I was wondering why people favor carbon fiber hood so much. Is it just because it looks better and lighter? Or is there another reason?
Carbon fiber hood, why?
xowktiger
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I think its more of a personal preference now and days. I had a carbon fiber hood on my RSX just for the looks. I could of cared less about the weight although it was light as hell!
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mostly its for looks. the lighter weight means next to nothing on the street. on a track car, it could be beneficial. but for a street car its purely for looks.
I beg to differ. It could be for better gas mileage. :lmao:
This is only partially true. It depends on the car and the process used. Typically, older cars use stamped steel hoods and are more beneficial since a lot of newer cars are moving towards more aluminum body components, including hoods (06+ Civics) and doors (07 Audi TT) and trunklids (08 GT-R).
There are also two processes. The first is called wet lay up, which is exactly how it sounds; a layer of carbon fiber is layed down inside a mould, a layer (or two) of fiberglass is usually layed down on top (underside) and the entire thing is wetted out with resin, dried, and clear coated. This is done purely for the cosmetic appeal and while it's lighter weight than it's steel or aluminum counterparts, this cheaper method is also less durable.
The second process is dry lay up, where the carbon is layed inside a mould or onto a plug over some type of flow medium. The flow mediums job is to spread the resin as evenly as possible and provide some type of structural support (think sandwiching). The carbon is either pre-impregnated with resin or wetted out, and the entire part is placed in a vacuum sealed back, where a pump draws out all of the air, compressing the part and squeezing out excess resin. Ever see those Space Bags? Works the same way, sorta.
Even though this process is more expensive than wet lay up, it's a heckuva lot stronger and lighter because the natural strength properties of the carbon fiber weave isn't weighed down by excessive resin. The result is a part (say a hood, for example) that could support the weight of up to 20+ times it's actual weight. I've seen a 200lb man standing on a vac. formed hood for a TSX that weighed 8lbs; it didn't even bow. Wet lay up can shatter upon impact. Which would you rather have in the case of an accident?
Because of the excessive resin, the difference in weight between a wet lay up and a dry lay up (Vac. form or Vac. infusion) can be roughly 1lb-10lbs difference.
Therefore, less weight on the front end could mean a better weight distribution, mildly better handling and less tire wear. Couple it with a lighterweight battery and even on street cars you could see a 40lb-80lb difference. So I beg to differ that a difference of that much weight lost over the front tires of a FWD car has no benefit.
Because the 8th gen Accord has such a long front overhang, I'd venture to say the hood is fairly heavy (it has to cover a larger area). There COULD be some benefit to putting a CF or CF/K hood on one.
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my point was that people generally dont push their cars hard enough on the street to notice any benefit/difference from a CF hood.
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In general ...... maybe, but some do. :naughty:
The lighter (without giving up the strength) the better!
Oh, I understand, but my point was the benefit doesn't come from how hard the car is pushed. The real benefit can be seen with the right product and the right supporting mods. I was saying most of the hoods on the market are complete crap. I should know. We made one of the larger, more well-known manufacturers nervous when they stopped by our booth last month.
had a stupid question..
i see these carbon fiber hoods that have these vents that show the engine. like the SEIBON carbon fiber hood (for s2000) that has these gills on top of the hood where the filter is. i guess these are for the air to go in better. but then what happens when it rains... or when there is snow? wouldn't water go into the engine bay and damage the engine?
i see these carbon fiber hoods that have these vents that show the engine. like the SEIBON carbon fiber hood (for s2000) that has these gills on top of the hood where the filter is. i guess these are for the air to go in better. but then what happens when it rains... or when there is snow? wouldn't water go into the engine bay and damage the engine?
Not a stupid question at all. Most of those hoods are for show, but some are actually functional and come with ducting to reroute the water (I think the B-Magic or something hoods?). But you're referring to hydrolock, which is of most danger if the car (or at least the air filter) is submerged so that the water gets inside the intake, which yes, could damage the engine. But water gets in the bay anyway through the grill opening when it rains or snows anyway. More often times than not, it's hitting the radiator/intercooler or exhaust header/intake manifold, not anywhere it could seep inside the engine.
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There will sonner or later! All depends on who the first to come out with the products!
We've been working with the V6 models since a few weeks before dealerships had them, but after seeing what happened with the 8th gen Civics, I'd rather have a higher-quality product that's going to work like it's supposed to and last for awhile than be the first out. There were a lot of problems with those cars and we don't want that happening with ours. Plus some stuff would probably never fly. We turbocharged a coupe, but I don't very many people would actually want to have a turbocharger on their Accord.
That's what we're trying to deal with. Since the 6MT coupe doesn't have it, we were able to put an extra 70hp to the ground (about the maximum you'd probably want for a heavy FWD coupe that most probably would never take off the streets anyway), but with the sedan, I'm pretty sure we're going to have to go deep into the ECU. Nothing may come of it, but we're trying anyway.
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