I"m thinking of getting a carbon fiber hood, trunk, and rear spoiler or a Mazdaspeed kit. I heard some good things about carbon fiber, but I've also heard the bad. I just wanted to get your opinions to see which ones you guys preferr. thanks!

 

Go ahead, it's your car.
Just get a good brand & make sure the fitments is good.
Search for old post for CF fitments issue.

I love CF anyway.

 

The all have a bad fitment. If thats ok the get a good quality CF manufacturer.

 

Surprisingly When I got my VIS hood I was actually quite pleased with fitment...almost OEM.

The thing that really messes with my fitment now is my tein dampers, but I love the dampers so I deal with it.

 

Thanks guys. I'm gonna do some research on some manufacturers and also see if there's any cf posts.

 

CF hoods are heavier than our OEM hoods. I'm sure it's the same with the trunk. I'd go with the Mazdaspeed kit.

 

the seibon hood is 1.5lbs lighter than the factory hood...

 

you could take a **** and save more weight^^

 

hahaha

 

Knicks,

I've got a couple carbon fiber parts on my car so if opinions are what you're looking for I'm here to help.

First of all, the majority of the products you'll find are not true carbon fiber but actually parts made of fiber glass with a sheet of carbon fiber as an overlay along with a protective gel which functions like a clear coat.

True carbon fiber parts are lightweight and durable but very very clostly...also depending on the application they don't tend to look very exciting.

The only major CF part I've got on my RX8 is the SEIBON TSII vented hood. I've been really happy with the hood, got a lot of nice comments about it as well. Now, depending on the climate where you live you might want to take into consideration having 3m clearbra applied to the parts for protection.

Why?

Two reasons. First, over time fiberglass tends to crack under stress or being impacted by rocks or road debris. The clear bra contains the cracks and keeps them from spreading. Second, the clear bra prevents the clear coat gel from fading which causes a nasty haze on the parts. I've only seen that in hot climates like here in Phoenix and in Vegas.

The real question I would have for you would be what your goals are with the car and why you're interested in Carbon fiber parts. The RX8 isn't like the majority of vehicles where the hood weighs 35 pounds...same with the trunk. Both are aluminum and light weight. In fact, I'm almost certain my hood is 1 or 2 pounds heavier than stock.

My reason for purchasing it was because I wanted something that was vented to help reduce temperatures under my hood during the summer.

If you want more information or advice feel free to PM me and I can assist you in your search.

 

if your car is exposed to sunlight majority of the time you should consider getting a clear bra like what Flashing said or get it clear coated to prevent the gel coat on the carbon fiber from hazing and turning yellow. talk about clear coating i gotta get mine done soon...