yellowGS

I have been lurking for some time as i awaited my "new" 2010 GS. I have found an incredible amount of useful information; but I do have a question about carbon fibre accessories. I plan on doing several mods to the interior and exterior trims. My issue is that I don't seem to be able to find one supplier to provide all the parts I am looking for. American Hydrocarbon comes highly recommended on this forum, but they don't appear to make the air intakes for the hood or side vents. I also want to do several interior upgrades (radio bezel, instrument cluster bezel, console base, etc) but they don't seem to make these either. Any issues on match between suppliers? i want to use real carbon fibre for the exterior parts. interior I prefer the look of the real, but am open to a graphic if its consistent between parts. Thanks.

gp56

Apsis has everything you need for the interior if you want real carbon. Many vendors offer exterior real carbon parts. For matching purposes you want to make sure the pattern is 2x2 twill.

For exterior parts the concern is durability. I have seen many exterior carbon parts that show the ribs of the carbon when you look at them at an angle. Means the part was never cured properly, as part looked great when first installed and then deteriorates due to the sun.

I started with all hydro parts and then got a real carbon halo and realized there is no comparison to hydro, so I ended up doing everything twice!

yellowGS

Thanks for the reply. Just to be clear, you switched out your hydro parts with real carbon? Given your comments on durability, who did you use for your carbon halo?

Thanks

gp56

Since my car is an 06 it had no hydro in the car from the factory, I redid the interior in hydro then did it again in carbon. Looks a thousand times better but much costlier.
On the exterior I had put on hydrocarbon halo, side skirts and splash guards which I then changed to carbon.

Carbon costs a lot more but you would be better off getting fewer carbon pieces in the beginning and then buy more when your budget allows rather than doing everything in hydro and then regretting it later and doing everything over like I did.

BWF07

If you have money to burn, then the real carbon fiber is your answer. There are many on here that say the real stuff is the way to go, not the fake hydro carbon. I look at it this way, Caron Fiber was designed as a strong light weight material for aircraft and racing application to name a few. If you are looking for dress up, then I see nothing wrong with the Hydro Carbon. I had both on my C5. Small pieces are not super expensive, but when you state looking at front splitters, rear diffuser and other large parts the prices jumps up compared to hydro. So it is up to you. you may need to just surf the different vendors for all the pieces you need. I had American Hydrocarbon supply everything I had on my C5. I only have added a few pieces to my C6, but will continue to use them as I progress.

Gering

Good advice, I really like my CF inside and outside door pieces from Apsis.

SilverScorp

with the others. I started with hydrocarbon and have switched most of it out for real CF. The look of the real stuff is indeed much better, but more costly. If you do decide to go with hydrocarbon make sure you stick with the same vendor parts. For instance as an example, performance corvettes black HC has a gray tint to it, whereas RPIs HC has a black/bluish tint to it. They look different when you compare them side-by-side and wont match. I know this because it happened to me which made me switch it all out for real CF.

As for real CF, be mindful that there are different twill patterns sold by vendors on the forums and elsewhere. The most common pattern is 2x2 twill which is what most people have and sold by most vendors. A few vendors, like APR for instance, sell real CF as a 4x4 twill and wont match the 2x2 twill. Whichever way you decide to go, make sure the tint/pattern matches. Hope this helps ya!

rsssguy

I have a ton of advice on this ......My Callaway GS vert CE has more than 30 pieces installed at this point. Some real success and some real nightmares. I used four different vendors. If you want to pm me your number, I will fill you in on my experiences. There's one vendor on here that you need to really distance yourself from. Run, don't walk from this guy..........