Are these overlays or a direct replacement? Be nice to have a cheaper plastic aftermarket part to paint or wrap.
KPE carbon fiber vents installed - Pics and review
7
I installed the KPE real carbon fiber fender vents today. I love them.
I would like to provide review of the product for those that might be interested. They are only vents, but when you looking at real carbon fiber, not all work is created equal. It is evident that KPE took great care to lay the carbon fiber so that the weave is aligned correctly. When examining low quality carbon fiber you can often see that the carbon fiber weave is not aligned and wavy. There can be large gaps between the weave and large air bubbles can be present in the resin. This was not the case with the KPE carbon fiber vents.
The KPE carbon fiber vents are a quality product. The carbon fiber weave is aligned very nicely. No wavy misaligned carbon fiber weave. The resin is laid uniformly and no large air bubbles are present. There are however very small air bubbles in the resin, but they cannot be seen unless you put your face right up to the part and examine very closely. I contacted KPE about the small bubbles and here is the response from the owner of KPE:
"These parts were designed not be evaluated under a microscope but rather as an enhancement styling product for the exterior of a vehicle. These products are manufactured by hand with dynamic curves and it is not always able to hold the tolerances seen with more expensive processes for manufacturing carbon fiber parts such as an autoclave. With hand laid resin, you may have the rare occurrence of air pockets, but this is common in most hand laid CF parts."
I asked about the resin used on the carbon fiber vents. I was told KPE uses a vinylester resin with a UV protective clear coat. When using resin in carbon fiber parts there are typically 3 types of resin used. Epoxy, vinylester, or Polyesters. Here is a great link that explains the difference between the resins if you are interested. Resin Types.
The short of it is vinylester resin is a quality middle ground resin perfect for this type of part. It is a quality resin that will not yellow or crack. The KPE carbon fiber parts also have a UV clear coat to further protect the resin from aging.
Polyester resign is the cheapest resin which is more prone to crack and yellow over time. Low quality cheaper carbon fiber parts use Polyester resign.
So, KPE in my option makes great quality carbon fiber parts.
In the pics the metal mesh is painted black, which I did myself. Currently KPE only offers the metal mesh in silver. Maybe if enough people want them in black they might start offering that. I love the look with the vents installed I would recommend getting them for sure. Who knows maybe KPE would offer a group buy on them if there is enough interest.
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I would like to provide review of the product for those that might be interested. They are only vents, but when you looking at real carbon fiber, not all work is created equal. It is evident that KPE took great care to lay the carbon fiber so that the weave is aligned correctly. When examining low quality carbon fiber you can often see that the carbon fiber weave is not aligned and wavy. There can be large gaps between the weave and large air bubbles can be present in the resin. This was not the case with the KPE carbon fiber vents.
The KPE carbon fiber vents are a quality product. The carbon fiber weave is aligned very nicely. No wavy misaligned carbon fiber weave. The resin is laid uniformly and no large air bubbles are present. There are however very small air bubbles in the resin, but they cannot be seen unless you put your face right up to the part and examine very closely. I contacted KPE about the small bubbles and here is the response from the owner of KPE:
"These parts were designed not be evaluated under a microscope but rather as an enhancement styling product for the exterior of a vehicle. These products are manufactured by hand with dynamic curves and it is not always able to hold the tolerances seen with more expensive processes for manufacturing carbon fiber parts such as an autoclave. With hand laid resin, you may have the rare occurrence of air pockets, but this is common in most hand laid CF parts."
I asked about the resin used on the carbon fiber vents. I was told KPE uses a vinylester resin with a UV protective clear coat. When using resin in carbon fiber parts there are typically 3 types of resin used. Epoxy, vinylester, or Polyesters. Here is a great link that explains the difference between the resins if you are interested. Resin Types.
The short of it is vinylester resin is a quality middle ground resin perfect for this type of part. It is a quality resin that will not yellow or crack. The KPE carbon fiber parts also have a UV clear coat to further protect the resin from aging.
Polyester resign is the cheapest resin which is more prone to crack and yellow over time. Low quality cheaper carbon fiber parts use Polyester resign.
So, KPE in my option makes great quality carbon fiber parts.
In the pics the metal mesh is painted black, which I did myself. Currently KPE only offers the metal mesh in silver. Maybe if enough people want them in black they might start offering that. I love the look with the vents installed I would recommend getting them for sure. Who knows maybe KPE would offer a group buy on them if there is enough interest.
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