carbon fibre roof weight ?
 

Alright guys was planning on buying a carbon fibre roof for my bug but just been told its no lighter then the std one. ... is this true...?

Cheers rob

No idea but I know that my carbon fibre STI6 spoiler is a LOT heavier then the previous GRP one. That may be due to it being "cheap" carbon fibre (£300 rather then the £600 I could have paid).

I bet it is marginal and more for looks and bragging rights then any real saving. A carbon prop shaft would be a better performance increase as its rotational weight. Also light weight flywheel and pulleys and battery etc.

The newage roof is very heavy apparently, and as it's a weight saving from the highest point of the car you 'should' get most benefit.
There is a debate as to whether lightweight pulleys are actually benefitial on Subaru engines, as the have been rumoured to have caused damage.

How much is a lightweight prop? I'm guessing it'll be doube the price of a roof

Really? The classic one is very very thin and literally a thin sheet of steel. I will take your word for it on later cars.


Not sure how on earth lightweight pulleys could cause damage??? I have had mine for 6 years and all good. I wouldn't have thought somebody like RCM would manufacture them if they were known to be an issue. If anything I would have thought they reduce the chance of damage as the standard dampened crank aux pulley can fall apart with age.

I have no idea on the prices. Probably pretty expensive but would make far more difference performance wise then the roof I would have thought. Of course the roof is going to be handling too if its really that much lighter.

http://www.acrcomposites.co.uk/produ...ement-roof.htm

There was a discussion about pulleys on here a couple of weeks ago. Something to do with the rubber damper in the standard ones not being present in lightweight versions

If you get a carbon roof make sure its pre-preg otherwise it wont be any good. Ive been toying with the idea of making one but havent had enough interest from people yet.

Still not got an answer lol :(

Did you look at the link I posted?

Weight would be 2-3kg depending on thickness.

If enough people are interested we can look at making a newage carbon roof, just let me know :thumb: