I don't connect with whatever it is people see in Carbon Fiber, but I appreciate that it has a huge appeal to a lot of people. Whatever, my opinion isn't why I'm writing. Daddy Fat Sacs' was very explicit in pointing this out to me the other day: his interior mod projects are actual carbon fiber components. Not a wrap. Not a dip.

 

Its because carbon fiber = racecar.

I did a CF wrap on my old car but i'd never do it on the G. Real CF work on the other hand, looks pretty impressive in person.

Also its kinda funny that the idea of using CF parts is to save weight, but in this case you're actually adding weight by putting carbon fiber over the existing trim, then the resin.

 

Yes, Daddy Fat Sacs' parts are wrapped in actual carbon fiber by Carbon Fiber Element. These are the people that are just on facebook so it seems a bit sketchy, but looks fantastic.

I was a bit leery about the carbon fiber myself as I thought it would be too dark for the rest of the black interior, but the actual carbon fiber wrap looks fairly shiny and bright so I think it pops a bit nicely instead of blending into the interior. I do like how the standard silver trim looks- it reminds me of the trim on my E46 M3.

The only reason I am considering this is that I was hauling a long downspout in the car going from trunk to pass through coming near the dash. I was very careful on the way home not to slam the brakes so it would hit the dash. I was a block from my house and a car was about to pull out in front of me. My instincts took over and I hit the brake a touch too hard and it scratched the dash piece.

The passenger side has a small dent and the driver's side has a scratch. (I know, I know, I am a damn perfectionist) The stock dash piece is roughly $250 at my employee cost. I can wrap the whole interior for about $200 or get actual carbon wrap for about $700.

Yes, the actual carbon wrap looks great. I am definitely not trying to save weight here- just fixing the current imperfections in my trim pieces.

What do you guys think about wrapping the steering wheel trim or trim around the shifter? I think I would do it similar to Daddy Fat Sacs, but definitely do the two lower center console trim pieces that he left in the stock "brushed aluminum" finish.

 

You've got scratches and dents in your dash that mock you every time you drive the car.

Grok.

 

$200? For vinyl wrap? Where did you get that number? It should only be like $40-50 at max.

Real CF sounds about right at $700+


I would do the lower trim the same way as the rest of the car so it all matches. DFS said he only left that stock because he swapped those CF trims from his old automatic car (and obviously those are totally different and won't fit)

 

Wow didn't realize there was so much discussion over the CF thing. So few things, yes my interior is real carbon and not vinyl. The bottom 2 pieces were left because as iCrap mentioned, this was originally from my 7at and of course the bottom pieces are not the same in the 6mt, hence the mis match for now.

Carbon is definitely one of those materials I feel there is no median; either you hate it or you love it. I clearly love it and only thing I will ever say is that pictures never do it true justice. I've never been able to truly catch the right angle and light and I'm sure my not so good picture skills don't help either.

Op I'd personally say to go it's the real thing but if vinyl is your choice then so be it. Also $700 for full interior consist oh which pieces and that seems like a great deal at that price!

On a side note since we're on the subject....I installed my Autokits XS rear diffuser, along with the Successful Automotive rear spats and front splitter...ALL Carbon Fiber

 

No place around here does all that labor quite that cheap, but the new carbon fiber vinyl has to look really good for me to go that option- and I am doubting that it will.

Does Carbon Fiber Element have a phone number, address, website, etc? Seems a bit sketchy to me. Got any pics of the new diffuser, spats, and splitter? I bet that looks awesome too. I have been thinking about a carbon wrap for the bottom section of the rear bumper and front bumper since I cannot seem to find decently priced splitters and diffusers that I like.

The Carbon Signal ones look great, but are super expensive. With the snow we get here I know I would rip off the splitter just trying to get into my driveway sometime.

 

The vinyl wrap is easy enough that you can do it yourself in a few hours, no need to have a shop do it.

Carbon Fiber Element seems a bit sketch but its fine. They do business like pretty much only through Instagram and Facebook. I don't even think they publicly list a phone number.

A few years back I got some CFE trims for my past car in a trade, ended up not keeping it. Here is some pics of those parts....

There were a few flaws but overall not bad. I got them free via trade but the guy told me he paid over $1000 for it. Pretty crazy. I hated the copper / cf hybrid weave so I didn't keep it.

 

That trim looks pretty cool, especially if it were a copper colored car. Maybe better silver on our cars. It is a Honda? I would much rather pay someone to do the labor than screw around with it, especially since it is a friend of mine that I don't mind helping out.

Anyone else work with Carbon Fiber Element?

 

I've met with Tony from Carbon Fiber Element in person, he's local to me in NJ. Only about 15min away. I turned to him for assistance in getting my airbag back onto my custom steering wheel, he told me to stop on by and installed it for me. I was surprised because the wheel wasn't even made by him. I have carbon fiber trim pieces planned for the future. Just know that there is no weight reduction, it's just the OEM pieces wrapped in CF. It technically weighs more, but who cares.

Also, are you still running plastic hub rings on your wheels? I like the TSW Interlagos but lack of aluminum hub rings is a bummer since I'll be rotating wheels.

 

No worries, I am not planning on losing any weight by wrapping my interior trim in carbon fiber. Glad to hear your experience with Carbon Fiber Element.

They only make plastic rings for the Interlagos. What does rotating wheels have to do with plastic rings? I just switched back from winter wheels to the Interlagos last weekend.

The issue I thought I was going to have was with heat from the brakes at track days. Fortunately, the rotors and calipers are big enough on this car that they seem to dissipate heat from the hubs well enough to be ok. No issues at the handful of track days I did last year.

 

I just brought it up because "weight reduction" was mentioned. He's a great guy though.

I was also reading and some people said that the plastic hub rings get worn quickly from torquing the wheels down over time. What size hub rings do you use? I just found some sites that can make custom sizes with aluminum.

 

I can say that I've had my plastic hub rings over the last 4 winters on 3 different cars with no deformation of them.

 

Would you happen to have the size?

 

I mentioned earlier that I was not expecting a weight reduction, so I am not quite sure what you are referring to or why adding more material to something would make it lighter?

Torquing wheels down would have no impact on the hub rings. Over time you may get a very slight bit of wear on them from sliding the wheels on and off, but they probably actually hold their shape better than soft aluminum.

I looked into this when I got the wheels and I could not find any place in the world with the right size. I think the TSW's were a very weird size, but I do not remember the exact number. If you found a place that can custom fab them for you, that would probably work. Where is it and how much are custom hub centric rings?