Raptor carbon fiber frame swap

[zombiekiller]

I agree 100%. Imagine if you were to get into a car wreck with a carbon fiber frame. If the impact was serious, the damage could be catastrophic. Carbon fiber cannot absorb that kind of energy.


LOL I remember when the carbon fiber fenders had just came out. There was a ton of hype!

In all honesty, when you look at how CF is used in road racing and F1, it is all monocoque construction techniques. They generally do subframes ( and the material for subframes depends on the racing series).

So I guess maybe if you wanted to build a completely new chassis that was unibody/monocoque with reinforced mounting points, you might be able to get em done, but what happens when you get nerfed?

there are some TT teams that run CF panels, but panels are disposable.

There was a ton of hype on the CF body panels. Mine are going bye bye, but not based on the shape. I beat the hell out of them. I got my money's worth, however knowing now that I really need to be treating fenders and bedsides as wear items, I don't want to keep spending 2.5x of what fiberglass runs to keep replacing them. I wrap my truck anyway, and the CF is way more vanity than function. I know Robby has another truck or two that will come out of the shop with them on when complete.

( Full honesty, Robby got hosed by the production company. I still like the shape of Robby's panels the best when compared to all others. The CF quality is just dogshit. That is NOT his fault, but nonetheless, he got hit with the splash.)


There is a part that I would be interested in talking about with someone... A CF Sunroof Filler Panel for when my truck gets caged. Ideally, I'd like to close out the roof panel and get rid of the glass.

I do know that there are LOTS of folks that would be interested due to all the sunroof track/glass cracking issues. Most of us got "stuck" with a truck with a sunroof. I think I've opened it less than 6 times in 2 years.

 

[Marcus85]

There is a part that I would be interested in talking about with someone... A CF Sunroof Filler Panel for when my truck gets caged. Ideally, I'd like to close out the roof panel and get rid of the glass.

I do know that there are LOTS of folks that would be interested due to all the sunroof track/glass cracking issues. Most of us got "stuck" with a truck with a sunroof. I think I've opened it less than 6 times in 2 years.

Been thinking about cutting mine out and trying to weld in a filler panel, just scared about seeing the seam up there look like shit.

Who you having build the cage?

 

[Adam Miller]

Some of you have serious misconceptions about the properties of carbon fiber. It would be far stronger and stresses like landing jumps would not be an issue at all--that stuff is right in CF's wheelhouse. However, that doesn't make it a good candidate for a frame. Areas for mounting pieces like the motor and suspension would need to be bonded aluminum or steel inserts--you can't just have a hole or boss in bare CF and run a high stress bolt through it. While outright strength is not an issue (and neither is fatigue), CF could be dangerous in an accident because it is so strong. There is no energy absorption, which is bad for a meat occupant. But the biggest reason not to use this material for an off road frame is because it is susceptible to impact damage from rocks and debris. When those happen you can get delamination and tearing of the layers and once that happens the strength is gone. That's when catastrophic failure occurs.

Imagine a rolling chassis. An undamaged frame could probably be dropped from 50 feet and would be unscathed, while the wheels and suspension would be toast. But whack the side of the frame with a rock or hammer until you see damage and the frame will fail right in that spot.

 

[Adam Miller]

I've got a lot of experience with carbon fiber through motorcycles, including structural pieces like this CF swingarm.

View media item 14680

 

[zombiekiller]

Been thinking about cutting mine out and trying to weld in a filler panel, just scared about seeing the seam up there look like shit.

Who you having build the cage?

HMRacing design most likely. Kevin is finalizing his cad files int he next week. He's done a few already. Not many shops are comfortable with caging the aluminum cab trucks. HMRancing is. It is also a benefit that kevin has been building seriously badass prerunners and trophy trucks for over 20 years. Their work is top-notch.

If you're interested, I am happy to make an intro for you. His gen1 based builds are bananas. I got taken for a joyride in one of them in san felipe. It was like riding in an offshore powerboat, just way more stable. the truck was also cooking through at 40mph faster than my truck could do it.

 

[Preston Hayes]

Carbon fiber would be great at absorbing damage in a collision, I’ve seen the Indy car nose cones in testing it’s amazing. However as a frame I’d be real concerned about the possible brittleness of it

 

[VelociRap]

Sounds neat, but I would be extremely surprised if the stock frame weighed 1000 lbs.

he said the overall weight will be 900-1000lbs less, not total weight of the frame.

 

[GCATX]

he said the overall weight will be 900-1000lbs less, not total weight of the frame.

What?

 

[Xtinct]

You guys scared the OP away pretty quick!

 

[Deleted member 17706]

I know carbon fiber is used in Formula racing, motorcycle racing, and so forth. Maybe it would do better in a crash than what I thought. But I don’t see it withstanding off-road abuse. A formula 1 vehicle made to drive on a track is one thing. A raptor that weighs 4 times a formula car and is designed to go off-road is a whole another thing.