WTB... Carbon Fiber Trunk Lid
- Thread starter Hot Air
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I am not aware of anyone making one in the past. It would cost a small fortune to ship a trunk lid to them. They sent me an e-mail telling me that they did not have a mold for a Regal. I think I will contact VFN...I have one of their CF Hoods. Maybe they will make one for me.
Conrad
Conrad
I tried to get Ultra Carbon to make a trunk lid but he wanted to make a pin on. I told him that you will probably sell more bolt ons than pin ons; he disagreed.
Maybe if someone contacts him again to make the bolt on, he might change his mind.
http://www.ultra-carbon.com/
Billy T.
gnxtc2@aol.com
Maybe if someone contacts him again to make the bolt on, he might change his mind.
http://www.ultra-carbon.com/
Billy T.
gnxtc2@aol.com
That is who I was thinking of.
Has anyone called Mike ( SpoolFool ) he might get into this game if there was enough demand. Doesn't hurt to ask
I asked him to do a fiberglass trunk lid but I think his work schedule was loaded. We should ask him again.
I'm up for a quality bolt on trunk lid either in CF or FG. But the lids need to have weight savings.
Billy T.
gnxtc2@aol.com
I'm up for a quality bolt on trunk lid either in CF or FG. But the lids need to have weight savings.
Billy T.
gnxtc2@aol.com
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Making a part out of CF isn't any lighter than doing one in FG, unless you vacuum bag it. Most existing molds, designed to do FG aren't easily able to do vacuum bag parts. I'm just not sure if there is enough demand for the set up (new mold) to do a nice CF part, and be able to keep the cost halfway reasonable. People are willing to spend money removing weight off the front of the car, far more than the back.
For me to do a nice fitting (correct rolled edges), stock looking trunk, that was made in the USA, that trunk would to most likely sell for around a thousand bucks for FG, and 2K for vac bag CF. This would not include shipping.
It would need to be a long term investment. Most likely not braking even for a few years. I believe that these are the reasons that no one has done it yet. On a side note. It took me a year or two to brake even, doing my bumper fillers. I am now at the point that I'm glad I did it.
I will say that I'm open to ideas...
Mike Barnard
For me to do a nice fitting (correct rolled edges), stock looking trunk, that was made in the USA, that trunk would to most likely sell for around a thousand bucks for FG, and 2K for vac bag CF. This would not include shipping.
It would need to be a long term investment. Most likely not braking even for a few years. I believe that these are the reasons that no one has done it yet. On a side note. It took me a year or two to brake even, doing my bumper fillers. I am now at the point that I'm glad I did it.
I will say that I'm open to ideas...
Mike Barnard
Say if there was a group buy WITH a deposit for a trunk lid to your spec,done by you, how many commitments would you need?
I know I have at least 3 people that want one.
Also on the weight thing, not true.....research instant center and anti-squat.
Billy T.
gnxtc2@aol.com
I know I have at least 3 people that want one.
Also on the weight thing, not true.....research instant center and anti-squat.
Billy T.
gnxtc2@aol.com
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- 6,494
We talking Fiberglass or Carbon Fiber?
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Let me do some homework tonight and crunch some numbers.
achalmersman
Well-Known Member
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I would think you would sell many more fiberglass than CF. Personally I can't see me ever being interested in a 2K deck lid especially considering the weight difference can't be much right?
Could you price the difference between the CF and FG and the weight difference?
Billy T.
gnxtc2@aol.com
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2002
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Honestly, I'd be guessing.
Someone tell me what a steel trunk lid weighs. I'm guessing around 50 lbs. To do the same bolt on in FG, it "should" be about half the weight (25 lbs?).
For "most" people who have it in the budget for vac bag CF, it's because they want it light. Pin on with a layer of honeycomb inside would be much lighter (and less expensive) than bolt on (15 lbs?).
To do a nice fitting, FG rear deck lid, 1000 bucks each would not be out of line. I would most likely need to sell at least ten of them to brake even.
A nice fitting, CF pin on deck lid would cost at least double that.
*Here's why it costs more to do a part that fits nice. Most FG trunks and hoods that I see, are made with a single piece mold for the outside skin. Every time the edge of the part is trimmed against the mold, before it is removed, that mold gets smaller. It is very difficult to add back to the edge of a mold to make it full size again. IMO, the correct way to make that mold is to "fence off" the edges. Basically, this is where you make the larger mold with four removable (bolt on) sides. Then you trim the part off of those edges. This establishes a fixed radius edge on the part, that is very accurate and will not change. So instead of a one part mold for the trunk skin, you have a five part mold, that needs to be disassembled, cleaned, waxed and reassembled after every part. There are now five times the parts to make, maintain and fix when things get chipped or broken. You also need to clean up the splits "Seams" in the part where the mold went together. This takes three times as long to make a part, and why it costs double to make a part that fits correctly.
I can't tell you guys all my secrets, but I hope this sheds some light onto the mystery of hand made parts.
This is why it took me so long to brake even doing my bumper fillers. Because, no one in their right mind would have subjected themselves to all the hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars for something with such a low profit margin.
Lucky for you guys, that I'm a surfer that likes the smell of fiberglass.
