fiberglass savings

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hamesdart

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well i recently painted my dart before I got better front fenders from when it got hit.. I ruffed them in so they are decent but I planned on getting fiberglass fenders for it so I didnt get them "perfect" but most people wouldnt notice problems. Now when it comes to fiberglass the only real advantage is weight savings and aar sells theirs for 395 each + shipping so about 900$$$ Is what I would be looking at to save 26 lb's or so..
so is the 26 lb's worth the structural integrety being taken away?
I already am shaving alot of weight anyways.... fiber hood/bumper,removed heater/ac,radio,window regulators,back seat,alum heads,and anything else unneccesary but since my fenders are damaged anyway it would be serving another purpose as well...
 
Well... When you ask if it is worth losing structural integrity it sounds as if your meaning in the chassis. The fenders Are not a part of the structure of the car and are therefore not stressed members. So are you talking about the structural integrity of the fenders to resist damage?
 
damage wise... if it got hit in the front w/fiberglass as opposed to steel.. since I already have fiber bumper and hood guess it wouldnt matter all that much,
but cost vs weight savings alone almost dosnt seem worth it.
 
Are you racing it? That would be where the main concern with weight would be... A-bodies are pretty light cars... Only 3000-3200 usually fully dressed. That's lighter than a new midsized Honda. The main things you want to ask yourself is why you want to lose weight, and how much is it worth to you? In my case I have less than $2500 invested in my whole car with all the upgrades and everything. So paying $900 for some fenders aren't in my plan. I can take that much weight off the front end by moving the battery.

As to your question about getting in a wreck. You have two main areas of comparison. 1- crash protection. And 2- ease of repair. As far as crash protection goes.. neither one will make much of a difference in a crash big enough to do damage. Ease of repair is the main area of difference. Most composites (such as fiberglass) normally shatter or crack instead of dent like metal. In the bodyshop that I work at would much rather repair metal than any other material. fiberglass is more of a replace type deal.

Sorry if I got a little carried away. In my opinion I would wait for the fiberglass fenders until after you look into other (cheaper) options for weight loss.

Hope this helps!

Benjamin
 
yah no i already have it shaved down in weight... everythings removed... relocated and started fiberglass. Now I have 1 bad fender I just spent 300 dollers on a steel 1 to replace the damaged one and it came from ups bent and torn apart.... they crushed it. so no im gonna eventually get another 1... or just go fiberglass. Its a weekend car/strip car and Im not too worried about it getting hit again all that much. but since regular fenders are about 350-400$$$ when I can spend that on a fiberglass 1.
just seems weight savings alone isnt worth spending this much money on fiber fenders but since I need a new one anyway I mite go with a fiber set.
 
Well if the fiberglass fenders are cheaper than the regular ones and you need new ones anyway than I would say go fiberglass.
 
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