Carbon Fiber Hoods

[pnosker]

The under structure is a composite of fiberglass and carbon fiber (Fiberglass has a higher stiffness than carbon fiber which is what's necessary to hold the hood straight). Every CF hood I've seen has a Fiberglass or Fiberglass/CF composite understructure. Similar to how composite structural materials are made (bridges, etc.) the fiberglass is used to stiffen other very strong materials. The second benefit of fiberglass is that it has a very high emissivity of 0.95 so it is an exceptional IR heat shield and helps prevent yellowing.

So no, it's not pure CF, but a hood made of pure CF would not be as good anyhow. I can't imagine 100% pure CF hood being lighter because you would have to layer more CF in order to create a similar stiffness which would in turn make it heavier anyway.

IE: Seibon CF hoods are 95% fiberglass with a single layer overlay: http://www.amazon.com/SEIBON-92-98-C...350957&sr=8-12

This is slightly lighter due to a higher carbon content but could be slightly less stiff.

Just to clarify: CF has a higher stiffness per weight, but fiberglass has a higher stiffness per volume which is important in this aspect. It's especially critical here due to the flex of a hood when opening/closing/wind/etc. You could build a CF hood, but it would be difficult to create the hollow spaces with the right volume and odd things like that so most are made with a primarily fiberglass support structure.

[96cali]

pat- you fit one of these yet? I was wondering how the fitment is.

[pnosker]

Yeah I did, check out the pics on the previous pages. Both myself and Isis07 have ours fitted-- they fit very well!

[96cali]

sorry, i missed em. that does look good!

[pdxmotorhead]

CF is now available in all kinds of formula's, weaves, blends. Thats why I mentioned the beige stuff, a lot of folks assume its glass fiber but its still a carbon mono-filiment.

I know the last couple times I needed fabric, I could have CF in 3 days, real fiberglass was going to be weeks.

Course everybody has their own connections and seibon is big enough to get what they want I imagine...

Dave

[z0lt3c]

I've seen this hood in person and it's very nice. Fitment on Pat's car is excellent.

[318tifan]

so how many more of these do you have??
what's the shipping to ca??

oh, btw... did you ever get a chance to weigh the hood??

[pnosker]

I have 2 left. z0lt3c got number 3. I will weigh the hood this weekend since I'm home!

Shipping to CA is expensive. Try getting a freight quote. I believe the shipping weight is ~40 lbs since it's got a lot of packaging.

[RAiMA]

My accountant who's had her fair share of cars suggest to get the bonnet cut in half and reassembled here in Australia to make shipping easier lols. She's a crazy nut.

Pnosker, I'll get back to you later if you've still got one. I'm working on project yellow atm

[tiFreak]

Originally Posted by RAiMA

My accountant who's had her fair share of cars suggest to get the bonnet cut in half and reassembled here in Australia to make shipping easier lols. She's a crazy nut.

do a split hood

[pnosker]

Bump!

[pnosker]

Bump!

[M3ti-ish]

hey pm me a price shipped to 06357, its a business?

[KINGAMR]

If you guys figure out a cheap way to ship let me know as I'm still interested in a cf hood.

[pnosker]

It might be cheapest to get a cheap flight and carry it with you lol... basically you need a freight loader to ship it. It's possible I can ship with Greyhound but I would have to repack it and it might not be so safe. I'll measure next time I'm at home.