Camaro
300C
Caliber
Mustang '05-'09
GTO
Lancer '05-'07
WRX '08Building the superior hood
When purchasing a Carbon Fiber hood there are a lot of things to consider: fitment, materials, features, quality and reputation. While there are other Carbon Fiber Hoods on the market, we'd like to take some time to explain what makes our product so superior, and why you'll find our hoods in more new car dealerships across the country.
Quality Materials
Why are so many Carbon Fiber hoods so Cheap?
The answer is simple, they are constructed using substandard materials, often obtained from overseas. Our materials are 100% American made, including the finest Marine Grade Clear Gel Coat which resists "yellowing," ten times better than the competition!
Why are so many Carbon Fiber hoods so Cheap?The answer is simple, they are constructed using substandard materials, often obtained from overseas. Our materials are 100% American made, including the finest Marine Grade Clear Gel Coat which resists "yellowing," ten times better than the competition!
High Quality Tooling
Parts are only as good as the molds they are pulled or generated from.
With greater pressure to turn out a wider array of products, quality is often overlooked in the tooling stage in order to maximize revenue. Unfortunately, poor tooling produces hoods which fit poorly and suffer from less-than-perfect surface quality.
Parts are only as good as the molds they are pulled or generated from.With greater pressure to turn out a wider array of products, quality is often overlooked in the tooling stage in order to maximize revenue. Unfortunately, poor tooling produces hoods which fit poorly and suffer from less-than-perfect surface quality.
OEM "Functional" Inner
The factory engineered the inner "that way" for a reason?
Incomplete or changed factory inners not only suffer from poor structural design, but lack the critical crush designs which are so important. Our inners are computer-modeled to both provide functionality and increased stiffness. We retain stampings and supports from the factory into our designs.
The factory engineered the inner "that way" for a reason?Incomplete or changed factory inners not only suffer from poor structural design, but lack the critical crush designs which are so important. Our inners are computer-modeled to both provide functionality and increased stiffness. We retain stampings and supports from the factory into our designs.
Real Rolled Edges
So what's a rolled edge, really?
The definition of a rolled edge varies greatly. Some will just take excess hood material and wrap it around the inner, which serves no purpose. Our rolled edges are rolled at 90 degrees for a full .25" and increase stiffness in the hood by up to 50%. Our generation "B" hoods incorporate a double rolled edge which increases stiffness by 100% and reduces weight by 20%. All of our edges are unpainted, real carbon fiber.
So what's a rolled edge, really?The definition of a rolled edge varies greatly. Some will just take excess hood material and wrap it around the inner, which serves no purpose. Our rolled edges are rolled at 90 degrees for a full .25" and increase stiffness in the hood by up to 50%. Our generation "B" hoods incorporate a double rolled edge which increases stiffness by 100% and reduces weight by 20%. All of our edges are unpainted, real carbon fiber.
Chrome Latch
Without a quality Latch what good is a hood?
We took the time to fully engineer a factory-quality replacement latching system to guarantee a hood which can be opened over and over without missing a beat. Our latch assemblies are mandrel bent and TIG welded, deburred and then chrome-plated. It may seem like a lot of effort for a latch, but we are selling quality.
Without a quality Latch what good is a hood?We took the time to fully engineer a factory-quality replacement latching system to guarantee a hood which can be opened over and over without missing a beat. Our latch assemblies are mandrel bent and TIG welded, deburred and then chrome-plated. It may seem like a lot of effort for a latch, but we are selling quality.
Stainless Woven Grills
100% Stainless Grills!
Our grills are Imported from Europe, made by the same manufacturer which builds the OEM grills for Ferrari and Bugatti. All of our hoods feature 304 woven stainless grills inside and out! Our 1.5mm by 1.5mm grills keep debris out and allow plenty of air in!
100% Stainless Grills!Our grills are Imported from Europe, made by the same manufacturer which builds the OEM grills for Ferrari and Bugatti. All of our hoods feature 304 woven stainless grills inside and out! Our 1.5mm by 1.5mm grills keep debris out and allow plenty of air in!
Carbon Surface
Our hoods are created with the finest carbon fiber!
Too much resin will turn a hood yellow; not enough gel coat will make a hood print the carbon pattern and hand lay-ups are plagued with thousands of air bubbles. Our high and low pressure processes allow for a wide array of product possibilities. Our clear gel coat is more difficult to apply and more expensive than conventional clear coats, but the difference is in the finish.
Our hoods are created with the finest carbon fiber!Too much resin will turn a hood yellow; not enough gel coat will make a hood print the carbon pattern and hand lay-ups are plagued with thousands of air bubbles. Our high and low pressure processes allow for a wide array of product possibilities. Our clear gel coat is more difficult to apply and more expensive than conventional clear coats, but the difference is in the finish.
Examples
Carbon Fiber Neon SRT Hood. Our SRT-4 Carbon Fiber Hood is an example of why we build a superior product. We took the existing OEM design, stretched the front to eliminate the unsightly gap, filled the opening with a 304 Grill, and rolled the edges.
Digitally Rendered Prototypes. Our ability to design and build in a complete 3D environment allows us to design and modify a hood on the desktop instead of reworking and shaping a physical body. This process allows for quicker time to market and increased analysis abilities not available when building composites in the traditional manner.
Carbon Fiber GTO Hood. Our Carbon Fiber GTO hood for the 2004-2005 Pontiac GTO is an example of a painted carbon hood where selected areas are left unpainted to reveal the carbon surface. This option allows the savvy owner to pick a custom look at 1/2 the price of a multi-tone paint job. Additionally, our carbon fiber GTO hood weighs in at less than half of the original equipment, while retaining a full factory inner for the ultimate in strength and durability.
Carbon Fiber Cavalier Inner. The outer skin of a hood provides no structural support to the hood. It is the inner that provides the structural backbone to support the hood and prevent warpage. Many of today's aftermarket hoods feature smoothed-out inners or picture-frame inners which only extend out 6-8 inches from the edge of the hood; neither one of these provides adequate support or structural stiffness. We model all of inners as closely as possible to the original equipment to take advantage of the 100's of hours the factory engineers put into designing a structural inner which will provide a stiff and properly supported hood chassis.
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Carbon by Design maintains an ISO 9001 Compliant Quality Management System and has been independently audited and qualified.