Printable Version of Topic
Click here to view this topic in its original format
914World.com _ Member Vendors _ Carbon Fiber Front Clip
Posted by: groot Sep 20 2006, 10:52 AM
Okay, several people have asked about getting these front clips... here's the breakdown:
Front Clip Option 1
-Opaque gelcoat finish (ready to paint) made mostly of fiberglass, with some carbon for strength
-Please select grey, white or black
-Cost $490 plus $50 for tooling recovery*
Front Clip Option 2
-Vacuum infused, clear finish made of 3 layers (6K, 11.4oz twill weave carbon, 1/8" core material for infustion, and carbon/kevlar hybrid twill
-Cost $785 plus $50 for tooling recovery* 
Splitter Option (not required and can be mounted to other front clips, provided they have a level mounting surface)
-Carbon fiber, leading edge is reinforced with extra layers of carbon fiber
-Reduces ride height clearance, splitter's overall thickness is slightly over 3/8", (.390") (on my car this splitter sits 2" from the ground, while the front donuts are 3.5" from the ground)
-Care should be taken to mount this as level as possible for maximum benefit
-Cost $280
Shipping-required for all options 
-Figure between $80 and $180 for shipping using FEDEX Freight, must be shipped to a loading dock or can be picked up at a FEDEX Freight facility
Timing
-Please allow 2 weeks for construction
-Orders can start IMMEDIATELY
* Tooling recovery-This cost is meant to recover part of the money that I used to initiate this project including: purchasing the original air dam, shipping, constructing the tool and constructing the mold
Place the orders through me and I'll work with Mike Cudahy of Prototype Composites to get you the parts.
Here's a pic of the clip and splitter installed on my car:
Posted by: trekkor Sep 20 2006, 12:00 PM
That looks fantastic!! 
KT
Posted by: brant Sep 20 2006, 02:00 PM
I like the new paint Kevin.
the car looks amazing!
whats the new weight this year?
brant
Posted by: groot Sep 20 2006, 04:13 PM
Thanks, Brant... it's come a long way....
I'm at 1850 with driver... so I have to run ballast.
Posted by: brant Sep 20 2006, 10:48 PM
Thats awesome Kevin!
good job!
brant
Posted by: nebreitling Sep 20 2006, 11:05 PM
that car is exceptionally hot.
Posted by: hars914 Sep 21 2006, 05:21 AM
How is it mounted?? Does it have brackets molded in or is it dzus fastened
Posted by: groot Sep 21 2006, 05:48 AM
The clip is only the shell, so one must devise their own mounting scheme.
I bolted mine throught the 916 Oil cooler opening on the front and then some brackets hold the back end of the splitter... allowing me to adjust the angle of the splitter as required.
Posted by: groot Sep 21 2006, 06:11 AM
Contact information....
e-mail or PM is the best way for the initial contact... so I keep track of all of this. My schedule can get hectic, so bare with me please.
Ask any questions you want here so everyone can see what's discussed.
I apologize for charging the "tooling recovery fee" but I did shell out over $2000 to be able to make this happen.... and I'm not that charitable (or rich). 
If this turns out okay and I don't lose my shirt, there may be other things we could develop in this fashion.
Posted by: Brad Roberts Sep 21 2006, 05:17 PM
Thanks Kevin
You have done a top notch job on producing this piece for the 914 market.
Your car looks GREAT!!
Keep up the good work. Maybe one day we can throw some sponsorship your way.
B
Posted by: mbdoc Dec 3 2006, 12:33 PM
Kevin,
Are you still offering the front clip in carbon fibre. What is delivery time and shipping costs to CA
Thanks in advance.
Adrian
Posted by: groot Dec 3 2006, 02:09 PM
Yes, they are....
The part should take only a few weeks to make and ship, depending on Mike's workload.... shipping and handling to So Cal could run $150-200.
Posted by: mbdoc Dec 3 2006, 03:35 PM
Yes, they are....
The part should take only a few weeks to make and ship, depending on Mike's workload.... shipping and handling to So Cal could run $150-200.
Thanks
I will place an order after the new year. Also if I may, I'm new to the 914's and am installing the bilstein coil overs in front. It seems as the top shock towers look weak as though it may rip out under extended hard loads. Do you know of any mods to strenghten this area.
Adrian
Posted by: groot Dec 3 2006, 05:43 PM
It seems as the top shock towers look weak as though it may rip out under extended hard loads. Do you know of any mods to strenghten this area.
Adrian
The stock upper bearing does a good job of distributing the load. I have never seen this as a failure... but having said that, many people add camber plates.... might be a good idea to ask this in the "Paddock" forum to see what others are up to.
Posted by: Eric_Shea Dec 3 2006, 08:09 PM
OMG... Thing of beauty! 
(the car and the CF bumper!)
Posted by: mbdoc Dec 4 2006, 11:23 AM
It seems as the top shock towers look weak as though it may rip out under extended hard loads. Do you know of any mods to strenghten this area.
Adrian
The stock upper bearing does a good job of distributing the load. I have never seen this as a failure... but having said that, many people add camber plates.... might be a good idea to ask this in the "Paddock" forum to see what others are up to.
Kevin,
I don't mean to be stupid but you say front clip and splitter. Please define. I was taught front clip meaing from windshield forward. Not sure of your term splitter. I'm interested in only the front bumper assembly complete as shown in your pic with the Sube in the background.
Thanks
Adrian
Posted by: michaelt55 Dec 6 2006, 05:54 PM
thats one gorgeous piece of carbon fiber....
any chance of getting some sort of stock mounting for it bonded into it?
Michael
Posted by: groot Dec 7 2006, 10:02 AM
Good questions....
Really the part is a combination of a bumper and an air dam.... really a fascia in my world, but that may not be the term most people are familiar with. I'm only referring to it as a clip to make sure people understand it's not just a bumper shell.
The splitter is a flat plate-like part that attaches to the bottom of the fascia to clean up the airflow underneath the car. You see them on a lot of newer race cars. This part is really a "race only" addition to the basic fascia due to the lack of ground clearance. It would be very difficult to live with this on the street.
As far as stock mounting points..... I'm leaving that up to the buyer to figure out. Most of these cars are different and the uses of these parts will be different. For example... I made my mounts strong and adjustable for rake angle but easily removable because I take it off to get the car on the trailer.
Posted by: Tobra Jan 10 2007, 10:55 PM
A thing of beauty.
how about front and rear decklids? or a top out of carbon fiber, that would also be pretty cool
Posted by: michaelt55 Jan 11 2007, 12:54 PM
A thing of beauty.
how about front and rear decklids? or a top out of carbon fiber, that would also be pretty cool
oh man..... I would be all over a CF top..... or spoiler...
Michael
Posted by: groot Jan 12 2007, 06:55 AM
To be honest, I financed this project and will not recover very much (any??) of it at this point. Only 1 part has been sold and I can't imagine that many more will be sold. Now, I'm not upset because I needed this part for my car. But the carbon hood/decklid would only cut a few #s from my car since I already have fiberglass. And the benefit would not justify the expense for me.
I am considering a carbon Ginther screen...... but by the time I secure one to use to make a mold, make the mold and buy the part.... it gets expensive.
If someone else wants to pony up they can work directly with Mike Cudahy at Prototype Composites.
Posted by: groot Jan 29 2008, 07:23 AM
New Pricing.
Option 1 price is now $690
Option 2 price is now $885
Tooling recovery has been deleted (not because I recovered my tooling costs, but because I'd rather see more of these on cars). For the record, I recovered less than 10% of my tooling costs.
Posted by: JazonJJordan Aug 1 2009, 09:20 AM
Man-o-man is that Gorgeous! 
Okay, several people have asked about getting these front clips... here's the breakdown:
Front Clip Option 1
-Opaque gelcoat finish (ready to paint) made mostly of fiberglass, with some carbon for strength
-Please select grey, white or black
-Cost $490 plus $50 for tooling recovery*
Front Clip Option 2
-Vacuum infused, clear finish made of 3 layers (6K, 11.4oz twill weave carbon, 1/8" core material for infustion, and carbon/kevlar hybrid twill
-Cost $785 plus $50 for tooling recovery*
Splitter Option (not required and can be mounted to other front clips, provided they have a level mounting surface)
-Carbon fiber, leading edge is reinforced with extra layers of carbon fiber
-Reduces ride height clearance, splitter's overall thickness is slightly over 3/8", (.390") (on my car this splitter sits 2" from the ground, while the front donuts are 3.5" from the ground)
-Care should be taken to mount this as level as possible for maximum benefit
-Cost $280
Shipping-required for all options
-Figure between $80 and $180 for shipping using FEDEX Freight, must be shipped to a loading dock or can be picked up at a FEDEX Freight facility
Timing
-Please allow 2 weeks for construction
-Orders can start IMMEDIATELY
* Tooling recovery-This cost is meant to recover part of the money that I used to initiate this project including: purchasing the original air dam, shipping, constructing the tool and constructing the mold
Place the orders through me and I'll work with Mike Cudahy of Prototype Composites to get you the parts.
Here's a pic of the clip and splitter installed on my car:
Posted by: tomeric914 May 22 2012, 12:24 PM
I know this thread is old. Just curious if these are still available?
Posted by: BKLA May 22 2012, 12:35 PM
they are available thru prototype composites.
http://www.prototypecomposites.com/mold.asp
When I last checked (2012.01.09) the front bumper in fiberglass was $718.00 and the splitter in carbon and kevlar was $431.00.
Be sure to get a current quote as prices for composites have fluctuated greatly.
W O R D
Posted by: bulitt May 22 2012, 01:52 PM
What a nice piece!
Posted by: theer Nov 30 2021, 04:30 PM
Back in 2012, someone said this was an old post… 9 years later…
We had this on our 914 LS2 racer, which was Tony Cracker’s first hotrod. It got crunched in our last race and we need a replacement.
Anyone know if these are still available? prototype composites looks to be out of business. Is the mold out there somewhere?
Thanks,
Tom
Posted by: Mikey914 Dec 28 2021, 11:09 AM
Back in 2012, someone said this was an old post… 9 years later…
We had this on our 914 LS2 racer, which was Tony Cracker’s first hotrod. It got crunched in our last race and we need a replacement.
Anyone know if these are still available? prototype composites looks to be out of business. Is the mold out there somewhere?
Thanks,
Tom
Depending on how crunched we could rebuild and make a mold.
Let me know if you can't find one.
Mark
914rubber.com
Posted by: Cracker Dec 28 2021, 10:27 PM
The last two that I had PC make for me they had raised their prices to roughly 1100...each. that was roughly in 2015 or so...I still have two of theirs on the racks in my garage.
Cracker
Posted by: Mikey914 Dec 29 2021, 02:06 AM
Yes the carbon fiber with clear you pay for the layup.
We would be somewhere in that range for the clear.
As for as doing carbon fiber with a black gel coat, fiberglass or even Kevlar we could do with a Gel coat and be more reasonable.
Posted by: theer Jul 18 2022, 10:05 PM
Update- I bought the two clips from Tony. Let me know if anyone wants to try and make a mold.
Posted by: dakotaewing Feb 11 2024, 11:45 AM
they are available thru prototype composites.
http://www.prototypecomposites.com/mold.asp
When I last checked (2012.01.09) the front bumper in fiberglass was $718.00 and the splitter in carbon and kevlar was $431.00.
Be sure to get a current quote as prices for composites have fluctuated greatly.
W O R D
It appears that this website leads to another / or possibly same composite company.
Can anyone confirm that these one and the same?
https://www.nwrapidmfg.com/
I'm just wondering about the original molds possibly still existing?
Powered by Invision Power Board (http://www.invisionboard.com)
© Invision Power Services (http://www.invisionpower.com)