I'm looking to drop a few hundred pounds, but don't want to sacrafice any accesories such as AC, interior, etc. I was wondering if anybody has used Pettit racing Carbon Fiber Rear hatch with a flex-a-lite window. Are there any downsides to using it on a daily driver?

 

Has anyone done this? If so, share your thoughts. I'm thinking of doing the same.

 

The Downside: Lexan Glass scratches very easily. Eventually this is going to hinder your view out the back.

My advice would be to stop trying to make a Race car out of your daily driver. If you're not willing to toss out A/C, PS, Seats, Stereo, Airbags etc Then you're not really ready to lose a few hundred pounds.

 

The downsides is you can't mount a wing unless you permanently mount it, it's not recommended on a daily driver, and you need to use special fasteners to attach it to the body. Between the window and the hatch you can save around 60 lb. or so.

 

What he said. Personally, I'd mount the wing permanently w/ quick release fasteners like the orange FD w/ the hatch @ Pettit does. I'd also keep the stock glass, seeing that the weight diff between the two isn't THAT much, and you kinda need defrost...

Also, I could be wrong about this, but I believe the Pettit CF rear hatch that sells for $450 is NOT a complete hatch. It's the top portion only, w/ no underside, ie the removable hatch. That's the one for race purposes only, that's fastened w/ deuz fasteners. I think he sells the complete CF hatch for $900 or so tho.

 

Well said.
If you really want to shed weight off your car get a set of Panspeed composite doors.

 

^bump

 

Well, thanks for the imput guys. At first I didn't think I wanted to get rid of the a/c p.s. but have turning the car into a full blown project and have the car completely gutted in my garage now. All interior is out except for the dash, no a/c , p.s., abs,etc. I figured the pettit racing hatch is just the top shell and doesn't have all the underpanelling. I also figured the hatch needed the fasteners to hold it down, But do you think that it still seals OK and won't let water leak through on a rainy day? I think I would rather go with lexan window just to save the little extra weight.

KCflyer, I've seen those panspeed composite doors and those things are bank!!!! I think I'll just keep my stock doors for now. Thanks, for the sugestion though.

 

I'm sure the hatch itself will seal OK, although I have heard of probs w/ the lexan glass not sealing properly, and causing water to leak in...

As for the doors, the Panspeed CF doors ARE awesome, but a waste of money fi you're gonna keep speakers, power windows, etc...cuz the accessories themselves weigh a lot, offsetting a lot of the benefits of the lighter doors...

 

Did someone say carbon fiber hatch???

 

I see from your sig that yours is from VIS. I don't see any indentation for the windshield wipers on your hatch...are they there but not apparent due to glare, or are they not there??

 

What's the weight?

 

no wiper, i didnt have one before so i dont miss it, as far as weight, it weighed about 8lbs without the glass

 

Just to double check, I was asking specifically about the small circular indentations that I circled in the pic below...cuz VIS told me it DOES have those indentations...

 

nope not there

 

NICE! I dunno why they told me it was there... Looks like it fits real nice too! Aaaand, you used the stock glass, just like I wanted to. It wasn't hard removing the glass from your old hatch and installing it on the CF one, and sealing it right, was it? And does the defrost still work? (I dunno what it involves to hook it back up, seeing that you had to remove the glass from the hatch)

Thanks!

 

How much does the stock hatch weigh without glass?

 

how much was that hatch highspeeddubbin?

 

alot, stock hatch my guess 50 lbs no glass

 

Off of Pettit's website: (http://www.pettitracing.com/sections/carbon_fiber.htm)

"The high quality carbon fiber hatch weighs only 8.5 lbs. (stock weighs 52 lbs. with no glass)!"

and

"When using the removable hatch, we recommend a Flex A Lite Lexan rear window that weighs 10 lbs. (the stock glass weighs 20 lbs.)"

 

Yup, so you save around 50 pounds. Called one of the guys at pettit a few days ago and they run around $300 for just the hatch, and it is a race application only. They don't make one with the under plastics.

Really thinking about picking one of these up.

 

Yeah with the 7parts.com or Pettit hatch you have to rig it up to work. I'm pretty sure the VIS is just a drop in replacement. If they are close in weight, it's obvious which one you would rather purchase.

 

Yea I think I mentioned this one this or the other thread...I can't remember. The Pettit one is just the top portion, and doesn't just drop in at all. You gotta fasten it, because Pettit uses it for race only applications, ie it's either riveted in permanently, or fastened w/ the deuz fasteners so THE ENTIRE HATCH is removable. No "opening" the hatch anymore. And the spoiler is fastened straight through the hatch to the trunk floor. Simply said, that's pretty impractical for a car that sees the street, to say the least.

David, I'm pretty sure the VIS one is a drop in replacement.

 

Now we just need to get a group buy going!

 

its not direct on the inside, the carbon fiber was drilled for the clips that hold the plastics and the hatch had to be drilled to hold the studs in the glass, as far as fitment, it bolted right up