Carbon fiber getting cheaper?
 

Well, this is a good thing, eh?

Not much really said, but soon, I imagine? I know at least that the tech is changing in the bike industry for the cheaper: http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/05...on-be-slashed/

Wish I could afford to get the carbon fiber hood and trunk for my car. Although it would become a thief magnet if I ever did that...

Paint it, :p

Won't the plugs on the hood give it away? Or do they make a hook like the stock hood has?

I guess they would, but that's the issue with aftermarket carbon hoods, they're too weak to hold on the damn latch, :p I'm not really a fan since it saves about 10 pounds when you could save that ten pounds somewhere else more easily.

But when you've already stripped the car, put lighter wheels, deleted the sideview mirrors, and all that's left are those... what do you do? lol

Shrug your shoulders and not obsess over that last .1 mpg which is about the difference a degree centrigrade would make, :p

In the back of your mind, you know you still want it. :)

Nah, I put the interior back in my car.

yay, i want to produce some stuff with cf and this might make it feasable

once the car manufactures get on this it will cut the cost tremendously. It will cost the same as steel. Like i have been saying all along..

I hope it's cheaper in time for my next bicycle. Think of the food that will save!

Don't hold your breath.

How will a higher demand make it cheaper? according to an artical that I read about making passenger planes out of carbon fiber there are only two compenys that make the stuff and that the bicycle makers that use carbon fiber will be allowed to keep their contracts to buy the fabric but that it's going to be hard for any one else to start.

Increased demand means companies have to increase production if they want to increase sales. Especially if auto manufacturers get in the game, CF manufacturers are really going to be bidding for those contracts and they are going to have to dig deep to get it cheap enough that an auto manufacturer will be willing to pay the price.

But the makers of carbon fiber appear to be selling their product as fast as they can make it, so why would they lower their price? they don't need new customers, I suspect that they could double their price and still sell at near peek production.

New players sensing the opportunity will enter the market, global production capacity will go up and the prices will be driven down by the competition once capacity and demand start to balance out.

Lets just replace what was said about demand for carbon fiber causing prices to drop and put it in a different perspective. Oil.

By the logic used a few posts above oil prices should drop because we are all demanding more gas. It doesn't work that way!

I do agree that carbon fiber prices should come down as time goes on, and maybe it will match that of steel, but I think that will be about 100 years from now.

It might be wise not to confuse basic supply and demand theory with product life cycles.

If they can increase production more than they decrease profit per unit, then they'll make more money overall.

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.

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...

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

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.

^^ 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.