thinks so. Other people and other manufacturers do not. If you look at Brembo's website Brembo - Brake systems you may get more information to help you make your decision.

But whatever your decision, keep up the good, out-of-the-box thinking! New ideas always help all of us!

Bassanio et Portia

 

[marc]

Rule of common sense.
1. Speed cost money, how fast you wanna go?
2. Pretty cost money, do you want Sofia Loren or Rosanne Barr?
3. Quality cost money, how many times do you want to rebuild it?

 

[Howard Jones]

Here's something to think about. I broke my nose on my GTD years ago. I hit a parking lot tire stop (the concrete thing about 6"X6"X5 ft or so) with the thin piece at the bottom of the radiator inlet.

The piece came all the way off the car. It ws about 20 inchs by 3. I threw it on the passenger seat and went home. A couple of days latter I took the front clip off, flipped it upside down and bonded the broken piece back into place with some vet pannel adhesive. After 4 or 5 layers of fiberglass mat on the inside to add some strenght getting a local paint shop put some of my leftover paint into a spray car it was as good as new.

Total cost less than 50 bucks. How much do you think it would have been to fix the same damage in carbon fiber??

Sometimes, really, really cool is really cool until you need to fix it. Then its really a friggin nightmare.