Hello everyone. I'm a new member of Fit Freak, but I have frequented the forum for a few months now. Anyways, I've had an interest for a carbon fiber hood ever since I saw the Volk Racing GE8 showcar, but was reluctant to get one since there are other mods I'd like to get first. Unfortunately, the urgency has changed since a bird decided to drop a 2-pound pine cone on my hood from 40 feet up. Suffice it to say, the dents are quite pronounced. Does anybody know of an OEM-style carbon fiber hood for the GE8? I've found a few online, but they're from companys I've never heard of in China (BDK carbon, AceTurning, and JC Sportline) and I'd like to avoid the customs charge. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

I've looked up and down for a GE8 CF hood, and to my knowledge, there is not one available for the GE8. All of the one's available from overseas that I've found do not USDM.

The only major CF part I've really seen for the GE8 is an overlay for the roof... which for me totally defeats the purpose since I'd be using the CF to lighten up the car.

 

That's depressing...

 

Time to talk to JDP again~ I think they are seeking interest?

 

Please do!!! I've scoped their site and am seriously considering their CF front and rear spoiler, as well as their rear diffuser. It's kinda funny you mentioned them, Guinness. I was just about to email them and beg them to make one.

 

CF overlay might defeat the purpose of reducing weight, but it preserves the front collision protection. Metal absorbs impact energy a lot better than CF.

 

Don't forget the CF spoiler, that's really the only CF part out there for now.

 

Okay, here's the scoop. I just got off the phone with JDP and the guy said that they've been hearing some talk about interest in a CF hood, but they need something more definitive. The guy I talked to said that he'd need 15 or so people willing to put a deposite down before he can make the hood. What do you say, guys? I'm in, anybody else? 1 down, 14 more to go.

 

Oh, and by the way, the guy I talked to at JDP said the CF hood would cost $300-400, more on the $400 side.

 

C'mon, guys!!!

 

Well that depends on the quality of the carbon, because you don't see F1 cars being made out of metal, the whole monocoque is made of dry carbon. And nobody can say that those things are not safe for the drivers when they crash and are able to walk away unscathed.

 

Nobody else wants a CF hood???

 

i do...but i'm just not in a rush to get it yet lol. i'm definitely interested tho

 

C'mon, guys! I know a few of you were willing to give iKONA your money to make a CF hood. This is JDP, you're not gonna get ripped off. Please, guys, I need this to happen, and I know the GE08 is gonna look great with a CF hood. $400 isn't bad either.

 

Metal deforms and buckles while CF shatters in compression. There is no way CF can match the impact energy absorption than metal. F1 car is designed with a different chassis than a passenger car. If you replace a metal hood designed for passenger car with CF, you are asking for trouble. Good luck walking out of your Fit after a frontal impact.

 

I agree with most above. No point to a Carbon Hood. Have you taken the hood off the GE Fit yet? It's really light already! There are better ways to "lose weight"... If its the look you are going for, then do an overlay on it.

My 2cents.

 

Like I said, it all depends on the quality of the carbon and its composite makeup. You seem to forget though that just changing the hood is not changing the chassis and the hood does not give the chassis its strength.

And CF can most definitely match and surpass the energy absorption of metal if made properly. Buying a cheap $300 hood, most likely it won't, but it also is not going to cause you to not be able to walk away from a frontal collision any more than if the stock hood was in place.

Please read up on carbon composites replacing metal in car manufacturing, it is not widespread due to cost only. In general, people are cheap and not willing to pay for advances in technology. Would you or anyone else here have bought their Fit for easily more than double it's current cost if it's chassis was of a dry carbon? That goes for any vehicle. The benefits of it though would be an incredible decrease in weight which then improves all dynamics of driving and decreasing fuel consumption considerably.

 

Okay, I think I've exhausted the hopes of this thread helping me recruit other owners who want a CF hood...

 

And to clarify, the reason I want a CF hood is because my stock hood has a HUGE pine cone-shaped dent in it, and with a CF hood I can get away with not painting it. Otherwise, an OEM replacement is gonna run me upwards of $1,000 after it's painted. Everyone must understand that although the metal hood probably does absorb SOME of the impact, it's not a structural part of the frame (being hinged on one end and latched on the other) and is probably insignificant compared to te impact the crash box behind the bumper takes during a frontal crash.

 

Do whatever you want, it is a free country. May be after a serious frontal collision, you will be dead with a metal hood, and with a CF hood just make you more dead, LOL. I don't want people getting hurt by blindly doing after market mod without knowing the real design behind it.

BTW, hood is not a structural support for the normal operating loading of a car, but definitely it is part of a frontal collision structural element. Otherwise Honda will use plastic for the hood to save money and weight.