Ok, I can't find any pics of black texalium. The site that used to have a pic of it doesn't anymore. They changed their site around and now they don't have any pics of any of the fabrics anymore. So thats a no go. If anyones skeptical I'll make a piece out of Texalium and show you that it does indeed look just like Carbon.

Here are some pics of a couple of colored Texalium parts.

Remember, the fabric is colored. Not the resin

 

J.. I just realized there is a plane Manufacturing plant down the street Abnd I saw a complete Carbon wing outside so I am gonn TRY to just pull up and ask if they sell or who there supplier is..

 

 

s/c, that'd be great. I just heard back from the latest supplier and they are also out of any and all 60" carbon. So it seems like carbon hoods arent going to be happening anytime too soon. I'll still be able to do fiberglass in the mean time if one so desires. I'll also still be doing parts that are somewhat smaller than a hood.

This carbon shortage is getting pretty bad pretty fast. Hopefully the smaller stuff will stay in stock for some time to come. There are dozens of suppliers and I've even acquired over seas but it's a no go on carbon in that size. If it's only weight you're concerned with and not looks I will probably be able to make a carbon hood that can be painted. It wouldn't look too pretty with out the paint though cause I couldn't cover the span of the enite hood with a single sheet of carbon. You'd still have the same weight savings but you'd paint it instead of leaving it clear. Once again, thats up to you guys. The only bad part is that it wouldn't end up costing too much less cause it's still that same amount of carbon overall. I'll keep you guys updated and keep any questions coming. Once my fabrics get here I'll whip out some small pieces so you guys can see whats coming.

 

I will take the Fiberglass hood especially if you get one looking like that Viper

 

i will inquire with the company that makes the CF goodies for my maxima about their source for CF. it seems they haven't been affected by this shortage at all. oh yeah those pics that we talked about are coming today

 

I'll try to rip some fiberglass hoods out here real soon. They're cheap enough that if you guys don't buy em I can just make enough different hoods to put a different one on my car every day of the week I'm going to try to have the site back up soon. Just as soon as I get some parts made. Looks like overlays are catching on so I guess that's going to be a part of the business. So anyone that want's a part wrapped would be able to just send it too me and I'd wrap it in carbon and send it back. I should have some sample pics up by the end of the month. It all depends on how long it takes my stuff to get here. Aside from all the fabrics and resins the only thing I'm waiting on now is that damn Air Compressor that's been on backorder for like a month now I don't need it for overlays but in order to make molds and parts I'm definitely going to need that damn thing. Anyways I'll keep you guys updated. Hey Rod, since the whole CF hood thing ain't happening any time soon I'll probably get those Ttops made up sooner than I thought. Keep em coming guys, You are my inspiration.

 

What if I sent you my MSA Kit??wanna carbon that?? Would that be possible??

 

Yeah I could carbon that. It'd take a while cause there's a lot of work involved with wrapping somthing that big, but yeah, I could cover that. The only requirement at this time is that it doesn't require more than 50" worth of fabric up and down. Just take a string or tape or something and measure it top to bottom, making sure to take into account all the horizontal as well as vertical surfaces. If the total is less than 50" then it's no problem. Width doesn't matter cause that's cut by the yard. Even if it's more I could probably just butt two pieces up to each other in an inconspicuous area like under the air dam to make it cover the whole thing. Just let me know what you come up with measurement wise.

 

Remember that those MSA kits don't usually fit right out of the box, so you would want to get it fitted to your car before sending it out to get it wrapped.

 

Those t-tops would be damn cool J. Just let me know when and how much and I'll get ya covered.

Rod.

 

Not wrapped.. I would sacrifice it for a mold and get a true Carbon one.. I bet MSA would get pissed though

 

J Check your EMAIL ASAP.. I found a dozen suppliers with 60-63" Carbon and carbon Kevlar in stock .. Get back to us ..

 

Now you need to check your email ASAP

007 has a really good point. Mass produced parts don't usually fit up quite like we'd like and once you've got a layer of carbon on it it's going to magnify that. And carbon is pretty stiff. Since an overlay doesn't add much carbon it wouldn't be too stiff but it would still be easier to get it installed first and do any trimming or massaging that you need to first. And yeah, I don't know if I want to be copying someone else's idea that directly I'd be willing to make a one off of a kit for you without the Zspec name on it but since it would be a one off it would be really expensive since the cost of the mold would be included in the final cost. That could easily add a $200-$300+ to a part. So keep that in mind. I figure though since the kit was already purchased legally from MSA making one copy of it wouldn't be bad since the kit was already payed for.

Rod, as soon as I can get to ordering what I need I'm going to take my tops off and tape a tarp to the top of my car. It's not going to be seeing much duty over the winter anyways.

 

Awesome!
I can't wait until the first little "Ricky Racer" Honda driving punk say's "Holy **** dude! Are those carbon Fiber T-Tops???"

That's going to be so sweeet!

Rod.

 

^ ROFL. J, you know I'm down for a set, should you decide to make them for a 2+2.

 

I will also be on that bandwagon

 

So what are your fiberglass prices?

 

Fleaicous, fiberglass prices for what? On average fiberglass is almost $30.00 cheaper per yard so the price comes down quite a bit. It all depends on what the part is. Labor for making the part isn't any different since the procedure is the same though. So basically the savings is all in the cost of the materials.Fiberglass parts usually require a bit more material though so it's not exact. That's the reason fiberglass parts weigh more than carbon parts. The fiberglass itself isn't more than a couple ounces heavier per sq. yard then carbon fabric is (alot of people think carbon is just plain lighter). So the weight savings in the fact that you use a lot less carbon to make a part then fiberglass for the same part. Typically twice as much glass is required to make a part even close to as stiff as a carbon piece. But again, it's much cheaper than carbon. If you give me a specific part I can give you a rough estimate of a fiberglass part compared to a carbon part. One problem with quoting carbon though, is that until I have the stuff in my hands the prices are constantly fluctuating so prices won't be stable with carbon. Fiberglass prices stay the same pretty much so those prices aren't likely to fluctuate.

Just for an example: Two fiberglass ttops would probably run you around $130.00. and weigh in around 8.5 lbs plus the weight of the latch and weather stripping. That's total weight for both ttops combined too. So if you've held a stock ttop in your hand then you'll know that that's quite the weight savings as the latch itself is not very heavy and the weathstrip is next to nothing. For comparison, the carbon fabric alone to make those ttops will be more than the total for what you'd pay for the fiberglass tops So the carbon tops are going to signifigantly more expensive then the fiberglass ones. But at the same time, carbon tops would only weigh in at about 5-6lbs TOTAL for both plus latch and weatherstripping. That's a pretty big weight advantage over the stock ttops! I'm still working on a lighter more efficient to get the tops to latch as opposed to the OEM latching mechanism but I haven't gotten that far. The factory weatherstipping just unscrews from the factory ttops and will just screw right into the new ttops. The latch (so far) would just mount the same as stock. Those are the only two pieces that would be required to carry over from the original ttops. So the originals stay intact if you ever want to go back.

A fiberglass ttop with a carbon fiber layer wrapped around it would make an attractive and still light weight top at a fraction of the cost of a pure top. But if you want the full carbon tops then be prepared to pay for it cause carbon is expensive.

Expect to pay in the $300.00 price range for a set tops. If you think that is expensive then do a little shopping around at what this stuff cost for other cars and you'll see that that's not a bad price at all. In fact it's probably alot cheaper than anything you'll find of good quality. A lot of work is going intot these ttops because of the intricacy of ensuring it uses the stock latching mechanism. That's a compliacated mold. And I'm not going to be making very much off of these parts at all as opposed to some manufacturers who double what it cost them for their supplies!!! Not the $300 was just off the top of my head with no calculations so don't rest on that price. IT could change up or down as I continue working on it. ANymore questions, just keep em coming.

Fleacious if you had a different part in mind let me know and I'll try to get an estimate of what it would cost. It's hard to say for sure how much something is going to cost until I've actually made one and figured exactly how much material was used and what not.

 

about when will you have supplies in hand??

 

As soon as I get your parts I can figure out how much of what I'll need and place an order for the fabric and resin. From there it only takes 2-3days to get everything from the supplier I'm ordering from. Which gives me plenty of time to prep the parts. This takes a little while because on top of getting the parts pefect they have to be painted. And the paint needs to be polished to a mirror finish. Not mirror like, but a mirror finish. On top of that the paint needs enough time to completely dry otherwise when I try to pull the part or mold off of it it will just take the paint up with it. And that's no good

I also think my compressor may have finally shipped cause it's no longer posted under tracking as backordered. The whole order is no longer under tracking so I'm assuming that means it's all been sent. I have to call them to make sure though.

 

My good bro Drftn280ZXT on HybridZ has done it again. He's drawn another concept ZX body package, and I think you should produce it, J. At the very least, the hood. Check it.

 

I would definitely be interested in a set of lighter (and less fragile) t-top replacements. But part of what I like about having t-tops is the open feeling of having sunlight shine through them. Would the carbon versions still allow some light to pass through?

 

D, I like that hood for sure. That's a wild looking kit too.

Heat Rave R, If I made them thin enough to let light pass through they'd be more fragile then the stock ones. It'd be no more sunshine with a carbon set. Now the deal with the ttops is that alls you have to do to your stock ones is remove the latching mecanism (just a few screws) and remove the weatherstrip (which is also held in place by a few screws) and transfer them to the carbon tops. Only takes a few minutes. Then if you ever wanted to switch back you'd just have to switch those parts back over. Peice of cake. I suppose eventually exploring the concept of plexiglass ttops could be possible. Plexiglass and carbon. Pretty light and the sun will shine right through.

 

Yeah but I think Lexan would be better than plexiglass. Because plexiglass yellows in the sun. Just though I would share with you on that.