Carbon parts ?
 

I'm sick and tired of the shitty parts I have from Seibon. I've had my hood less than 4 months and it's already cracked from being parked in a heated garage. The epoxy and aftercoating is uneven in many places, the carbon coloration is fading (and I make it a point in not parking in the sun). I purchased from them directly and they are giving me terrible customer service (not replying to e-mails, giving me the run around, etc). Has anyone else experienced this ?

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good reputable carbon company other than Seibon and Vis ? My current car is a 2012 STi.

If you want better quality, go for authentic.

2012 STIs are out already?

this may not apply to you directly, but ARK makes some pretty good stuff in terms of CF hoods, trunks, lips and other parts for my car (genesis coupe)

i've heard of STi's that are running ARK's coilovers. since that's the case i'm under the assumption they have other parts for your car too. might be worth a look

good luck!

I'm all for supporting JDM tuners but Subaru & STi never produced a stock carbon hood.

Sorry I meant a 2011.

Thanks for the tip ! But they don't seem to have any carbon parts for the STi on their site.

you have other options other than seibon,

ive always found VIS higher quality than seibon, but of course, its more expensive.

http://www.japanparts.com/images/Ima...ase=1&no=25773

OEM aluminum hood? color match the CF hood?

i've had my seibon hood for over a year. i park outdoor in the sun/rain/snow all through this year .. hit a couple trips down to washington, whistler and daily ~ 80km a day and i've had no issues with fading or cracking.

I think you either had a bad defective product or just a guess maybe you didn't give it the TLC you should have?

I've always made sure to clean it as frequently as possible and give it a nice wax every 1-2 months. But mind you my hood had to endure all the weather vancouver has to give.

VIS and seibon hood is very similar in price .. i've heard bad stories on VIS as well before i made my purchase and they included bad clearcoat or uneven weave. I think it's a 50/50 shot. Just depends on the batch of materials they were using at the time ... carbon's never identical right? VIS was $550 and seibon was $600 when I picked up mine ... but it's a vw maybe pricing is weird.

Just get the stick on stuff. Or enjoy being not covered by inusrance if you get into an accident with a CF part.
REAL CF on a street car with full interior is the ultimate poser lolz. Most people do it for looks, it makes no practical sense to "save weight" when you can gut your interior and drop more than cf could ever hope to accomplish.

vdub is right.

Go look at the super-high end OEM carbon fiber parts on an audi/lambo/porsche and find out what they cost... then compare to how much you are willing to spend and understand that you will NOT get the same quality of weave and clear coat.

Also, all of seibon parts are "wet carbon" which means they are laid by hand just like fiberglass. When you roll/brush the resin on, it's fairly uneven and moves the weaves around. Even after vacuum bagging you won't get a perfect distribution of resin and strength. Most super high end clean OEM carbon parts are "dry carbon" aka "pre-preg" parts, which means they have the resin pre-impregnated into the carbon weave and when you bake it in a pressurize autoclave, you get an even distribution of resin, perfect finish with insane strength and super lightweight. Pre-preg is generally 3x-4x the cost of wet carbon.

I think Seibon has a 6month warranty. call them if you are unhappy.

Even the best carbon fiber parts from manufacturers like Porsche will show discoloration and fade. If one have a chance look at a well driven Carrera GT from the South, a lot of them have color fade and weave showing through paint etc.

The finishing has to do with the gel coat not as much as the resin. The problem is the compound is extremely expensive, more than gold / oz. In the end, they still fade.

The cost of prepregs is not too bad, their problem is their short use by date and storage (2 weeks). I've converted a freezer to transport mine from Seattle when I need them.

I think you've just gotten unlucky. I've had carbon pieces from both companies on my car now for a long time and not had a single issue. I park every day in the sun, rain, snow, and i swear i live in cat town. Hood and trunk still look new, and I couldn't ask for more of a quality fiberglass backing for the parts either. Even my muffler is still fine and it's a muffler. I'd definitely be calling Seibon back though, maybe it's just a weak batch, since the car is brand new.