Carbon Fiber 7

[New2 7's]

Has anyone looked at the picture on the following website of the Carbon Fiber paneled Caterham 7

http://www.carbon-bits.com/index.php

It looks like a lot of work, but I'm thinking about investing in a Caterham or old Lotus frame and building up a similar set up.

Has anyone every thought of putting together something like this?

Scott

[Elv15]

Yep. I've followed RIF's progress as he has developed these panels. You can also see some pictures of Normans seven which has a full set of panels here:

http://www.norman.dmsweb.biz/4664/4691.html

I suspect there are some interesting benefits of the carbon panels (they don't dent, and are probably more resistant to pitting than the aluminum panels). FWICT they weigh about the same - so you will not have a whole lot of weight savings. Of course, I expect them to cost quite a bit more than a comparable set of ali skins. The carbon panels are glued to the chassis instead of using rivets. I also suspect that they *may* be less apt to setup galvanic corrosion than the ali panels (but don't hold me to that, cuz I'm not sure). Finally the carbon looks very bling, but only comes in one color - and personally I want a seven that is a bit more bright so that the SUV drivers may actually see me!!

[JBH]

I have the Caterham SLR so I have the wings, nose, dash and seats in CF. First time out, I hit an apex cone with the right rear wing and when I came into pits, there was only half the wing remaining. And I thought CF was stronger than steel.

That was an expensive mistake.

[slomove]

........(they don't dent, and are probably more resistant to pitting than the aluminum panels)..........

Well, they don't but they can fracture or de-laminate under similar impact and you can not even take a ball peen hammer to fix it. Other issues are UV damage (chalking, yellowing) after long sun exposure and I even heard that some people had greying after humidity exposure.

It sure looks cool but that is just a bit too cumbersome. I used work in the composites department for a plastics processing research institute in Germany. We did some interesting stuff but it invariably ended up in military and aerospace applications. The saying among the engineers there was:

"Wer Kunststoff kennt, nimmt Stahl und Zement"

Unfortunately that does not rhyme in English but means:
"He who knows plastics, will use steel and concrete" ;-)

Gert

[moosetestbestanden]

"He who knows plastics, will use steel and concrete"

So I take it that you'll be putting concrete nose and wings on your car soon Gert? Poured in place, or precast?:D

Seriously, you're right, mostly. Each material has its uses (I save probably a couple of kilos on my car over others - whoop-dee-doo) and in the case of the all CF Caterham what we see is the use of a material past the point of its use making sense. Except for fashion sense of course.

[New2 7's]

I noticed the carbon fiber hood being sold isnt vented like the aluminum hood on my current set up. Does anyone know if that will create an engine or interior cooling problem?
Has anyone purchased parts from this company before, if so, is the quality good?

Thanks
Scott

[Elv15]

Sean has their aeroscreen. I've seen it and the quality seems very good. RiF does sell seconds if you wanted to buy something a bit less expensive.

[moosetestbestanden]

And I thought CF was stronger than steel.

It is, depending on directional forces & the construction. The classic example of massive failure was from the 2003 Americas Cup (*not* "America's Cup", possessive) event in New Zealand when a boom was loaded in the wrong direction, shattering the mast in the process. The thing literally exploded - an awesome sight. Unless you were the poor (giant corporate) buggers paying the bill. Ninth picture down here.

I met RIF at the 50th in Donnington. Really nice guy and his products are fine. Been around a while - you'd have no worries should you choose to go there I think. I got some doors & a boot cover from Westerman while in Deutschland. Gossamer thin, weigh next to nothing, non-structural use, not massively expensive. He won't sell here for legal reasons. The doors give a very false sense of security as the sense of enclosure gives the illusion of some kind of protection. The boot lid is totally sexy.:D

[Sean]

Dang, I need to get some more recent photos. My car has the CF dash from Caterham, CF seats from Tillet (Caterham branded), CF nose & wings from MOG (Westermann Motorsport), CF aeroscreen from RiF, and CF mirrors from Racetech (through RiF). That's enough CF for me.

[JBH]

The comment about CF being stronger than steel was said tongue in cheek. The wings are a composite material that uses a carbon fiber woven sheet laminated in an acrylic (I think). It is not surprising it shattered since the carbon fiber was only used more for reinforcement. Once the polymer matrix cracks or shatters, it's over.

I think the replacement wing came from RiF and it is superior to the original in appearance and i believe slightly lighter weight. The weave is slightly different though.