Carbon Fiber

[m3f_CarQz17_da02e24fb5]

Starting an aftermarket company, mostly in carbon and suspension.....any ideas for an M3, and most of all, do you think any M owners would buy?

[m3f_///MeesterSteph]

Hmm...its a risk, but if your products are high quality, I wouldn't mind buying a few parts. Just don't give your product a weird name, like 'Eagle Eyes" or something.....hahaha.



I'd really like a CF hood thats QUALITY. Your main problem is not having a built reputation for making BMW parts ~_^

[m3f_da3bous]

so you should give to everyone here for cost and we will spread the word!! I would be interested in E46 M3 GTR CF hood that uses factory latch, inge points, and the hydrolics for raising the hood.

[m3f_Angella_c036ec6b5f]

interior pieces are nice too... I have a big mouth, so if you want to make me some pieces, at cost, I'm sure I'll get the word out : )

[m3f_PurpleM3Pursuit]

its so true.. if u wanted to start one here a great thing to start with is a CF hood.. and interior panels.. the problems with the CF now is that they aren't perfect and the prices for the really nice ones are 600$+... if u can get ur price down and have a better looking one then u would sell tons.. and especially if u sold a few to members.. like myself.. we could spread the word on how good it looks.. but ya gotta make the dimensions really good for get etc.. u could have something.. and the interoir would be awesome too.. the CF pieces that everyone makes for the interior look really good but they are expensive as hell..

[m3f_astan100_7ef66fbe89]

I think that you shouldn't bother with high end CF for the interior.



Most people aren't going to be willing to pay for it and there is so much cheap junk going around that it is all over civics from the aftermarket and many cars come with it stock now.



If you do supply cheap pieces, no one will take you seriously in your expensive stuff.



I would stick to high end exterior pieces- though you have to find a good way to ship stuff.



Goodluck.

[m3f_bandpfan]

I used to work with carbon fiber making rocket motor parts when I was in aerospace (I am in medical devices now), so I am going to mention a few things about it that you may not already know. The material has two things going for it, extremely high stiffness and tensile strength in the direction of the fibers, and light weight. Depending on the resin system, it can also handle elevated temperatures. By designing the part so the fibers are aligned parallel with the tensile load, you get a very light strong part. A number of layers allow different fiber orientations to handle multiple load paths. Some negatives are high cost (I know it used to cost around a $100 per lb of prepreg cloth), and usually mulitiple layers are laid up over a form or mandrel by hand, making sure there are no wrinkles or air pockets. In some cases you have to use heat to get the material to flow. Then you have to wrap it in plastic that is well sealed because the cure in an autoclave entails appying the right heat and pressure over time while pulling a vacuum inside the plastic cover to evacuate all the gases that are driven off. So you can see, the materials, the tooling, the design and the process are all spelled with dollar signs. And any cost savings are bound to affect the quality of the part. Again, you get what you pay for.

[m3f_CarQz17_da02e24fb5]

yea, my current project is interior parts for our 2004 GTO race car, then on to hood, decklid, flares, front and rear valences and side skirts.....look for it in Speed GT this season!

[m3f_BMW M Powe_4a2f6c10a0]

sorry to bust your bubble, but there are a few people that do cf work for bimmers.



www.carbon-werks.com



and a few others that do the stuff, and sell them through the larger bmw part sellers.

[m3f_00poop6x_6dca3456a4]

Let me test it out for free and give you free feedback.

[m3f_///Munky]

Personally body panels would be nice as they would allow for a lighter car while retaining factory or better-than-factory strength. The downside is that your only business here will come from race teams. While I wish I had enough $$, and they would look nice with Cosmos Black, I kinda doubt I would buy them because of the exorbitant price of CF products.



Whatever you do, make sure your designs are good. As someone else mentioned, strand orientation is critical to strength. Also, you will want to use (rent time in) an autoclave. This is IMHO the only way to get a good finish and good strength. The downside obviously is that autoclave rental time is very expensive. But people, and I would think especially BMW owners, would be willing to pay a good deal more for a quality product.

[m3f_stage3nos]

i think you should go for it me personally i have emailed tons of companies to make me some special parts and they want out rages prices. the thing is i am obsesed with cf i love it more than anything i want my whole body to be cf even my sub box i doo cf my self but i just dont have any time so if you could make some good quality parts then i would even post adds at sightss for you and i ll buy everything right now im looking for something as simple as an e36 carbon fiber cold air intake but noone makes one i dont want that airbox sh** i want something similar to the dinan cold air but in cf they have it for the e46 of couse but not for the e36. they have everyhing for the e46. ok welll email me or something im excited.

[m3f_Angella_c036ec6b5f]

ahhh!! punctuation! it hurts!

[m3f_99DakarM3_146594ecf1]

Stage3 - theres a CF intake for the E36 - and Dinan makes it.

[m3f_stage3nos]

hey 99 dakar can you send me the link i would be very much obliged. and i cant spell