Carbon Fiber Conversion

5502 Views 10 Replies 7 Participants Last post by BigMikeISF, Jan 23, 2009

A03

Discussion Starter · Jan 8, 2009

While back I believe one of the company or was it right from TRD was/is offering semi Carbon Fiber conversion for the Front and Back..
Any chance if there are other companies out there that does it except without the color add on..Stripes etc/keeping original color of the car..
Also is it possible to change any other part of the car to Carbon fiber this way the F will be LOT lighter than I believe current weight of 3700Lbs? to maybe 3500 or less?
Any possibility? B/c I saw someone on Ebay selling a Corvette that supposely went thru Performance mod and Body mod that went thru carbon fiber that made the car lighter but still same exterior look intacted..

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BigMikeISF

· #2 · Jan 8, 2009

I haven't seen or heard anything about a conversion for the entire F to carbon fiber. There was a SEMA IS-F that had Seibon carbon fiber front fenders and hood (that are now available). There is also a company (see link below, Ventross) that makes a rear CF diffuser, trunk and hood for the F (albeit decently priced, the quality is second to none). There is also CF B and C pillars for the outside (I just ordered some). Hope this helps

http://www.ventross.com/default.html

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A03

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jan 8, 2009

BigMikeISF said:
I haven't seen or heard anything about a conversion for the entire F to carbon fiber. There was a SEMA IS-F that had Seibon carbon fiber front fenders and hood (that are now available). There is also a company (see link below, Ventross) that makes a rear CF diffuser, trunk and hood for the F (albeit decently priced, the quality is second to none). There is also CF B and C pillars for the outside (I just ordered some). Hope this helps

http://www.ventross.com/default.html

This is the same site from while back that offered the conversion service but there is one PROBLEM that is, is that if you look at the back of the hood it's black..Does this mean If I get this I have get this repainted if I wanted to restored it to the original color..Since my F is Starfire Pearl white..Also the site doesn't really describe how much it shaves off the F..
I was kinda hoping that there will be a company that can do carbon conversion without any bodykit add on look like, like this site has for the F..

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bchoi27

· #4 · Jan 8, 2009

i would think you would have to get the carbon fiber parts re-painted if you want it to match... all in all, would be pretty damn pricey for just couple hundred pounds in weight loss

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A03

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jan 8, 2009

bchoi27 said:
i would think you would have to get the carbon fiber parts re-painted if you want it to match... all in all, would be pretty damn pricey for just couple hundred pounds in weight loss

But I'm sure it could make a world of difference in speed..I mean it's possible that F owners might gain almost .2/-.4/10th of sec in difference No?

The F does somewhere between 4.4 -4.6 easily so with carbon fiber conversion
it might do almost 4.0 sec flat on 0-60..
And then not too mention Turbo and super chargers on the way..

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ISF MA

· #6 · Jan 8, 2009

The rule of thumb regarding weight reduction is that for every 100 lbs. of weight that you remove from the car, you will save 1/10th of a second. Removing weight from the car isn't as easy as you might think. You would be surprised at just how many things you need to replace before you remove 100lbs. of weight from the car. The hood will be your biggest weight savings if it isn't already made from aluminum which I thought I read somewhere but I can't confirm. Does anybody know for sure? I've had quality carbon fiber hoods on two of my previous cars but I would never put one on my "F" as they're just not on par with Lexus quality. BTW, according to Lexus our car weighs 3780lbs.

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A03

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jan 9, 2009

ISF MA said:
The rule of thumb regarding weight reduction is that for every 100 lbs. of weight that you remove from the car, you will save 1/10th of a second. Removing weight from the car isn't as easy as you might think. You would be surprised at just how many things you need to replace before you remove 100lbs. of weight from the car. The hood will be your biggest weight savings if it isn't already made from aluminum which I thought I read somewhere but I can't confirm. Does anybody know for sure? I've had quality carbon fiber hoods on two of my previous cars but I would never put one on my "F" as they're just not on par with Lexus quality. BTW, according to Lexus our car weighs 3780lbs.

Definitely not worth the conversion IF I'm only reducing 2/10 of the second for possibility of god knows how much it will cost for the conversion..

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Fig

· #8 · Jan 10, 2009

the easiest target for weight reduction IMO is the sunroof mechanism. Glass plus rails is easily 50lbs. That would be a good part as many have found in the gen 1.

Fig

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micaISF

· #9 · Jan 23, 2009

get rid of spare tire and change battery to a 12 lbs battery . that's at least 70 lbs shaved. i never carry spare tire with me. if i ever get a flat, i just repair it with a kit right then. i also have a can of punture seal as a last resort( of course, this can damage TPS).

just out of curiosity, how much weight saving will there be with a carbon fiber hood?

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Flipside909

· #10 · Jan 23, 2009

I don't believe there's much of a weight advantage if any with a full C/F hood. The IS F hood is aluminum, so it is lightweight as it is strong.

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BigMikeISF

· #11 · Jan 23, 2009

micaISF said:
just out of curiosity, how much weight saving will there be with a carbon fiber hood?

Like Flipside said, not to much. I can't remember the exact numbers off the top of my head but with the Seibon CF hood there wasn't much weight shaved off.

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