Carbon Fiber front fascia?

[kannibul]

I went to the garage to clean off some bugs today and found yet another (relatively) deep knick down by the fangs (about 1mm x 1mm x 8mm). It's deep enough that a clearbra would not have prevented it, as with another cut I found about a month ago.

Anyhow, has any manufacturer (in the past with Z's) put out a carbon fiber front fascia? I don't mean as an overlay, I mean a replacement.

I figure it'd be hard enough and resistant enough to not dent/ding/etc from road debris. The weight savings might be something, don't care about that...lol.

Personal preference would be that it would get painted to match the car...so it's a matter of eventually wanting to replace it when it looks bad enough and either spending the $200 or so to get a new plastic fascia (and whatever to have it painted), or, get a CF fascia at $xyz, then have it painted to match and likely not have to worry about dings/chips/cuts/etc.

[nogoodname]

you mean the whole bumper cover.... that's gonna be money


there's already a fiberglass bumper cover out..... it's pretty darn strong... stronger than OEM.... Zele is the way to go

[kannibul]

Originally Posted by nogoodname

you mean the whole bumper cover.... that's gonna be money


there's already a fiberglass bumper cover out..... it's pretty darn strong... stronger than OEM.... Zele is the way to go

Like how much (for CF) - ballpark?

I'll check into Zele.

[nogoodname]

the Zele one will be around 1500 i think... plus shipping

CF would probably be the same if made here in North America
but no one has done it yet


if the CF gets a knick, thats so not fixable... i would go with FB.. which is fixable

[kannibul]

Originally Posted by nogoodname

the Zele one will be around 1500 i think... plus shipping

CF would probably be the same if made here in North America
but no one has done it yet


if the CF gets a knick, thats so not fixable... i would go with FB.. which is fixable

Thanks - good point about CF. I imagine that CF's epoxy base would be harder than the plastic used for the OEM fascia, correct? At least the damage would be minimal.

Also, it looks like Zele would be part of a body kit, which isn't something I'm entirely after. I guess I'll just deal until something comes out (or go OEM again)

One other thing - what's the exhaust on Zele's site? If I did something like get the body kit, that exhaust would probably be what'll fit best with the rear fascia...at least, as I understand it, they come pre-cut, right?

[nogoodname]

carbon fiber is not flexible... so yes it is harder
fiberglass is hard also, but fixable....
those Japanese kits are pretty darn tough though.... the OEM bumper would break before a FB would.

the Zele front bumper is a variation of OEM.... so it will match nicely if you buy the front bumper only....
the front bumper costs 1200 plus shipping

the rear bumper is 1100
the side skirts are 975

now get ready for it.... are you ready to see the price of the exhaust


it's a full titanium exhaust at 5800

[kannibul]

Originally Posted by nogoodname

carbon fiber is not flexible... so yes it is harder
fiberglass is hard also, but fixable....
those Japanese kits are pretty darn tough though.... the OEM bumper would break before a FB would.

the Zele front bumper is a variation of OEM.... so it will match nicely if you buy the front bumper only....
the front bumper costs 1200 plus shipping

the rear bumper is 1100
the side skirts are 975

now get ready for it.... are you ready to see the price of the exhaust


it's a full titanium exhaust at 5800

LULZ!

I guess there's not a lot that can be done with the rear bumper with their body kit (I'm not familiar with body kits in general, so please forgive the ignorance!)

[nogoodname]

no problem

i would put the front bumper and keep the rest stock


and forget that exhaust.............lol


btw...those are real prices i posted from 370ztune

[NYBladeZ]

I don't think you would be able to paint over a CF front bumper. The CF most of us refer to is wet carbon so its already been clearcoated meaning you won't be able to apply paint afterwards. Correct me if I'm wrong but only dry carbon would be able to get painted on after, and you are going to pay an arm and a leg for any dry carbon pieces, heck I don't think they even have any out right now. For wet carbon, I know atleast of one other member completely CFing their car. The name is beyond me right now but I believe he's working with Seibon. I'm currently doing the same thing with a local wholesale company on creating a full wet carbon kit. I don't think I'll see much in weight savings but I love the look.

[Modshack]

Originally Posted by NYBladeZ

I don't think you would be able to paint over a CF front bumper. The CF most of us refer to is wet carbon so its already been clearcoated meaning you won't be able to apply paint afterwards. .

Sure you can. CF is painted over all the time. The clear-coat is just paint after all. You'll still have paint on top and that's what typically chips though, so there is nothing really gained from doing this to reduce road dings......I fact, it may cause more issues as the underlying CF (or FG) is pretty unyielding as opposed to the flexibility of the stock bumper material..

[kannibul]

Originally Posted by Modshack

Sure you can. CF is painted over all the time. The clear-coat is just paint after all. You'll still have paint on top and that's what typically chips though, so there is nothing really gained from doing this to reduce road dings......I fact, it may cause more issues as the underlying CF (or FG) is pretty unyielding as opposed to the flexibility of the stock bumper material..

Good to know all 'round.

Now that you mention it, my neighbor has a FG hood that has been battered pretty good.

[SpawnAeroJohn]

Originally Posted by kannibul

Good to know all 'round.

Now that you mention it, my neighbor has a FG hood that has been battered pretty good.

I agree and disagree. If you had a REAL carbon fiber bumper with several layers of carbon fiber and you hit something at the minimal speed it would take to tear dent or damage a urethane bumper. The carbon fiber one would just get a few scratches. The only up side to urethane is its cheaper by 50% or more, and the braking point when being bent is farther than a carbon fiber one.

That is assuming the carbon fiber is pure carbon fiber (again with many layers) and saturated in the best epoxy resin you can find.

Carbon fiber is also cheaper to fix (not cheaper to replace). Just cheaper to repair since you don’t have to use special adhesive promoters and special types of putty.

[kenchan]

Originally Posted by Modshack

Sure you can. CF is painted over all the time. The clear-coat is just paint after all. You'll still have paint on top and that's what typically chips though, so there is nothing really gained from doing this to reduce road dings......I fact, it may cause more issues as the underlying CF (or FG) is pretty unyielding as opposed to the flexibility of the stock bumper material..

+1 you can paint clearcoat...


heck even use adhesion promoter if you're anal as a primer.

[Auto_Infantry]

OP: If your going to paint over the CF I would just recommend you get an FRP Front Bumper because CF will still get chips and gouges no matter what. You should probably get a clear bra next time you paint. I currently have a full Carbon fiber front end on my Z and a majority of my car is CF. I did paint this cf bumper but I also have another in full cf too.



I get lots of compliments and looks with CF (majority from the popo) but I am getting tired of the look so I'm gonna be paint scheming the whole car pretty soon. The thing with CF is that if it is not prepped right, you can tell that the piece was cf that was painted. Dry carbon is actually much harder to prep because the weave will definitely show through if not prepped right. I'll post up a whole thread about carbon and the differences and such soon. I want to get you guys educated on some of the products that are out on the market. As far as price goes, currently for the 370 your looking to spend 1000k plus for just the front in CF.

We actually are having the Zele replica kit coming in pretty soon here, about less then a month. We also will be making the full Nismo replacement body kit (not the lip and add ons) in FULL CF Made to order.

[nogoodname]

cf fenders would offer decent weight saving