Personally I'm sick and tired of the little dings and what not and I was wondering if the chassis of the 7 could potentially support a fully polyurethane or polyfiber body including fenders and door skins. If now the whole body, could it support some parts? Does anyone know how much load the actual body takes away from the chassis? Also how much would something like that cost? Just a point of inquiry spawned from remembering the commercial about some car with dent resistant doors. Thanks for entertaining my thoughts.

-Chris

 

Chris, what's up? Haven't seen you post in a LONG time... hope all is well.

I dunno the answer to all your questions, and I don't know how much of the body you physically CAN remove w/o cutting it off (you can't exactly take off the quarter panel which goes to the roof...all one huge peice). Also, your options are limited to what is available. There are CF fenders, but you don't want that. Urethane and polyfiber parts are available for front & rear bumpers, skirts, and that's about it.

As for urethane vs. polyfiber, urethane is heavy (really...much heavier than fiberglass), and it'll sag and get wavy w/ heat over time (direct sunlight). Not the best material, but it's very reselint, so it won't crack like fiberglass. Polyfiber is the middle ground...resilient like urethane, but light like fiberglass, and can be repaired like fiberglass (unlike urethane). It doesn't sag or get wavy either. The only ppl I know that make polyfiber is VIS. So again, you're limited by what's available.

 

yeah generally fiberglass and urethane are the two common ones you'll see when you go shopping, stay away from FRP parts. ive heard from ramy that the VIS polyfiber is really good and they also have a good selection as well.

 

FRP? Is that some sort of plastic? Not familiar w/ it...

Yep...I'm still standing by my word. My body kit has taken beating after beating, and it's still standing strong. It's incredible. Skipping over the 1001 potholes I've ran through at 5 - 55mph, once the shop left the car in gear (I almost never do that, so I'm not prepared for it). Started the car, it stalled out and lurched forward, slamming into a car in front of me. NOTHING happened to the front bumper. Another time, a shop was trying to raise my car on the lift, and forgot to raise the mounting points, so basically they practically squished/flattened my sideskirts for a few seconds LOL (oh I wasn't laughing at the time...I was gonna blow up). Of course they put the car right back down, and nothing happened to the skirts at all. Thank God. Damn this stuff is good lol. I guess VIS wasn't kidding when they said it's virtually indestructable.

 

Fiberglass reinforced plastic.

 

My bloody front bumper has sags and waves that you can notice in the sunlight. I'll be getting a series8 (99+) custom front without the number plate holder and sounds like it'll be made of polyfibre since it doesn't sag and can be repaired unlike the factory material. FDNewbie do you have a polyfibre bodykit? Have any sags or waves?

Joseph

 

Joseph, yes my entire bodykit is made of polyfiber. Front & rear bumpers + the sideskirts. No sagging at all. Quite a bit of rock chips tho from those 140mph runs

Oh and I hate to burst your bubble, but I don't know of anyone who makes the 99spec front in polyfiber. The OEM one is urethane I believe, and so is the one that Chuck (RotaryExtreme) makes.

 

do you have pictures of the kit? who made it again? what was the price?

 

Sup Ramy,

Long time no see. I'm doing alright. How've you been. I've been kinda out of the loop, stopping by the forum when I can to sneak a peek. It's just that over winter break I was sitting in a parking lot looking for a spot and I saw someone nearly dent the crap out of someone's door but was able to stop it at the last second. I was thinking, 'thats why the 7's not out today'. I really want to use it as a daily driver to some extent, but door dings and such are a pretty big risk (not that the 7's body is pristine right now.... =(....) Then I remembered the commercial with the shopping cart rolling along and it hitting the side of what I think I remember as being a Saturn. Is it possible to take the door skin off at least? If and when I do get a paint job and fix all the little dings, I'd probably cry uncontrollably if I got a door ding and the bastard ran away. Thanks for the posts.

 

Are you asking me?

Chris, the door skin can be removed, but I dunno how easy it is to take it off and replace it w/ a new one. I know one of my doors had a nasty dent in it (like over a year ago) and the insurance adjustor (I filed a claim) recommended a new door skin. My body shop was like screw that...I'm doing the job RIGHT...we need a new door shell. It can't be repaired correctly w/ just a skin. :shrug: So I don't know for sure...

Oh and I feel you about door dings etc. I park like 100 feet from the nearest car, and always aim to take a corner spot, so I only have to worry about ONE side of the car, not both. I really seriously almost never park between two cars...you're just asking for it in such a case IMO

 

yes I was asking you

 

I have pictures of the kit on my car These are the only 3 pics I have of the rear bumper in polyfiber before it was painted or anything (it was being testfitted, and as you can see, it fit great)

The parts are made by VIS Racing (www.visracing.com), and price is VERY good. I forget how much, esp. since they hook me up, but I bet ya it's cheaper than 99% of the good stuff out there (so don't compare to importfan.com's prices lol)

 

yeah that does look like a good fit out of the box, id be sure to buy polyfiber if i get an FD

 

They make a TON of parts for like 1001 cars, and I think the vast majority of them can be ordered in polyfiber - but by special order only. I think it takes about a month for them to get it - put in the order, have it made, then ship it over to them.

 

Do any of them fit or look better than the example above?

 

Postwhore The above pic is the bumper as is, taken out of the box and placed on the car. No prep work, no paint, nada. Fitment was pretty darn good.

 

The reak mazdaspeed kits are made of poly...they are really high quality...They sort of feel like they are impossible to dent

 

Actually, genuine Mazdaspeed parts are made of FPR. Do a search if you still have your doubts. They MAY have some parts in polyURETHANE, but AFAIK, no one makes polyfiber except VIS. I think INGS came out w/ a material like it just recently (or the other way around...they came out w/ it first and then VIS came out w/ theirs... doesn't matter). Even the new DRFT C-west kit is made of polyURETHANE. PolyURETHANE = heavy, sags & gets wavy, and AFAIK, can't be repaired. But it is very flexible...