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Just curious if you guys like this thought as much as myself. See photo.
I have the ability to make Carbon fiber, tubing, paneling, diffusers etc.
I'm working on a tubing mold for the induction on the 4.2 setup as soon as I finish testing the stock system with my DAQ.
In the process, I began thinking what it would look like with carbon fiber instead of the plastic panels which I'm constantly conditioning.
I feel like I will move forward and make molds for these, I just wanted to see if there was additional interest as that would depict if I make a temporary mold or a more permanent.
I think the CF parts look great, and are an improvement over the appearance of the OE parts. Interest in buying them would depend on the cost, particularly since they affect appearance more than performance. Can you give us any idea of the cost?
Some forum members already have OEM and aftermarket CF parts on their cars, such as the Mina Gallery mirror covers and XKR hood vents. Would you be able to match those patterns?
Thanks for your reply Stuart. I fully agree with you. CF would really dress things up.
I'll have to gather some quotes for tooling all the molds up. Good tooling is going to be a majority of the cost. If I have enough people interested I will justify it. These are larger parts, but I feel I can keep the price per part very reasonable depending on the complexity and milling/finishing process after. It's tough to say, but I can design the molds and gather some quotes.
I'm guessing somewhere around (smaller parts) 450-800$ per part. Rough estimate. I would need to make one mold for forming, then an alternate mold to fix the pieces for milling (holes/edges/vent/etc).
If I have the mirror covers on hand, I can send to my Carbon supplier and have them match it as well.
Really looks great as a complete package like that. Exactly what I was envisioning. The hydrographics turn out great, especially with clearcoat. Well done sir.
Update. I'm wrapping up the mold files for the carbon covers and all is looking good. I just need to setup the programming for the mill and we will have things rolling.
Below is an image of the mold file for the passenger side cover. I'm sticking to a factory (non-aftermarket) appearance. Just a nice enhancement to the engine bay.
Regards,
Derek Fricke
Last edited by FrickenJag; 08-18-2015 at 02:11 PM.
I don't think the CF parts are cost effective for most people compared to hydrographic dipping of the parts. The OEM plastic parts are easy to buy and are priced very low.
The potential user could either have their OEM parts removed, cleaned and dipped or keep the originals, buy the new parts and have them hydrographic printed and have both.
The cost to have parts hydrographic dipped is so low compared to actual carbon fiber parts, and these parts under the hood are rarely seen by anybody except the Jag owner.
I would think you have a limited audience in buying real carbon fiber parts for under the hood strictly due to cost.
I'm sure there are those who would prefer to use the cheaper option and go with hydrographics. I think this is a great option. I just personally prefer the true carbon appearance. I'm sure there are a few that have similar tastes to my own and that is enough to justify my costs of designing. I'm just happy to supply additional options and increase the likelihood of other owners wanting to pop their hood and show these cars off at shows or meets. These in combination with the carbon induction tubing are going to be quite the attention grabber, if not on other vehicles certainly my own.
Final Front Radiator cover mold. I'll start on the milling process and should have some final parts soon.
Once these panels are complete, the next step I'm going to design a full carbon throttle to filter induction, this will include the bellmount intakes for the intake box for the XKR. I just need to get all these spare parts to measure and compute CFD.
Update. I finally have a few guys lined up with quotes for machining molds.
I'm going to see how many people are truly interested in these, then pull the trigger on the molds as they are certainly not cheap.
I'm trying to keep pricing as fair as possible as I would like to see these on many cars and not just my own toys. No added labels to parts. Clean factory replacement look.
Rough ball park estimate for the panels are as follows: Left and Right covers will be around 500$ /piece. Front Large Radiator cover will be around 700$. Total Kit will retail :~1700$
Package sale for all panels 1400$ for early bird discounts.
I'm going to match the twill that is on the exterior Jaguar parts. These are direct full carbon replacements. USA manufactured. No covers, or overlays etc. Colored carbon fiber may be options soon as well.
I will have induction tubing setups for both 4.2L and 5.0L setups to match soon.
If any one is seriously interested perhaps we can start a poll. I should have some finished parts in a few weeks depending on when I bite the bullet for machining tools.
Plugs will be at Hendricks for carbon fiber production at the end of the this week. All the factory vent holes etc will be part of the milling operation. I'll be producing these in a standard resin based finish, then the end user can request matt or gloss based coating. The carbon weave I will be matching to the factory Jaguar carbon twill accessory parts. No concerns about an inconsistent pattern.
I am scanning both the 4.2 and 5.0L engine covers and reverse engineering those. I'm hoping to have the basic designs complete by next week. Then we can discuss appearance and making the shape more fitting to the car. I am personally not a fan of the sharp edges and contouring to the factory covers. Something a little smoother and matching to the jaguar body will be more suitable.
Looks great, but I don't see any advantage of going to CF for those parts. There's little weight difference and flexibility of the plastic makes it easier to remove and install.
Thanks for the reply. Yea, we aren't thinking of weight reduction here. This is only cosmetic to rid of the plastic everywhere. Should give a better appearance when complete with the engine cover and carbon induction tubing.
I can only take so much plastic in an engine bay before it starts feeling like a Honda. There will be plenty of other carbon components on the way, these were a start to perfecting my method.
Should have the panels finished out this week. I'm planning to have the mold for the engine covers ready after the holiday. Here's what I have so far for the covers. Scanned and converted. I'll be designing around this dim to make something more aesthetically appealing.
Below are some photos of the 5.0L Carbon Cover for the XKR and F-types. I'm fine tuning it as more suggestions are made. More detail over in the F-type forum. Let me know your input.
07-02-2015, 03:03 PM
Carbon Fiber Panels Feeler
