You shouldn't have to worry about it in colder temps. If you have higher temps in the south it can get damaged by the sun. I would however keep it garaged or have spare parts to change out during the winter. The salt on the roads will not be good for it.

carbon fiber can be made from more than just the carbon from coal or oil.  ie graphite carbon, etc

Carbon fiber also when put together is by far one of the most rigid and durable materials made by man.  The cost/benefit is not enough to warrant small parts in CF such as seat supports, pedals, etc.

However if you made an entire body/frame/chassis out of CF you would be potentially getting the strength ot titanium at less cost and near or less than the same weight.

That being said we still have not perfected the material or the process of making CF parts and pieces to be able to use it compared to iron/steel/aluminium at the same cost.  CF is still very expensive and very labor intensive, plus you have to bake the entire part be it a chassis or a wheel in an oven to make the CF rigid and form to the part.  Also CF has to be molded either around or onto an already existing frame providing an added support to the already existing support of the frame.

CF also has to be layered double in order to really see a gain in strength because each sheet of CF has 'grain' going one way

//////////////
/////////////
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As an example.

You would have to double layer the sheets one going one way and the other going the opposite way to be able to get good support, strength and durability out of the material

XXXXXXX
XXXXXXX
XXXXXXX

As an example.

This effectively doubles the cost because of the double amount of material to get the necessary gain in durability and strength and rigidity.

So all in all CF looks HOT AS HELL on some parts.  but its usefullness in reducing weight and increasing MPG is still a loss leader in a cost/benefit analysis.

the price of cf is going to go nowhere but up.... also, the first production of elecetric cars was in 1912... my guess is if they haven't perfected it yet unfortunately they won't by 2010...  :offtopic: sorry

Didn't know I went anywhere....

Alfa Romeo just came out with the new 8c. Their seat is made out of c/f you might wanna try looking into them to see how they did it. They pretty much made the entire interior out of c/f. Expensive car, but it weighs less than the EVO X.

+1 For watching the latest Top Gear  :gunsmilie:

It sound like u r a CF expert? r u work in this industry? r u able 2 design the seat struture 4 masses productions? i am so keen 2 invest for this business, can u give some advice?

Didn't know I went anywhere....

Alfa Romeo just came out with the new 8c. Their seat is made out of c/f you might wanna try looking into them to see how they did it. They pretty much made the entire interior out of c/f. Expensive car, but it weighs less than the EVO X.