CF doors by Carbon Microsystem

[usdmej]

this is a continuation of a thread that will unlikely come to completion due to the OP getting himself banned. i went ahead and purchased a set of carbon fiber doors directly from Carbon Microsystem and the intention here is to provide the community with a cleaner and more transparent representation of the product

quick background on the company Carbon Microsystem

• based in Latvia
• seems to have been around for a while with a focus on cf parts for older Toyota Celicas
• parts are made to order
• communication as of today has been excellent. they respond promptly (and in english) to emails. i've gotten very thorough answers to every single question asked.

pics of the doors received







quick rundown on the doors themselves

• full carbon fiber, complete replica of the oem doors so everything stock (door panels, windows, door actuators etc) transfers over
• 5.4 pounds each door (oem door weight TBD, but potential for ~60 lbs total weight savings)
• debatable safety equivalence. we're driving around in 20 year old cars here so the bar is already pretty low for crash safety
• 1900 euros base price
  • +500 euros for a preinstalled oem metal crashbar (you can transfer your stock one over)
  • +80 euros for in house clearcoat/polishing (would not recommend and will expand on that later)
  • +300 euros for custom carbon fiber colors
  • shipping quote was $400-600 at the time of request, expect to pay customs fees on top of that
  • they are open to group buys (lol)
• shipping was fast and packaging was excellent, doors were delivered undamaged

this sticker is unfortunately applied at the beginning of the production process. if you want it removed, they provide instructions on how to sand just enough to get them off.





there are small imperfections on the outer skin of the doors. the doors were created using a mold that was made from a (understandably) used door so the imperfections have been transferred over. my door has a small ding in it (what i'm pointing at with my finger) and from some angles you can see some patches of waviness. the door in the previous thread also had a door ding that looked worse than mine. seems like they made some repairs to their mold but the end product is still not perfect.

because of this, i don't think there's any reason you'd want to order these doors with the clearcoat option. if you're going to paint the door body color you're going to have to sand off that clearcoat anyways to properly prep/level the surface. if you plan on keeping the the weave exposed i suspect you'll still see the imperfections . . . unless the clearcoat is thick enough to hide it? maybe our resident cf expert bigjae46 can chime in on that




this thread will be updated as the doors go through the process of prep/paint/installation. unfortunately i can't give a guaranteed timeline for this but hopefully the information that makes it here will help others with deciding if this is for them or not

[usdmej]

reserving this for potential DIY info

[e46IX]

How do they install the metal crashbar on their doors? Rivets? Epoxy?

[usdmej]

How do they install the metal crashbar on their doors? Rivets? Epoxy?

the OEM crashbar bolts on so my expectation is that it will also bolt on to the CF door

[bigjae46]

Any imperfection on the plug to make the mold will transfer over to the final part. Ideally, the original part would be sanded, blocked and primed smooth. I’ve seen many of these doors come gel coated because no one is going to use a new door…hence the $1900 price.

Not an expert on paint but that ding is going to be impossible to remove with just clear coat. If the intention is to expose the CF…you’re kind of stuck

5.4lbs sounds really light. I’d be concerned with the toughness of the part. Carbon is stiff and strong until it yields and then it will pretty much lose all of this strength once it yields.

I’m in the process of making a right door and my outer shell by itself is 6lbs. My car has a roll cage but I wouldn’t use fewer layers of carbon that what I did for the right side. My left side door is a little over 10lbs fully dressed, that one has a full core layer and a partial core layer - could do without the partial core layer which would save maybe 1lb. I also used a layer of kevlar in each door to increase the elongation and toughness properties of the structure to reduce the chances of shattering and splintering.

[sdwz_m3]

The inner most layer of the outer shell looks to be kevlar?? OP could you confirm? Also, appreciate you documenting your results here.

[bigjae46]

The inner most layer of the outer shell looks to be kevlar?? OP could you confirm? Also, appreciate you documenting your results here.

I looks like a carbon/kevlar twill. If it is, then it would add toughness and reduce the splintering if compromised.

I wonder how well it will hold up with the window mechanism. Not trying to be a naysayer but lightweight carbon doors aren’t that practical for a street driven car.

[sdwz_m3]

I looks like a carbon/kevlar twill. If it is, then it would add toughness and reduce the splintering if compromised.

I wonder how well it will hold up with the window mechanism. Not trying to be a naysayer but lightweight carbon doors aren’t that practical for a street driven car.

I know Sub2Speedhouse (IG) picked up a set of these and began transferring over components. I'm not sure if he's putting the windows back in though...

[bigjae46]

Looking at the original thread, the door is about 8lbs? That seems more realistic. My left door could be a little lighter but don't think it could be 20% lighter without making it alarmingly flimsy. For a carbon part, 1 -2 lbs on a panel makes a massive difference on whether it will flutter at speed - a lesson I learned the hard way. It is not like steel or aluminum.

I'm impressed with the pictures, not impressed with Mr. Curation. Pricing seems extremely reasonable.

If I have some advice, fit the door on the car BEFORE installing all of the other crap on it. Because you're going to take it on and off a dozen times.

[usdmej]

I know Sub2Speedhouse (IG) picked up a set of these and began transferring over components. I'm not sure if he's putting the windows back in though...

i was in a group buy with some E92 guys, one of them installed his doors already and all of his components looked to be pretty solid. he did say the door skin seemed thinner than the stock sheetmetal though. when you push on it it does have more give than stock, i applied some pressure onto my doors and would agree, i think it's unlikely that it would flutter at speed though but we'll see

[usdmej]

Looking at the original thread, the door is about 8lbs?

i'm pretty sure he ordered his doors with the metal crashbar installed already, that would explain the difference in weight measurements


yes i think install will be very tedious, not only the panel massaging, but because i'm transferring my crashbar, which requires completely removing/stripping the door before i can start transferring anything to the cf door

[Altaran]

Looks very interesting. Especially the price point is attractive.

I personally wouldn't install them until I get a welded cage. I am not convinced that the carbon structure can hold the crash bar in case of an impact. CF can be much stronger than steel but only in certain directions. It's unlikely anyone has actually done crash tests.

Nevertheless, having a CF door with an actual window lift is very interesting for a track oriented car that's still road driven. Stripped cars get warm inside very quickly, so being able to open the window is worth it if you're not competing for lap times.

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[bigjae46]

Looks very interesting. Especially the price point is attractive.

I personally wouldn't install them until I get a welded cage. I am not convinced that the carbon structure can hold the crash bar in case of an impact. CF can be much stronger than steel but only in certain directions. It's unlikely anyone has actually done crash tests.

Nevertheless, having a CF door with an actual window lift is very interesting for a track oriented car that's still road driven. Stripped cars get warm inside very quickly, so being able to open the window is worth it if you're not competing for lap times.

That would be my fear - the CF structure of the door yields and then there is not much protection. Worst case would be a multiple roll over situation. If the door fails then there is nothing to contain you body. Most injuries and deaths in a rollover is caused when the car is on its side and the body and/or head makes contact with the pavement.

I'm guilty, I have provisions for a window net that I never use. I should start putting it up.

[9kracing]

Worst case would be a multiple roll over situation.

.... how fast are you guys driving?

[Altaran]

.... how fast are you guys driving?

Naturally as fast as traction allows.

On the track of course. 😉

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