Carbon Fiber Hood

[botlfed]

I have a stock hood I am willing to donate or I can finish mounting my scoop and have a SS hood

let me know

[SpyhunteR]

someone give up their hood... and you can do hinges w/ carbon fiber... it's just going to cost a lot more.. its cheaper to do it in fiberglass.. but fiberglass cracks and breaks under pressure.. think body kit and curbs...

[aleroboy]

Mine is only aobut 100 bucks more but only has hinge provisions No latch and maybe no prop rod. since the model hood used was a 2000 and they didn't have prop rods.

[SpyhunteR]

I personally wouldn't care for the little latch at the front of the hood.. Hood pins would work fine for me. Just get them in a nice black chrome ... mwahahahha... It would be nice to have hinges or at least some sort of fitting where we can fit the stock hinges onto the back of the hood so it can open up like a "normal" hoood... NO matter as long as it looks stock enough.. I"m game..

I need a *high performance hood*...

it's mine dammit.

[AaronGTR]

Originally posted by Dr_Kyle
So am I to understand that the only way to COST EFFECTIVELY utilize the stock hinge/latch mechanism is to have the fiberglass frame? Would this really make it that much heavier? How much does a stock hood weigh anyway?? Does anybody have any weights/numbers on the various hoods available to us??

Stock hood weighs 40lbs exactly. My SD hood weighed 31lbs when I got it, 28lbs after a little cutting and sanding. A good carbon fiber hood usually weighs around 8-12 lbs depending on design and size of the car.

A fiberglass under frame would add a little weight, but it's mostly just more expensive and difficult. You have to make another mold and you have to cut it the right size and line it up right when you glue them together. Otherwise it won't line up right and may sit too high/low on the car. I think they should be made with a fiberglass frame just along the back edge of the hood and include mounts for the hinges. On the stock car there is a weather seal below the wipers the runs along the bottom of the hood. This helps keep water out and reduces rattling. It would be a good idea to keep this, and would be easier to do than a whole under frame. The front can be held with pins and the stock rubber bumpers, and as long as the hinges bolt into the hood you can line it up with the holes in the bottom of the hinge.


P.S. anyone know whats up with aleromod.com? I tried that link 'cause I wanted to read that thread and I tried their website but it's not working.

[mr_eh]

i'll give up my hood if needed no big deal, what do the pins latch on to on the grand am tho? i'd rather try to build some hinges myself or latch it on to something underneath... not a big fan of pins on the hood but i might be able to live with them

[aleroboy]

I'm pretty sure the hinged model they are building for me will have the rear section going all the way accross the back of the hood. if so I will be able to keep that rubber seal.
if not I'll figure somthing out.

[Dr_Kyle]

Aaron, that is a good idea. Probably the best solution yet because its a good balance between cost effectiveness and weight reduction. I would suggest to whoever pursues this to follow those guidelines.

[AaronGTR]

It made sense to me too. Thanks.

[nnewton123]

Originally posted by AaronGTR

P.S. anyone know whats up with aleromod.com? I tried that link 'cause I wanted to read that thread and I tried their website but it's not working.

I believe it was down for "maintenance" yesterday.... was supposed to back up shortly thereafter, but hasn't come up yet. Hopefully soon.

[Dr_Kyle]

Ok guys, my contact Kenny (very helpful guy btw) sent me an email tonight regarding what some of you had posted and the following is an exerpt from it (some formatting added):

"...read what was on the web site about the carbon hoods you guys are wanting let me try to clear up some things, first by real carbon fiber what I’m referring to is 100% graphite material [carbon] with no other material [fiberglass] added to the layup of the hood. What hoods are out there use a combination of fiberglass and carbon to keep the cost down and use a cheaper resin form than Epoxy. Epoxy is the only real way to make a 100% carbon fiber hood. So if you opt for a carbon/fiberglass hood it is still a real carbon hood just not 100% carbon, 99.9% of hoods out on the market are carbon/glass and our hoods will bolt on to the factory hinges and hood pins are recommended but not required. If some one wanted a real carbon 100% hood for the weight savings it would not have a clear finish, the clear finish is a result of a very resin rich part [ way too much resin] to make it shiny. A light weight part that is vacuum formed and autoclaved will be a lot lighter than any clear hood but will require painting so one needs to decide do I want a clear carbon hood or do I want light weight?"

With the method they discuss, we could get a VERY lightweight hood, it would just have to be painted. However, I think more than half of the people that want the hood still want the look carbon fiber "look" too. It would probably still weigh less than half of what the stock hood weighs, maybe less...

For the carbon look, we have two options:
- 1)get one that can still be opened and closed using factory provisions while still cutting the weight in half.
- 2)get one that weighs drastically less, but with less practicality.

You guys decide and let me know...who is interested? and which way would you prefer it?

[customcargrills]

CarbonFiberManufacturing.com seems to have the same product/ process that we are using. Their number 2 option is what you would be getting from me. It is definitely the way to go and I am still planning helping you guys out as soon as I can clear a few setbacks on this side.

I'll try to clear them up ASAP because I can have a good turnaround on these hoods as soon as I can land deal w/ you guys. I dont know if he gave you a price quote but mine would still be $600 (+-$50) + shipping w/ no min buy in for hood pinned only.

[Dr_Kyle]

Originally posted by sparksm
I'll try to clear them up ASAP because I can have a good turnaround on these hoods as soon as I can land deal w/ you guys. I dont know if he gave you a price quote but mine would still be $600 (+-$50) + shipping w/ no min buy in for hood pinned only.

Well, I hate to pick apart details before this even happens, but we can still use the hinges and latch (hood pins optional) with their hood and its $50 cheaper. I don't even know if he required a minimum number, but the arbitrary number used was only 10. Just for the sake of arguement, what makes your hood worth $50 more?

[customcargrills]

Well, I would say let Aleroboy do the talking for me when he gets the hood as far as the quality. He will be able to give you a hands on review of the quality and craftsmanship of my hoods.

A couple reasons that I would suggest mine over someone else’s is the we have and use nomex honeycomb inner core material that is usually not used in traditional carbon fiber hoods because of the costs. This provides a more structural inner core for more durability. I would definitely ask CarbonFiberManufacturing.com about that. I would also ask what ounce count CF they use and who their manufacturer is. We go with a 20 ounce carbon fiber which is a top of line grade that is the same material used in the F1 McClaren and the Stealth Bomber. Also we have done real NASCAR projects before such as seat restraints out of carbon fiber. There is more local flavor in our products so it is hard to give you a more broad sense of production or projects but those are a few key points that I can bring up about our hoods.

[Dr_Kyle]

Those are definitely some points to consider. Sparksm, I think you and I both agree that most people here are looking for top quality. I will give Kenny a chance to respond and I'll let you guys know what he says.