CF vs. composite vs. fiberglass hoods?

[93RTTurbo]

I can't afford a real carbon fiber hood right now, and I'd like a little more hood clearance to work with. My OEM hood looks terrible with a million stone chips.

What is the difference between a "composite" and a "fiberglass" hood? Are they installed differently, and how do they compare?

Which one is lighter weight?

Do either have heat warpage isues?

Can they be used with stock hinges? Don't they usually need different struts, because the hood itself if much lighter? I know I need to get hood pins with them.

[goencw]

Composite is a general term.Both FG and carbon fiber are considered composites.You can even put the two together.Which is usually the case with so called CF hoods.
The top is CF and done for a cosmetic look.While the bottom is FG.
THERE IS NO SIGNIFICANT WEIGHT SAVINGS OR STRENGTH VALUE PUT ON THESE TYPES OF HOODS VS 100% FG HOODS,PERIOD.The bulk of the weight is always on the bottom FG part.Also the top CF is not done in an epoxy usually,which would make it stronger.It is done with a basic polyester resin like most FG parts.Most cosmetic Cf for sports cars are made with a cheaper process called "Pitch" and not the higher aerospace grade,"Pan". There is no such thing as colored carbon fiber,carbon is an element, it only comes in one color.......BLACK!Colored CF is a type of plastic made to work with epoxy or polyester resins.I'ts fake.
So if you want the look,try not to pay too much for the cf hood.But don't paint it,thats just throwing money away.
As far as heat goes,that usually depends on how much your making vs.the clearance between source and hood.If it's poorly made even the sun can warp it over a short period of time.
Hinges seem to always be fine.The struts however can and usually will cause a problem.

[91vr4n00maxima]

ive picked up a popular ""CF" hood and it was 5-7lbs heavier than the victory hood i installed on my 97.

for the cianci FG hoods youre looking at between 21 and 24lbs. the ONE carbon hood hes made so far was resin infused 100% carbon and weighs about 17 lbs (the place we had do it talked big and had nice fancy parts to show for it but when it came to the hood they werent good at all). if we do end up doing the CF hoods were going to do them ourselves and shoot for a 12lb goal.



that said....that said the weight difference between a well built cosmetic 100% cf hood and a comparable glass hood is about 5-7lbs. not worth the cost involved.

if you dont care too much about the looks you can do a 3s hood thats under 10 lbs but it wont be cheap or pretty.

personally i would reccomend a quality FG hood and a pair of hood pins.