Body kits enhance the style of your car. Some components also enhance the aerodynamics of the car. Being essentially added on to your car, body kits need to be quite light. Otherwise your car weight will go up and that would adversely impact your car’s performance. Therefore the material of which body kits are made needs to be light.
Body kits also have elegant and stylish shapes with a glossy surface finish. The shapes are very elaborate and full of curves. So their material of construction should be such that it can be fashioned into complex shapes.
Body kits are mounted on the exterior of your car. When the car is cruising it experiences considerable aerodynamic forces. Body kits need to be able to withstand these large forces. Under high performance driving conditions the aerodynamic forces are very large. Body kits have to be able to resist even these very large forces. Therefore the material of construction needs to be very strong.
It is not easy to find these three properties, that is, lightness, ability to make complex shapes and strength in a single material. However carbon fiber is one of the best materials if these are the properties you are looking for. It is very light, can be molded into complex shapes and is very strong.
Carbon fiber as used in everyday language is short for carbon fiber reinforced polymer. It is essentially carbon fibers (sometimes called graphite fibers) held together by a polymer. The most common polymer is an epoxy polymer. Though individually neither carbon fibers nor the polymer have the desired properties, in combination they are very, light, strong and complex shapes can be made using them. Since it is made of two distinct materials it is called a composite material.
Carbon fibers initially found application in the aerospace industry where a light and strong material is very important. Aerospace being a highly research oriented industry there has been a lot of research done on carbon fiber products and the products we now see benefit from the refinement.
Carbon fiber products are lighter and usually more expensive compared to fiberglass products. If you choose to buy carbon fiber body kits you are buying some of the most high tech products available. You can find more information on body kits at www.ilovebodykits.com