Any interest in light fiberglass hoods?
 

I've been thinking about this for a while because the hoods on our cars a very heavy (40-50 lbs.?) and because I've wanted to put a fresh air vent in the front for my CAI. So, I talked to a friend who builds and repairs sea kayaks and does a lot of custom fiberglass work on the side, and he's interested in the project.

Here's what I'm thinking:
1) Lightweight fiberglass hoods, with the emphasis on lightweight. They'll be strong, with lots of foam reinforcements, but won't utilize the standard hinges or latch (that adds complexity ($$) to the project and weight.) I'm thinking flush-mount, locking hood pins at each corner, and you lift the whole hood off. We're guessing ~10 lbs. for the light version, ~15 lbs. for something sturdier.

2) A NACA duct in the front, left corner to feed air to the filter/CAI. No more long tubes picking up air from the bumper or road, and with a little shielding around the filter, no more hot air.

3) Two mesh vents on the rear corners to let some of the hot air out of the engine compartment. It looks cool, too. I like the idea of louvers, but again that just adds cost.

4) Because it's fiberglass, it's easy to modify to your specific needs (i.e., you do the work yourself.) Want a scoop instead of a NACA duct? Grind it off and add your scoop. Want louvers? Buy some and fit 'em. Want a radiator air outlet like the Evo VIII? We'll build them without any reinforcements in that area so you can do it yourself.

5) This won't be cheap. We guestimated about $300-$350/hood. This includes the cost of making a mold, then making 5 parts. I doubt we could sell any more, but if so the price per would come down some. Since I'm in the Northwest, every where is far away, so there will be some serious shipping charges, too. They will have to be trucked because they're so big. Before I'll commit to this, I'll need some money up front from each buyer, plus my friend is busy right now so it will be this summer at the earliest to have them finished.

A note about my friend - if you're not familiar with sea kayaks, they are very light and strong, built with hand-layup and vacuum-bagged. No chopper guns are involved. His work is excellent, I've seen a kayak that came off a car rack on the highway and was run over by another car. When he was done repairing it, you couldn't tell it from new. He does prototype work and consulting for some of the largest manufacturers and is in the process of building some custom racing kayaks. His work is excellent, he's quick, and he's reliable. I wouldn't even consider a project like this without someone of his caliber.

So, here's the question - is anyone interested in this? If so, please let me know your level of interest - serious, maybe, only for $50, etc. Also, if you have any ideas of what would make them better or make you more likely to buy one, please let me know that as well. And please, don't say 'carbon fiber'!! It ain't gonna happen.

Let the comments begin...

tom

can he make carbon fiber hoods cuz i'd def be interested in that i've wanted one for as long as i've had the car but no one makes em so if he can do carbon fiber then yeah i'd be interested!!!:D

oooooooops scratch my post i didn't read the lst sentance i was just in a hurry to ask that question......my bad:( ..........but fo real no carbon fiber?:(

Great idea..but..
 

Your idea is great and i am very interested,but heres the thing. Just like the clear corner lenses we have to see what were buying before we invest. The first time the corners were made no one was really interested because they didnt know what they looked like. Once they looked at em on Gro's car it was like OH SHIT i shouldve got some...the second time around people came through like crazy. So if u make one for yourself and we get to see tha product before hand...i think you'd have a better response toward it. 10LBS is waaaay better than 40/50...and being the fact that the body work could be done so much eaisier to the hood is cool too.

tell him to start making carbon fiber kayaks. Then once hes good with that, tell him to make hoods. I dunno about fiberglass though. I'm sure we've all seen what bodykits do in the winter.....bad news. In my book carbon fiber is the way to go, but if this turns out i might change my mind.

sounds like a very interesting idea....and for you guys wanting carbon fiber, go for the fiberglass and paint it to look like carbon fiber! ;)

would it look like the stock hood? as in would it have the 2 creases on either side of the wiper nozzles?

Hmm... SPENONE is right we need to see how the hood is gonna look like and if its gonna look good on the pro because I dun wanna invest money on something that I havent seen. So tell your friend to make one for you and THEN we'll talk about business:D

To everyone wanting carbon fiber, here's my thinking: he can and does work with it, it can be done. It's a royal f**king pain in the *ss because it's very hard to work with and you have to use epoxy resins and it's very (VERY!) expensive in small batches and if you're thinking about clear resin so everyone can see your way cool CF hood, that's extremely difficult to acheive and we'd probably have to throw out several bad ones. If you've never worked with CF and epoxy, try it. It's a bitch. Oh, yeah, and it will be maybe a pound lighter, so what's the point?

I plan to use a stock hood to make the mold, so it will look like stock but with the air intake and outlets. Same creases, same everything. And since you wouldn't have to modify the stock hinges and latch, you can put the steel hood back on anytime (like during winter for you northerners.)

Remember, the idea here is 1) lightweight, 2) low cost, and 3) easy modifications. CF is light, expensive (easily double the cost) and very difficult to modify.

tom

could you do that? cuz if you could then me interest rate just went up :D

LOOKS MY MAN:D

HMM...
 

i couldve swore this guy said no carbon fiber. Anyway fiberglass is just as good... i mean its not as light but its but its waaay lighter than stock. The "look" of the hood shouldnt matter i mean we are all getting the hood for its lightness aspect right?..


(i have a feeling im gonna get the wrong answer to that question. ) :rolleyes:

ricers suk.

I'm NOT a ricer i hate them just as much as all of you, i just happen to like the look of carbon fiber, i don't understand why when someone wants to make their car look nice the first word you see is "ricer" just because you take pride in the way your car looks DOES NOT mean your a ricer if i was a ricer i would be driving a freaking honda so that i could get every part known to man but what do i drive? a PROTEGE!! just like you a car that they make NO real cosmetic parts for, because i want to be differen't, and i'm going to be doing motor work to the car but having power doesn't mean you have to drive a car that looks like a POS.:mad:

everyones got their own styling ideas, but for me, carbon fiber hoods can make a car. i love the look. i dont really care about how light it is cuz im not trying to set land speed records with my 323. just gut your car if wieght is an issue. and i would love to see someone paint a hood to look like carbon fiber....bob ross and shit.

thank you:D

I would be interested, but i'm 99% sure it's illegal for STS....

hood pins would be the only question i'd have to this venture, you say four? well, i have two in the front on the radiator bracing (that metal bar thingy infront of the radiator, lol) i logistically see no place in the engine compartment where you can mount hood pins and actually have easy enough access where you can adjust the height and tightness of the pin bolts? have you thought this out? just a thought... good luck.
peace