Ferrari Carbon Fibre Repair
Ferrari Carbon Fibre Repair
Giving Your Ferrari Carbon A New Lease Of Life
Owning a Ferrari is for most people, a life long dream. Having seen the cars on the F1 track and then on to the roads they are iconic and without looking at the badge you know it’s a Ferrari. They are well known to use a lot of carbon fibre in the production of their vehicles both for structural and cosmetic applications. Sadly because of the low profile of the car and that it’s difficult to see all around it’s easy to hit or scratch certain parts such as the front splitter and diffuser.
Whilst every carbon fibre piece is unique and every damage is different this will massively influence the time involved for the repair as well as the costs.
As we are repairing more high performance carbon fibre than we ever have done, we wanted to really drill down into some of the repairs of these parts to show case the before and after of them as well as explaining whats involved in the repairs. Below are just a couple of examples of Ferrari Carbon Fibre Repairs that we have completed recently and a brief explanation about what happened and what was involved with the repair.
We can within reason repair any carbon fibre part on any Ferrari from exterior parts such as Front Splitters, Rear Diffusers, Side Skirts & Rear Spoilers to interior parts such as centre consoles & dashboard trims.
Ferrari F8 Tributo
£250,000, 2021, 3.9 L Twin-Turbocharged V8 Engine, 720PS
Rear Carbon Fibre Diffuser
Original Part Cost: £10,000
Repair Time: 14 Days
- This diffuser came off a 2 year old Ferrari F8 which suffered damage from hitting a low kerb. There are many venturi fins on this particular diffuser which help the airflow exiting the back end of the car. These venturi’s play a very important role, being damaged could harm airflow for optimum performance as well as being quite an eyesore!
- To bring this diffuser back to a cosmetically and structurally sound state, this required the lacquer & resin to initially be stripped back to allow the damaged fibres to be addressed. We reinforced the internal profiles of the venturis to give back strength, patched in fresh carbon on the exterior and resin infused the whole diffuser to level before lacquer.
- This diffuser uses a 1×1 plain weave exterior carbon with all other layers being 2×2 for the reinforcement layers. Carbon that manufacturers use can be different depending on model and year of production, we measured the existing carbon to get a good match. Patching carbon can also be very difficult to do well without re-skinning the entire part.
- With this car being capable of reaching very high speeds and demanding a lot aerodynamically it’s critical to ensure a high strength repair while maintaining a cosmetically beautiful part. This diffuser was quite testing to repair in many ways, one of which was working with the electronically controlled aero flaps of which this had 3!
Ferrari Portifino
£150,000, 2022, 3.9 L Twin-Turbocharged V8 Engine, 600PS
Rear Carbon Fibre Diffuser
Original Part Cost: £8000
Repair Time: 10 Days
- Damage to this diffuser occurred by reversing into a drainpipe, sadly the diffuser came off worse. Carbon parts are made with several joins that create the part itself. These joins are weaker by nature which in this instance the diffuser sustained most of its damage to.
- The Portofino diffuser is one of the largest diffusers we’ve worked on, it makes up most of the bumper which comes with its own challenges. The diffuser resin and lacquer were stripped down to expose the carbon and rid the dead/damage resin. We resin infused the carbon to level the part and reinforced the inside where the carbon had fractured through. With every carbon part once repaired, we lacquer the finish to give protection from the elements and the best possible high lustre shine.
- As with the F8 diffuser mentioned above, this uses a plain weave carbon for the outer layer and 2×2 twill internal reinforcements. This diffuser didn’t require any external carbon to be applied which saved quite a reasonable amount of time.
- During the disassembly process this diffuser removes the fibreglass backed heat shielding which being a consumable item had to be put in the bin! To protect the diffuser from future extreme heats, we replaced the heat shielding which we had to custom make for this specific diffuser!
Ferrari 296 GTB
£241,550, 2023, 3.0 L Twin-Turbocharged V6 Engine, 663PS
Front Carbon Fibre Lower Spoiler
Original Part Cost: £1949
Repair Time: 12 Days
- This 296 GTB front splitter had taken quite a nasty hit on a low kerb and punched quite a large hole (big enough to put some of your hand through it) into the structure itself. Ferrari offer a few different spoiler options for this car and obtaining a replacement was proving difficult for the customer, repairing it was both more cost effective and faster than buying new.
- Most of this splitter component was structurally sound, the majority of the work was reinforcing the back side of the part to gain more strength and give a base to patch onto.
- This part uses a 1×1 plain weave which, if done correctly, the match when patching in can be very effective. Once the reinforcements layers had been applied (in a heavier duty fabric), a patch was carefully produced and laid into the structure having been built. The carbon patch was resin infused along with the other parts of this splitter to give a uniform finish.
- With any carbon parts, there is usually a join in the structure to allow form to take place. There were a few stress marks that had been put through the joins which were also reinforced and smoothed for the best possible finish.
- With all the structurally work having been resolved, this part was baked and cured and then lacquered before finishing off with a final flat and polish.
- We don’t always opt to patch in carbon as often the edges can be quite visible, especially when going around bends, corners or radius’s. We managed to make this large patch pretty much invisible and once installed, the damage is unlikely to ever be seen.
Ferrari 296 GTB
£241,550, 2022, 3.0 L Twin-Turbocharged V6 Engine, 663PS
Rear Carbon Fibre Diffuser
Original Part Cost: £14,668
Repair Time: 20 Days
- We are getting known for repairing a lot of Ferrari carbon fibre and this 296 GTB was another that came through our door for a refurbishment. Currently the lead time of writing this was approx. 9 months to get hold of a replacement from Ferrari, Italy which meant the only short term solution was to repair and refurbish.
- It’s quite common for diffusers to get knocked with low slung venturi’s, they often get caught on low drives and slopes. Some Ferrari’s come with axle lift which tends to only lift the nose which then in turn drops the back of the car down making it even easier to catch.
- This whole diffuser needed quite a big overhaul, after all it is going on a Ferrari and there is no room for second best. Much like the other repairs you may have read about, the first step was to rebuild and repair the large splits, cracks and holes. This diffuser had succumbed to completely wearing through a handful of the venturis creating a big enough hole to stick your finger through along with some fairly sizeable indents from impacts. It wasn’t in the best state…
- It’s not an easy or quick process, we however rebuilt the venturi’s by applying fresh carbon layers. This took many layers to obtain good strength and the correct shape. We used a very similar weave pattern as to what Ferrari use to give a near invisible join.
- With the diffuser being structurally sound (even more so than it was when new), the next focus point was to strip and rebuild the lacquer & resin layers to give a uniform finish across the entire part. On this diffuser it took over a week of work to get a good level of finish before it was then ready to head over to the finishing shop for a fresh clearcoat.
- With any part that is repaired, we give the part a final QC check along with a refinement polish to give the best “as new” finish.
- Although we don’t always see our repairs back on the car, we were fortunate enough for this Ferrari main dealer sending us over some images of the end result.
Ferrari F8 Tributo Carbon Fibre Diffuser Repair
so here's what's
Needed From You!
If after reading all the above you want to proceed with getting us to repair your damaged Ferrari carbon fibre part then we’ll need a few things:
Pictures of the damaged part
We’ll need high quality close up and far away pictures of the item in question so we can see the damage and the overall part. Please ensure you take as many pictures as possible from different angles. If the damage goes through the part then we’ll need to see the rear also
Send over the pictures
Once you have all your pictures you can email them to us at [email protected]. If there is a lot or the files are too big then your best solution is to put them all into a folder, zip / archive them and send them to our WeTransfer Account – WeTransfer.com
Vehicle Info
When you send the photos it would be great to include as much information about the vehicle as possible such as what Ferrari it is along with Year / Reg or VIN Number. We’ll also need to know how the damage initially occurred.
Once we have all of the above our team of fabricators will look over all the information provided and then come back to you with costings and timescales involved.
Please try to be as accurate as possible with the pictures and the information provided as if we don’t get all the facts prior to the part arriving it may be that extra time and materials may be required which will increase the costs.
For some of the more serious damaged parts it may be that we can’t offer any quote or timings until we have physically seen the item. There is also the possibility that the cost of repair is not financially feasible but we will certainly try to cater as best as we can.
The next step is to get in touch with us using our contact form below:
Frequently Asked
Questions
Often when carbon has damage, the fibres themselves can be fractured and torn. We can bind the part back together along with making it structurally sound but normally if the carbon has suffered cracks, splits or is missing carbon, there will be what we call a “Witness” mark. The best way to think of it is tearing a hole in your jumper, you can stitch it back together, but you may still see a small line where the fabric has been bound back together. Most of the time the witness mark is very small and unnoticeable, other times it can be slightly more obvious depending how bad the damage was. Regardless of this, the end result is as good as can be achieved and saves considerable amounts over replacing the component.
Generally, most repairs do look very good and, in some cases, do look brand new. To re-skin the entire part can be very complicated and very expensive. We try not to go down this route as it’s not always cost effective to do so. We work around the carbon that is there to give the best possible outcome. It’s rare that we would need to consider re-skinning the entire part.
The short answer is yes. We can fabricate small sections and if you still have the snapped off or damaged carbon, we can often make use of this. Depending on the part and the desired end result, sometimes this isn’t cost effective or viable but all the same, this is a type of repair we carry out often.
Very much so. We offer a range of different tinted finishes so if your carbon has a tint to it, we can normally refinish in the same colour.
This will vary massively on the part in need of being repaired. Often aftermarket parts are cheaply made which likely would be cheaper to replace than repair. For higher end, more expensive or rare carbon fibre parts, more often than not it absolutely does make sense to repair as the cost to replace is extremely high or the part is no longer production. We try to cater a repair to the budget of the customer, but we won’t offer a cheap solution if it means compromising the end result.
Sometimes yes depending on where the damage is and the possibility to reinforce. If the part is enclosed, it makes it very difficult to repair behind the damage point and reinforce to suitable level. More often than not however, if we can gain access behind the part, we can make the part as strong or even stronger than before. Carbon manufacturers will only use a handful of layers of carbon, we can add many more layers if required which will increase strength massively.
You can either drop the part off yourself or choose a courier to transport the part to us. We use Parcelforce large for most UK items as they will accept parts up to 2.5 meters in length. If being shipped to us, we do recommend using bubble wrap to protect the part itself along with a cardboard box to ensure the part doesn’t suffer any more damage during transit. If you need help with this element, please do get in touch to discuss as we may be able to help.
Sadly not. The repair process even if it is a simpler and more minor amount of damage, it will still require days of sanding, resin infusing and lacquering. In some cases, we can remove the part from your car here at our workshop (for an additional charge) and you may be able to drive away for a number of weeks until ready to refit.
Although we are capable of removing and disassembly, we prefer not to store any other parts and request the carbon is delivered or dropped off to us in bare form. By this we mean any other elements removed that could get in the way (fog lights, brake lights, trims, cables, fixings etc).
We get asked this quite a lot and the answer is mostly yes. We use specialist high temp resin and cure the part to have the ability to cope with high temperature demands. Often re-finishing/lacquering can be more complicated, but we do have methods to manage this depending on the application.
