birdy

yeah so i got a shipment in yesterday to make some carbon fiber artwork for my portfolio(graphic design) to show what i can do
an di have found that i am pretty good at making molds and i can get carbon fiber sheets for pretty cheap and i was thinking.
since i heard that the glass roof is one of the heaviest parts of the car i would like to replace it with a solid piece of carbon fiber thick enough to hold up and it would still take off a lot of weight i think.

would it work

JSVH

I know alot of people have already talked about it. It should be possible to do, though you would have to spend some time to get every thing measured right. Waterproofing may also be an issue.

mgithens

yeah, it would probably help to remove all the motors and mechanics that move it, to be the most effective... but I guess it would be kinda cool to have a sliding / tilting carbon fiber roof panel... :D

I remember reading an article about how sensitive the 911 was to having a sunroof added, it messed up the torsional rigidity and it raised the center of gravity of the car, by knocking off 10 or 15 pounds up there you might be delighted to find that your autocross times would benefit more than your 0-60 times...

where did you learn about laying fiber, and where do you source your stuff??

OompaLoompa

I think it would be a little bit more trouble than its worth, but i dont know how good you are. But i think it would shave a lot more than 10-15 pounds. You could get that out of a cf hood.

birdy

i worked at a body shop for 2 years almost doing fiberglass fixing and the boss taught be about this cool new stuff called carbon fiber and we made panels for a drag car they had, so i learned how to lay it then.
I buy my sheets form a place in gainesville,Tx that makes kevlar, and carbon fiber

djimpak

thats what i was thinking.

birdy

all i will have to do is take the glass pieces off and make a mold, and i can do that

TheBigGuyRy

So would that mean if you opened the little sunroof hatch thing without opening the actually sunroof, you would see carbon fiber? Or would you keep some glass in it? I'm having trouble visualizing what you want to do.

birdy

yeah if you open it all you would see is carbon fiber
i could maybe put some glass in some if i decide to produce them and sell them

all i know is i will be fabricating a ____ load of stuff for the tc

Egglick

So you're gonna remove one of the main selling points of the car , just to save a few pounds?? You're kidding, right?

I used to always laugh at those riceboys that'd spend hundreds on something that looked like crap, and then they'd be like "And it saves 6 pounds!!"

Here's an idea:
Take a dump before you drive the car.

mgithens

of course, losing 10 lbs of body fat was never a choice... :-)

leave the spare tire out of your car... who needs visors anyway... gas cap, nah, a rag will do...

no, just kidding... but shedding a few pounds here and a few pounds there can really make a difference... the old rule of thumb that me and a buddy came up with (at least for his Nova), was that 100lbs yields about 0.1 seconds on the 1/4 mile... but that was for 270hp and 3500lbs of car...

you might not notice 5 lbs savings (you won't), but you will notice 10 items lightened 5 lbs each... there are cheaper routes...

#1 seriously, dump the spare, bring a cell phone...
#2 don't fill up the tank, fuel weighs about 6.6lbs/gallon... empty tank = 0lbs, full tank = 95lbs... obviously an empty tank isn't an option, but there is a happy medium...
#3 keep the stereo light, speaker boxes can get really heavy...
#4 date smaller chics... nothing against the bigger ladies, they just aren't good for racing...
#5 wax your car for aerodynamics... OK, I am joking about this one, but if I do say it, maybe will start an urban legend that waxing makes you faster...

okay, #5... don't add to the car, take away... if you are a real autocrosser, no seats... the back bottom coushin weighs a few pounds and comes out with no tools, passenger seat comes out in 4 bolts... any tools, jacks, heck even the manual...
#6 proper tire pressure, too much bad, too little worse... (tire pressures are not written on tires - RTFM (read the f___ing manual))
#7... your ideas??

birdy

i guess i will just stick to making dash kits for ya'll then
either wya i can make pretty much anything
so give me your suggestions

couper2

There was a post of a "rally" tC show car with carbon fiber roof inserts thats soon to be shown around. Ya might want to find out where it's gunna be Birdy and check out how they did the roof. Carbon fiber inserts would save more than just 10 lbs. Glass is heavy. I'ts gunna be more like 50 lbs. More importantly its 50 lbs that was on top of the car. Ponder that.

Would look pretty slick to have a CF hood and roof.

chadfo

Birdy,
I'm about to put a CF hood on my camo xB and I thought it might look good with a matching smooth CF grill piece. I'm going to photoshop it to make sure it doesn't look tacky but I was curious how much you'd charge to make one.

katc10

Any progress ever made on this? I know a lot of people who would be interested in replacing the glass sunroof with a CF panel, myself included.

aarontrini85

kamanari did the celebrity race scion tc roofs and rick from rmmaudio got one so its doable but expencive since it has to be custom i would think 5k is a safe estimate and alot of work to since you have to remove the rails for the stock roof

XD40tC

You should make some other carbon fiber stuff for the tC!

aarontrini85

^^ this post is old i dont think he ever came trought with any thing

katc10

Yeah, but someone else did. I found it after I posted.
It's here:
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/vie...ghlight=kevlar

aarontrini85

i mentiond that its made by kamanarri and rick said its a pain to install not worth it unless you plan to realy race your tc like he does



like race race not hit the track every 3-4 months