The value of carbon fiber

[docskeet1]

It was $1,600.00 as a pre-sale. I guess they’ve had enough orders to raise their prices.

 

[Predator]

CF looks silly in any 5,000+ lb vehicle.

 

[WRCRaptor]

I don’t care for the carbon fiber bits inside the Raptor and had to take them because I wanted the Recaro seats. They are for looks in this application. Now if they were not shinny I would enjoy them a little.

 

[Nickshu]

I hated looking at the poor fit of the grey dash vents where they meet the dash...non-flush uneven fit from the factory. Looks terrible on a $76K truck and you can't avoid looking at it b/c it's right in front of your eyes whenever you are behind the wheel. Sad that Ford uses the same poor quality fit you would expect on a work truck for the Raptor dash.

So I bought the dash vent carbon fiber "covers" off Ebay for all the dash vents and the rear seat center console vent. They look great, match the factory carbon pieces, and hide the non-flush poor fit on the grey plastic dash vents. I did have to carefully cut out a "window" for the side mirror light switches on the driver's vent with a dremel tool but it came out great...cut carefully then sand and finished the edges with some black paint. Total cost was around $150. Ebay seller name is szjdx01, drop shipped from China.

That Carbon88 kit looks nice but wow over $2500 for some bling. I can say that my Ebay carbon covers look just as good as those, probably not as well made, but for a trim piece they look and work just fine.

I did order the steering wheel carbon trim but did not like the feel of the thickness of it so I took it off. Don't recommend that one.

 

[Ruger]

Thank you, @melvimbe , for your question. It needed asking in a bad way and is long overdue here.

There is a certain amount of personalization that people are lead to do when they buy something new. It's understandable to a limited extent. But going to exorbitant expense to achieve no improvement in function or performance is no different from peeing on a tree to mark territory. If you think you've got a problem to solve, that's dandy. But buying CF or chrome or black chrome or gold plate simply because you can show it off is nothing other than vanity - in this case ostentatious male vanity. One might as well hang a string of pearls on the rear view mirror - it's no different.

 

[xrocket21]

CF looks silly in any 5,000+ lb vehicle.

Because the last place you want to add light parts is on a heavy vehicle....

 

[FastEddie]

Adds 10hp per CF piece...

 

[Badgertits]

For "trim" pieces....it is all about looks

using carbon fiber for structural parts (as intended) is all about the weight savings.

A steal hood is 100 pounds. and about $700
An aluminum hood is 60 pounds. and about $1,500
A carbon fiber hood is 10 pounds. and about $10,000

Always trade offs

Not necessarily the delta between those materials these days. Carbon fiber has gotten MUCH cheaper to produce & shape/form into different parts than in years past. You can get a carbon fiber truck bed in a new GMC these days...and it doesn't cost $10k lol

I think carbon fiber's biggest drawback is similar to fiberglass or plastic in any structural components, when things break it become extremely costly to repair since it typically means full panel replacements and/or anything that's adjacent depending on damage. Ya can't weld/shape/bend/solder/cut/rivet/drill carbon fiber like you can AL & FE

Carbon fiber wheels are the shizzznit though - and again, prices WAY down - you can get CF wheels on new Mustang shelby

 

[goblues38]

Not necessarily the delta between those materials these days. Carbon fiber has gotten MUCH cheaper to produce & shape/form into different parts than in years past.

Was just proving a point, bot being dead on balls accurate.

 

[Gary E]

Because the last place you want to add light parts is on a heavy vehicle....

Just the opposite.