First off please do not post saying you want one because I don't want this thread locked. THIS POST IS NOT INTENDED TO SELL ANYTHING! I just want some feedback if there is a market for a better product

I really wanted to know if there is a market out their for higher quality carbon hoods that are manufactured with strength and lightness as top priority. They would still be very cosmetically nice but made to handle high speeds while being light and not need hood pics. They would be fully vacuum infused/molded with epoxy based resins. They will be free of air bubbles and voids. Ever look at a carbon hood really close and you can see thousands of tiny bubbles. These will not have any of those. Fitment will be OEM as well. They will not be mass produced but made one by one by advanced composites engineers. Price is still not determined but be around $595. Will be lighter then just about all the other hoods on the market. Below are some pics of a hood we did. We plan on moving into the import market with the hoods, hatchs, and trunks.

From this picture you can see how everything is vacuum molded.


Surface and install pics of the hood







You can even check out this video we made of our process. This is infusing DC fuel pump covers but it is the same idea. Everything is put into the molds dry and then the resins are injected into it

http://video.google.com/videop...Atrue












Modified by carbonall at 7:57 PM 12/19/2005

 

looks nice

 

wow, that's hot.

 

thanks! But are people willing to pay more for a lot better product?

 

that looks cool as hell

 

Looks like it fits good. But I don't think the demand is still there for CF products. Maybe it's just me but it looks like everyone is going to the "clean" look now.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by carbonall &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">thanks! But are people willing to pay more for a lot better product?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Probably not in the Honda/Acura market but definitely other markets maybe who have limited choices. You know how cheap honda people are Nice work there.

 

I guess it all depends on what the customer is looking form. We are getting a lot of interest for race teams. People are getting sick of cheaply made heavy hoods. We plan on making them for other applications other then hondas. We are also going to make them in kevlar as well. As far as the demand, we have had more demand for carbon stuff then ever!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CW96 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">wow, that's hot. </TD></TR></TABLE>

 

thanks. Just tring to get an idea.

 

Very nice
For alot of us price doesn't really matter all that much. I can save money for the rest my life if it means getting a propper product. If people will pay $2000+ for a set of forged wheels, they'll pay $595 for a quality cf hood.

Nice Charger too

 

it looks good..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by carbonall &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">People are getting sick of cheaply made heavy hoods. </TD></TR></TABLE>

yeah, i am getting sick of companies who start to do well, then lower their quality, therefore lowering their prices to sell even more? and idiot consumers blindly jump all over this. what happened to high standards and quality control. now don't get me wrong, this doesn't apply to everything, but personally, if i were to spend a good amount of money already, a few extra hundreds doesn't bother me if it's for a better made product!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by whoDAT &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

yeah, i am getting sick of companies who start to do well, then lower their quality, therefore lowering their prices to sell even more? and idiot consumers blindly jump all over this. what happened to high standards and quality control. now don't get me wrong, this doesn't apply to everything, but personally, if i were to spend a good amount of money already, a few extra hundreds doesn't bother me if it's for a better made product! </TD></TR></TABLE>

agreed, 100%

 

i think that car looks gay

 

question, do you put a clear coat on them for uv protection?

If you dont, or offer ones without, i would be interested.....

the reason is that i use a certian clear that is very good, it prevents red from fading......

Thanks
Stephen

 

thanks for the info. We use a gel coating that is made for us. It is very very UV protected

 

not bad.

 

Looks fairly nice. Rolled edges? whats the underside look like when done? How much did you have to play with the hood on the charger to get it to fit like in the picture. If I decided to get a cf hood I would back your product but I would like to see more.

 

fitment looks good, but i personally perfer rolled edges on cf hoods

 

looks sick to me

 

it is a full rolled edge, the pic of the hood not on the car was not put together yet, it was just laying on top of the skin. The fitment was perfect. We installed it and that was it, no adjustments were need. It is very easy to make an OEM fitting hood, it all gets screwed up in the mounting and most companies put the hoods together too fast out of the molds, don't let them cure enough so they are boxed even before they are fully cured so the bow

Here is a pic of it, you can kinda see the rolled edge. I agree I need way better pics. Don't mind the sanding dust



Here is the only pic I have of the underside. It is fully finished. Also all the latchs are kevlar backed

 

thanks for the comments

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by carbonall &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">thanks! But are people willing to pay more for a lot better product?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Here's waht I'm doing:

I'm taking the lightest hood available that is still reasonable for street use, and painting it.

I dont need the full hood skeleton, but it should be strong. I'd want the skeleton made of carbon fiber as well to reduce weight.

I would be willing to have this ultralight hood for less money in a raw carbon form because i would paint it. Perhaps if you would offer clearcoat and such as an option for those that prefer function at a reduced price it would be interesting.

 

not a bad looking hood


Modified by HATCHingMN at 2:00 AM 12/20/2005