Carbon fiber getting cheaper?

[slopemeno]

You can get black fiberglass. Check with ACP. You can pull a mold from your existing hood. Epoxy isnt exactly cheap, though.

If you want to make some lightweight accessories, use S-glass. Its about 90% the strength of carbon, ad WAY cheaper. If you make molds off your plug you can try changing the layup to get lighter glass parts.

What about lexan windows? Auto glass is incredibly heavy. If you ever saw "Two Lane Blacktop" the '56 Chevy that James Taylor is driving has lexan windows without a regulator mechanism, just a strap that you pull down on to raise the window in it's track.

[johnpr]

ive looked at black fiberglass but personally i would rather use regular or s-2 glass as i am concerned about weight reduction and not the aesthetic purposes. you are right about using different material for windows, i have considered lexan and polycarbonate (much stronger than lexan from my understanding and lighter than glass) hmm i should look that up and confirm it though, doing that after this post...

[johnpr]

ok, im catching my apparent mistake, aparently lexan is polycarbonate? so i apologize for the mistake, but here is what i found

100% Optical Clarity

SUPERCOAT" Protection Inside and Outside

250 Times Stronger than Factory Glass

Less Than Half the Weight of Factory Glass

Optional Permanent Anti-Fog Coating

Available in 3 Thickness - 1/4", 3/16" or 1/8"

from this site
http://www.hrpworld.com/index.cfm?fo...ction=category

[slopemeno]

I think Lexan is the name given by the manufacturer, GE maybe?

Nobody says you have to match the factory thicknesses either. I bet with some careful fitting you could use plastic windows 1/2 the glass thickness. I'd probably check your vehicle code before ordering, but I bet you could replace the hatch and rear 3/4 galss without issues.

[johnpr]

^^ that is basicly what i found, lexan is the product name from GE and you can usually replace 3/8" glass with 1/4" polycarbonate. i plan on replacing all of the glass in my transam because i can do whatever i want and not have to worry about voiding any waranties. i may also do the same on jeep 2.