guys running or have experience with fiberglass trunk lids

[karolko]

Hey guys,

I thought i would post up here as i feel tat i will get the most appropriate response.

I am debating on weather or not to run a fiberglass trunk on the car, but i am unsure if it will yield positive benefits.

I guess there are two schools of thought:

1) weight is weight. Any weight shedded is a good thing
2) taking weight out of the rear of the car is not a good idea, as it will negtively effect traction.

So i guess i am asking has anyone ever put this to the test? Run one weekend with a steel trunklid and the next with a fiberglass one? or for instance, added weight into the trunk to see if it helped with traction.

I am not running in any weight restrcited catergories and so far the car weighs 2950 wet without me in it, but i'm looking to shed some more unnessesary weight if i know it will be at a benefit to ET's.

Thanks for your advise and experience guys,

Adrian

 

[Eticket]

Well.. I just bought a trunk... Looks nice but haven't fitted it yet. I figure weight is weight... So a hood will be coming soon and I got some doors too - for factory hardware of course

 

[turbobitt]

Hey guys,

I thought i would post up here as i feel tat i will get the most appropriate response.

I am debating on weather or not to run a fiberglass trunk on the car, but i am unsure if it will yield positive benefits.

I guess there are two schools of thought:

1) weight is weight. Any weight shedded is a good thing
2) taking weight out of the rear of the car is not a good idea, as it will negtively effect traction.

So i guess i am asking has anyone ever put this to the test? Run one weekend with a steel trunklid and the next with a fiberglass one? or for instance, added weight into the trunk to see if it helped with traction.

I am not running in any weight restrcited catergories and so far the car weighs 2950 wet without me in it, but i'm looking to shed some more unnessesary weight if i know it will be at a benefit to ET's.

Thanks for your advise and experience guys,

Adrian

I can't say I ever changed a trunk lid and compared the ET or gaged the traction difference but I can say I took 40 lbs off the rear just taking the heavy ford iron 11" drums off in favor of disk brakes and didn't see any negative impact.
AG.

 

[Eticket]

Well... That is unsprung weight on the rear axle which is as pure as weight gets... which really does help either way...

 

[pacecarta]

i run the vfn bolt on fglass decklid and its about 20lbs savings , looks like a real steel decklid even when its open. opens like normal , just moved the stock support rod positions with a bracket for less assist which is nice since i have a fuel cell . as far as weight off the rear , the battery in the trunk offsets that .. my last weigh in 3195 with driver TTop GN trim full cage th400,moser 9" full stock appearing GN interior with power windows PI 8 gauge vdo dash etc.. driver kirkey seat
i did the kirbans bolt on fglass decklid for murphster and weight savings was about the same but the kirban looks like raw fglass on underside. we're running out of things to do on his to shave weight but his car is down under 2800 without driver (3050 with him) and thats with all stock glass (no lexan) full cage , th400 and a full stock looking interior with stock console and kirkeys
oh and loosing weight hasnt hurt his traction ..on 275mtpro he's consistent 1.33s

doing a pin on would save at least another 10lbs but then youll need exposed dzus fasteners to attach and pain to open with a fuel cell .

 

[karolko]

does anyone have a photo of what the underside of the kirbans hood looks like?

 

[chasmat2316]

i run the vfn bolt on fglass decklid and its about 20lbs savings , looks like a real steel decklid even when its open. opens like normal , just moved the stock support rod positions with a bracket for less assist which is nice since i have a fuel cell . as far as weight off the rear , the battery in the trunk offsets that .. my last weigh in 3195 with driver TTop GN trim full cage th400,moser 9" full stock appearing GN interior with power windows PI 8 gauge vdo dash etc.. driver kirkey seat
i did the kirbans bolt on fglass decklid for murphster and weight savings was about the same but the kirban looks like raw fglass on underside. we're running out of things to do on his to shave weight but his car is down under 2800 without driver (3050 with him) and thats with all stock glass (no lexan) full cage , th400 and a full stock looking interior with stock console and kirkeys
oh and loosing weight hasnt hurt his traction ..on 275mtpro he's consistent 1.33s

doing a pin on would save at least another 10lbs but then youll need exposed dzus fasteners to attach and pain to open with a fuel cell .

how well does the VFN bolt on deck lid fit the car? did it need a lot of work to line up ok?

 

[pacecarta]

the kirban actually lined up better
both needed some work at the wdo filler edge and some stops placed in the holes on the filler to get it to line up nice , both needed grinding out for the lock cylinder and clip nuts to attach the latch
on the kirban i was able to reinstall the deck lamp and trunk release ,
on the VFN I had to sand down the entire underside of the edge that goes to the rear wdo filler panel , it was way to long (wide) to line up with the wdo filler , also had an align issue by passenger tail lamp where it was out a little bit at the corner , but not too bad . in order to install the deck lamp the opening would need to be cut out as they just glassed over those holes
i reinstalled the spoiler , gn badge and the lower edge trim strip and most would never know it was glass

 

[karolko]

pacecarta,

thanks for you explaination on both the Kirbans and the VFN deck lids.

Did you ever weigh the two to see which one was lighter.

Also if you had to work on another fiberglass lid again, which would you choose?

Which has the smoothest finish on the inside?

Adrian

 

[pacecarta]

the vfn looks just like the OE decklid on the inside (like the hartline hoods) but being two parts joined to make the lid the vfn glass is thinner on the deck. the layers arent bonded well and inside doesn't have the openings cut so you cant get in and squeeze anything in between the panels (pics are here http://www.vfnfiberglass.com/8187regal.htm)
both are a pain doing the key (have to cut out ) and the latch (had to put clip nuts on the kirban ) and both needed thinning the edge to work properly with the rear wdo filler panel but they both seem to be sized properly and worked out on the car
weight was similar around 30lb with spoiler
cost wise they are priced similar but the kirbans was cheaper because i could pick it up at his shop
if youre after a dead flat wet look finish i think the kirban would be easier to achieve that due to the thicker skin but it like all glass it will need work if thats what youre after,