RobGripper

I've been looking to buy a used or new cheap carbon fiber hood forever now. Nobody has any for sale and the one shop I did find "CF Tech" in Hamilton, did not make hoods for the RX8. Does anybody know any shops that sell hoods/trunks in Hamilton or 3 hours or less driving distance from Hamilton?

I was looking at the VIS hoods and loved them but $799.00 is a lot of money while my friend paid $450.00 for one on an Eclipse.

The 2 websites I've been on have the exact same prices,

http://www.carbon-fiber-hoods.com/co.../en-us/d9.html
(04-08 Mazda RX8 Razor Carbon Fiber Hood by VIS) - $799
(04-08 Mazda RX8 TSII Carbon Fiber Hood by Seibon) - $749

http://www.body-kitz.com/contents/en-us/d146.html is the exact same prices and products.

Anywhere I can get cheaper then this online if I end up having to go down that path?

TheWulf

iTrader: (4)

if you ever find a cheaper spot let me know...

RobGripper

I did a bit more searching and found this, it seems the hoods are a lot cheaper then any other websites I've found and some are even on sale.

http://www.andysautosport.com/mazda/...n_fiber_hoods/

Figured I would post it here for you since you also wanted to find a cheaper source.

REV-illusions

iTrader: (3)

all I can say is remember that you get what you pay for...

RobGripper

I figured that it is the same VIS Razor hood that I will get if I order it from any place online. They can't show me a picture of what I'm buying with the brand and all and sell me a knockoff I wouldn't think.

tubingchamp

iTrader: (3)

You'd be surprised.

REV-illusions

iTrader: (3)

Heh... I actually played around with CF for awhile.. and still want to work with the stuff.... just have no place to do it. The material's are quite expensive, both the CF as well as the resin's used with it. So, normally what's done is instead of the part being completely made out of CF they'll end up using black fiberglass, or a fiberglass core with one layer of CF over top. And instead of using something like an epoxy they'll use some cheap poly crap... which will end up shrinking and you'll end up with crappy fitment.

In terms of copies... you'd be surprised how many different places in China make CF knockoff's. Oh, and in case you're ever wondering, if you think Foxconn is bad as an electronics manufacturer, you should see how **** gets run over there for composite part construction. Handling resin's without gloves, breathing in fumes directly... *shudder*

RobGripper

That's pretty stupid, any ideas on where I can get a quality cf hood?

copper

I work at a composite shop in Burlington, I have often thought of doing CF hood, doors, trunk lid, etc for my 8. I have already a done my own CF sunroof for my rx7, the problem is the **** exspensive! A quick calculation puts the mat'l cost around $400 (all carbon, no glass, good epoxy, no cheap polyesters) and this is at-cost mat'l with no labour (composites are very labour intensive), profit, equipment, not to mention the cost of tooling.

that being said, if someone had a set of moulds I could use I could make one or two with excess mat'l...

REV-illusions

iTrader: (3)

Sorry Rob, I honestly don't know of any up here...

Copper.. g'luck with finding the moulds... those would be expensive as hell to make... hrmmm... how thick would you make your hood? Pure CF or CF/Kev mix?

RobGripper

Damn, I guess I might be ordering off the internet. I'll have to ask a ton of questions about it, seeing if it's the skeleton too or not.

copper

no kidding, mouls are the most exspensive part for a one off. Thickness for the street, I would go 0.030"-0.040", core, and another 0.03"-0.040". Or if you had 2 moulds (outside skin and and underside frame) you would lose the core but run the risk of print-through, but it would fit better.

I've never been a fan of Kevlar. it's difficult to work with and it's tensile strenght is only slightly better then carbon. the only time I use it is for the aesthetics

REV-illusions

iTrader: (3)

So you're talking true barebones with one ply on each side.. would most definitely be light as hell but would you be worried about show through? Unless you're using a dark core or something...

Only thing is that since the 8 hood is aluminum... it's not cheap... so unlikely you're gonna find someone getting rid of it to make a mould from...

I haven't had a chance to work with Kevlar yet... but yeah... heard it was a bitch to cut cleanly (though I know some people that swear by normal scissors and never have a problem). Ahhh... for lack of time, money, and space.

What kinda stuff does your shop specialize in? Boats, planes, etc?

copper

Actually I would use a 3k twill which is 0.010" think. At one ply you can see all kinds of light through (and yes, on light parts I have painted the cores black), 2 plys you see some spots of light through and by 3 or 4 plys there is no transparency.

Well if someone was to replace their hood for an aftermarket one you could use their OEM one and take a splash mould from it (as long as you want the OEM look). the other option is I could use our laser scanner, scan it on the car, model in some vents, cut a master on our CNC's then take a mold for that... starting to see why this is exspensive?

Dry Kevlar isn't a problem for good scissors (mind you, mine cost $180), after the resin has cured Kevlar is hard to trim. Even with a good diamond cutter it will still fray.

We do mainly aircraft an military parts but one of our current projects we are tooling up for is the composite body work for a low production super car. can't tell too much about it but look for a super light, crazy bodywork car coming out of Europe within the next year