i hear they warp under the sun...better have a garage....true? not true?

 

I have not heard the Sun one, but I know they do warp from propping the hood up with the hood support...

Since the rod is only on one side of the hood, the opposing side of the hood sags down, which over time (not a long time if your hood is open often) The CF will begin to warp..... especially since alot of CF hoods have fiberglass underbellies....

 

ewww...sounds nasty..thnx for the input

 

You could always get hydraulic supports for both sides, but that would prolly require some fabrication.... would look sweet tho....

 

NOT TRUE! MY FRIEND IS AN ASSISTANT CREW CHIEF FOR PORSCHE RACING TEAMS AROUND THE WORLD(HE'S ALWAYS ON A PLANE SOMEWHERE). THEY FABRICATE ALL KINDS OF CUSTOMS PARTS FOR THEIR CARS AND HE'S GONNA BE MAKING A FEW FOR ME. I ASKED HIM ABOUT HOODS: C.F. SHOULD BE ABSOLUTELY RIGID, IF THERE IS ANY FLEX, UNDER ITS OWN WEIGHT, THROW IT AWAY. ALSO, A TRUE, WELL-MADE C.F. HOOD SHOULD ONLY WEIGH ABOUT 3-4 LBS. (NOT 9-10 LIKE MOST OF THE HOODS OUT THERE) AND SHOULD ONLY BE ABOUT 3/16" THICK.


[Modified by GM2000ITR, 9:31 PM 8/28/2001]

 

please become aquainted

 

Thats pretty funny! LOL!

 

well most hoods are 9-15 pounds, and are propped up in direct sunlight for outdoor shows..
so yes these are bad conditions and you are asking for warpage. minor but still noticed.

a cf hood can expand and contract with temperature change.. so a black cf hood in direct sun in CA daylight will be larger than that same hood in my garage in NY in January.

hth

 

I also find my cf hood expanding and contracting. It actually looks the most flush after having the wind blow on it while driving

 

ek9t, you're the MAN!

 

A super quality 3-4lbs hood costs a hell of a lot more than a good quality 9-10lbs hood. I'll take the 5lbs loss for the money saved. BTW pure carbon fiber is NOT a rigid material at especially in the rough world of automobiles. A fiberglass shell is worth the weight penalty.

 

Damn....a 3-4 pound hood does sound pretty attractive !! How much does that cost ? $5000 ? That sounds more like a full racecar proposition... And yes Carbon Fibre is flexible to a point.... with stories of hoods warping, it's prolly the fiberglass skeleton that is responsible, but unfortunately, to allow a regular consumer to be able to afford a CF hood, that's the way it's gotta be... so just like any mod to your car... you gotta baby it a little...

 

In a Superstreet issue earlier this year, a blue Si was featured that had a valve cover-cover and had "VTEC" vinyled on. Remember? Anyways, that cover was made by my friend and is now collecting dust at his cousins house where he showed it to me. I weigh 197lbs., yet when I set it on the floor and jumped on it repeatedly, it did not even flex. He weighed the cover for me and it weighed only 11oz. (NOT EVEN A POUND!!) He said:"that's what real C.F. should be like, and that's how your hood's gonna be"

B.T.W. X2BOARD, he's only charging me for the materials (not $5000) (I may have him make me a Carbon-Kevlar hood to better match my PY ITR), but he may be making parts for the public as soon as the race season cools down and he has made more moulds.


[Modified by GM2000ITR, 4:48 PM 8/29/2001]


[Modified by GM2000ITR, 4:49 PM 8/29/2001]

 

well the shape of a vlave cover provides much more structural rigidity and ability to withstand crush force when compared to a common hood design.
it is just the size of the flat area relative to the corner and sides in a 3d relationship of course.

anyway, have fun with your super super hood, it sounds like it will be made well.

oh yeah, when I said (above) that propping your hood can lead to warpage, I meant if you only prop it on one side, like with the OEM support rod and do this outdoors in direct sunlight for prolonged times.

 

For that price, it better be full carbon fiber. It should also come with a couple of t-shirts and a billet aluminum radiator cap.

 

hahah hell yea and they better include like a subscription to super street or someting

 

nope... spoon hood's frame is not cf... but i must say... if u see the quality of tone of these hoods... it is perfect... and i mean PERFECT!... at least the ones i have seen... the fit , the quality... everything... and dont forget... u are paying for the quality, the shipping/customs AND the name... so add it up and its about 1g

 

REDTEG1, Your answer is NO!, Not true! If you purchase a piecse of ****, it will look and behave like one (HIIIDDEEEEE HOOOOO!) My advice is: 1) See what you are buying first. Don't just order the hood and expect perfection (I have not yet seen the Spoon hood - I would think it's pretty good). 2) Look for hood construction. Most hoods are a fiberglass (or plastic) frame with a CF sheet glued to it (sometimes, only a single CF weave on black fiberglass * lots of resin). In my opinion, that's just shitty! If you're only interested in the CF "look", just go to your local decal shop & have them cover your OEM hood in CF-look vinyl. You're gonna be paying plenty of money for you new hood, shouldn't what your paying represent something better than FG? The weight/strength of the hood is key in determining the quality. CF requires a minimal amount of resin (that's how it achieves its light weight). Ask the manuf. to see their autoclave (if poss.), if they don't have one, leave immediately! ..they're not making real CF hoods - they are simply laying a piece of real CF fabric into a FG hood and coating it w/ plenty of resin so it just looks like CF. Resin is NOT what gives a material it strength, it is simply a bonding agent. They are not trying to fool you, most of the time they just don't know how to properly use the material. Also, clear powercoating is the way to go. Ask how the hood has been finished. Clearcoat paint will begin to look like crap much sooner than powdercoating and is not as tough. Real CF conduts electricity, so if a manuf. tells you that they phisically can only paint their hoods and powdercoating is not possible, you're more than likely purchasing more fiberglass than CF. Anyways, this post is already way too long....SORRY! Hope this helps!

 

hey thanx dude

 

so has anyone experienced any of this with fiber image hoods and how long have you had it on????

 

I have a bodykitsNW hood which is one of the best. I believe its a rebadged FiberImages hood.

Anyway:
fitment: good
weight: 10lbs
rigidity: good
finish: good

 

GM2000ITR, my sarcasm of a $5000 came at the mercy of the fact that 'we', the little people, don't know builders that can make carbon fiber hoods for us...... get it ?

As far as CF hoods, if you want a full CF hood, it'll cost you mucho $$, carbon fiber is not cheep by any means, the reason is that it is lighter and stronger than steel.
But one layer of the stuff on a hood does not make it mega strong....that's like cluncking someone on the head with a sheet of paper and expecting them to feel like they got hit by a phonebook....

As far as painting CF, you can do it just fine.... Powdercoating it tho ??? CF is bonded with resin and powdercoating is done by shooting an object with a special paint and BAKING it in an oven at over 400 deg F. Is it possible to powdercoat CF ? I didn't think it was....

 

the real ones cost like a good 400-500 depending where u get from

 

actually 400-500 are the "fake" hoods everyone is talking about... in this aspect i do not mean they are not carbon fiber... they are... but they are simply a ply or couple of ply's of cf on a fiberglass skeleton...

 

What's the obsession with these miss-matched hoods?