Brycicles

Well I was looking around today in the market for some modifications to my 8 and i was really liking the carbon fiber look. But when is it too much carbon fiber to keep it on the down low? is carbon fiber really even worth it..
I was looking at things from the fender vents to from lips, i like them all.

by the way... im not quite sure on this but, is it possible to paint cf, and how?

Ross_Dawg

iTrader: (2)

What color is your 8?

Brycicles

red

SiLVeRE8

iTrader: (8)

Having a carbon hood is not possible to keep your car on the down low (prepare to everyone recognize your car). Carbon hood is worth it if you like the looks of it and can bare with your car being flashy especially to cops. But if you decide to paint it then just go for fiberglass since its a lot cheaper. Also weight saving will not be much if there are any....

Brycicles

yeah i think just having an 8 no matter what attracts cops attention.. or at least me. I can't seem to find any fiberglass hoods on the net tho? hows the carbon trunk for you?

SiLVeRE8

iTrader: (8)

i love the looks of it

Brycicles

well now im thinking cf from lip, rear cf diffuser or whatever its called, i cant think of its name, a cf ms spoiler, cf interior door and handles and window/lock covers. what do u think of that?

SiLVeRE8

iTrader: (8)

If you love carbon fiber then that is a great setup

YeahYeahYouWere

iTrader: (1)

I would say that lips (front and rear), hood, spoiler, and anything you want in the interior is plenty of CF. Mirror covers might look good too.

I think outside of the hood, any large piece that is CF is overkill. I personally think that 8s with a CF front bumper look terrible. Honestly, I think the only real reason to get CF is for the CF look, so it's not worth getting a CF piece to just paint over it.

Brycicles

Can someone give me a link to where there is a carbon fiber rear bumper? ive been looking for the past 2 days and havent found one.

Ross_Dawg

iTrader: (2)

try japanparts.com

I cant remember if they have one on there or not...

Krazed_Rx8

iTrader: (5)

I've actually seen some carbon fiber hoods that weigh more than the OEM one... So it all depends if you would mind a few extra lb's I would say.

636

Carbon hood is a cop magnet , if u think owning an 8 gets attention from cops , try getting a carbon hood. It just shows u modify the car , cops LOVE that .

Colorcode

iTrader: (1)

i personally think carbon fiber looks great on red.

Brycicles

also, does anyone here have the carbon fiber center consil strips? Hard to explain but the silver long pieces going from the dash to the back. If u do can u post some pics? Also.. do u think it would really be worth the 400 dolla?

Symbioticgenius

I understand that you are asking for opinions, and thats cool. but when it comes to aesthetics I have some advice.
Do what you like.
Do what your girl likes (sometimes).
Do what girls you want to attract like.
In that order, and if your female, disregard the last two.

P.S. Carbon can be young and Ricey, or Classy and Tasteful, it really depends on how YOU match the rest of the car.
Enjoy your 8.

Flashwing

Too much carbon fiber (unless it's the real deal) can be more ricer than I would care to admit.

I was shopping for a vented hood since I didn't want to experiment on my OEM mazda hood which would cost north of $1000 to replace. I could have painted the hood but decided a carbon fiber on black would be a nice combination. Some people disagree, but I've gotten 10x more compliments on my hood than negative comments.

Everyone has their own style.

I would stress, however, that simple is the name of the game. Cars which contain tons of carbon fiber parts can quickly turn into parts hangers where people throw everything they can at the vehicle cause it's aftermarket.

Having a theme for your vehicle is fine, but keep everything simple and clean. It might not keep you on the down low, but it will certainly earn you respect for your design that you wouldn't get with tons of graphics, flashy lights and carbon fiber up the ying yang.

Brycicles

yeah that was my question to begin with, how far can u go with carbon fiber before it looks like a kid drives it

SiLVeRE8

iTrader: (8)

I dont really know how to answer your question, but I guess it really depends on how you put everything together and how others really judge it... Cause carbon fiber (a lot or a little) can just turn a car into a show car, it doesnt necessarily have to mean or look like a kids car.

Also there are many time attack tuner track cars in japan which are full carbon (mostly dry carbon because of hardcore weight saving). Wet carbon saves weight too, but it leans more towards show.

Flashwing

Ah, I see. Using carbon fiber as one part example is going to be tough to answer simply because, as silver pointed out, it depends on the whole package not just on one set of parts.

Having one carbon fiber part on a car that's stock can, in my opinion, make the design look incomplete. Similar to when I see people with aftermarket front bumper but no side skirts or rear to compliment it, or with large GT style wings but a stock body.

On the other hand, you'll run into situations where you can go over the top. Show cars tend to be more extreme in this category so you're overall vehicle goals are important to how you want it to look. If you're not building a show car, a little can go a long way.

The key is to keep the car as a simple, clean design. That's what you see with more mature owners. Parts hanger cars are usually considered to be cars owned by younger kids.

Like I said, some people even give me grief about my setup but I enjoy it. Maybe some day I'll paint over the carbon fiber parts but it keeps my 8 from looking like everyone else's on the road.