We all know that a carbon fiber is highly over played and that a vent ring or even a dash insert made from it is not going to provide any actual measurable weight reduction. Carbon fiber has almost become a dirty word and one that is often associated with the “ricer” crowd. It is often looked down upon by many Miata enthusiasts who see it as over priced, flashy and pointless. But I wanted to look further into what at benefits it can bring to Miata enthusiast.

So I turned to fellow Miata Enthusiast and friend Russ at Chaser Aerodynamics and asked him to enlighten me on what’s going on in the Carbon Fiber world for Miata’s. Chaser Aerodynamics has been producing composite materials for several years and has created pieces from Carbon Kevlar and Carbon Fiber. Before Russ even started working there they where producing Carbon Fiber pieces for Miata’s like there hardtop which is one of there best sellers. Priced at $1,400 and weighing in at only 24 pounds, it actually makes for an extremely competitive top considering most used tops can run up to $1,500. They send you the shell and you install the rest yourself. But what else is out there?

Russ has recently purchased his third Miata and is starting to create some great pieces for the everyday enthusiast. Russ told me about his “must have carbon fiber” phase of his rebuild and how he couldn’t notice how the inner door panels on his NA where completely flat and made of two pieces. “I removed my panels one evening and took them into work with me. Our resident composites expert/ repair guy walked in and I discussed the project with him. Seven hours later a template was made and my new carbon panels were sitting at my desk. They were beautiful.” Now the panels themselves don’t save much more weight from the OEM panels, but Russ took his door pulls off which gave him a savings of around 2 pounds. Take that in effect with how they look and I would consider it a smart upgrade. “We made the door panels in two configurations, one way deletes everything and is a perfectly flat bare sheet; gives a fun race-inspired feel while sitting behind the wheel. The other option is a more OEM approach.”

Russ of course is always looking for more ways to lighten his Miata and the next is definitely one that I am interested to see. “We have some projects under works right now, one of them is a new Carbon Fiber hood design not currently used by Miata’s. It was actually developed in Japan on RX7 GT cars. Rotaries run hot, so any method of cooling yields great results on the RX7. It also doesn't reflect heat like a metal hood does. Our newly designed Miata hood is currently under development, so we need all the people we can to get this wonderful product made.” They will be producing these hoods for NA’s, NB’s and hopefully the NC’s soon.

In my opinion, if you are trying to reduce the weight of your Miata any large pieces that you can replace will have a drastic effect on the overall weight. So I asked Russ what he has planned for the near future and was happy to hear his response! “Another item that the guys with Carbon Fiber hoods will enjoy is a vented headlight lid for the driver’s side. Don't worry; it won’t be out of balance as the passenger side gets a Carbon Fiber replacement as well.”

Once an exotic composite reserved for space shuttles and formula 1 cars, Carbon Fiber hit the mainstream a few years ago and took off. Of course with all things popular it was over produced for every little item you can think of and has come to sort of a stand still in the Miata community. I for one am pleased that we have companies like Chaser and our friend Russ who are determined to redirect carbon fiber back to its original purpose…To lighten your load!

Article writen by Kevin McGowen

Special thanks to Russ at Chaser Aerodynamics

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Carbon fiber is a material consisting of extremely thin fibers about 0.005–0.010 mm in diameter and composed mostly of carbon atoms. The carbon atoms are bonded together in microscopic crystals that are more or less aligned parallel to the long axis of the fiber. The crystal alignment makes the fiber very strong for its size. Several thousand carbon fibers are twisted together to form a yarn, which may be used by itself or woven into a fabric. Carbon fiber has many different weave patterns and can be combined with a plastic resin and wound or molded to form composite materials such as carbon fiber reinforced plastic to provide a high strength-to-weight ratio material. The density of carbon fiber is also considerably lower than the density of steel, making it ideal for applications requiring low weight. The properties of carbon fiber such as high tensile strength, low weight, and low thermal expansion make it very popular in aerospace, civil engineering, military, and motorsports, along with other competition sports.[1]

[1] Paragraph excerpts credited to information found on Wikipedia.