ultra light carbon trunk + hood, opinions
 

we are looking at making some carbon body work for the evo 8+9 right now, and wanted to get an idea of what people would consider.

since most hoods i have seen are heavier then the stock hood, i told Alejandro (the composite guy) that we wanted the lightest hood possible. great fitment is a must too. i just feel the "cool" hood market, the hoods with all the scoops, vents and mesh are just way to "cheap", flimsy and have lousy fitment.

anyway, the hood we already have a stock hood for making the mold. it will be made with prepreg carbon and baked in an autoclave. alejandro is making one for mark Berrys X-mod autocross car as a prototype. it will be followed by a ultralight trunk as well.

here are some examples of the work alejandro can do:
the wings, sidepods, undertray, rims, steering wheel, and nose (not pictured) are all carbon done the same way we will be doing the hood and trunk for the evo (except the race car doesn't have any paint or clearcoat on any of the carbon stuff, which we can do for the evo)
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y34.../F06/f0611.jpg


also, if people could give me a good estimate of what you would pay for a ultra light trunk/hood that will help too. robispec trunks are the lightest i have seen, but are also very pricey 900 dollars i believe....

thanks!

definitely light and great looks. at the last autox i went to the guy was like, yeah i think your carbon fiber hood puts you in street mod class. I then answered back saying thats stupid because it actually weighs a pound more than stock and he said it didn't matter. so +1 for me wanting a carbon fiber hood that weighs less.

I would love to see a stock looking hood in a Lighter carbon fiber

As light as possible while still being sturdy enough for the track/DD, and low enough flex that it will not crack off paint, and with good enough fitment that it is basically ready to be painted and installed, and not too crazy with the vents so that it looks rice though a little functional venting is okay. Basically, a light weight sleeper hood {thumbup}

But, for the typical buyer I would think that looks and price are the key

/\/\/\/\ i agree i would like a better cf hood than mine and a keyless trunk.


STevo

Definitely a stock type hood and trunk that are as light as possible and not painted or clearcoated for best pricing.

The reasoning behind my statement is that the bling segment of the market is taken(bling rich kids always stay loyal to specific namebrand) as well as the nice looking light but super expensive(robispec).

The grasroot/track junky/motorsport section of the market is the only segment that requires a vendor to step in and fill the void.
I believe that if you offer a very light unexpensive wood and especially trunk you'll get the business of all the serious racers that could careless about finish but worry about weight and are on a realistic racing budget. I know for sure I'll buy from you like many others.

^ thats exactly what we were thinking. make it as light as possible and let the end user determine the finish. the carbon finish is pretty good with just the resin, but clear coating does make it shine. additionally some may preffer to have it painted.

It has begun.
 

Alright guys. We have taken all your opinions into account and have begun the production of the ultra light Evo 8/9 hood with stock mounting.

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f4...v/DSC_0808.jpg
Mark Berry provided us with an EXCELLENT hood to start from.

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f4...v/DSC_0813.jpg
Richie applying the face of the tool to Marks BEAUTIFUL hood. :crap: Dont worry, its not as bad as it looks.

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f4...v/DSC_0820.jpg
Now the layup may begin!

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f4...v/DSC_0822.jpg
The first layers of fabric for the tooling.

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f4...v/DSC_0826.jpg
A sample of the finish you can expect from our parts. Its not deep like the stuff you usually see because prepreg carbon has an almost IDEAL amount of resin in it. That means that the fibers are going to be much closer to the surface. The end result will be an almost matte finish. The awesome part about it is its WAY lighter than a traditional Seibon wet-lay up hood.

Once we finish Marks prototype part, we will be able to guage how much a completely bolt on part will cost.

Please give us your opinions so we can build a part that the evo community wants!

can't wait to see the results...

weird, I was just sitting here wondering why there were almost no ultra lightweight CF hoods on the market for these cars, and then I saw this thread... make 'em as light as possible!

oem style.

The trunk will be strong enough to support a functional rear wing, right?

ya why would i ever buy a cf hood if my strock alum one is lighter, lets get some weight numbers guys! comparisons would rock, especially b/w brands and vs stock

Sign me up ! Prepreg, Autoclave ?!?! What !? How many layers? What weave ? 2x2? How many lbs?

The trunk can be made strong enough to mount a rear wing. However, it would be helpful if the wing had stock mounting points. Remember, the less custom the part is, the easier and faster it is to make.

Prepreg, yes.
Autoclave, no. It will be cured in an oven under vacuum. (same as autoclave at 15 psi w/ vented bag, no?)
6 layers.
Plain Weave.