Rafal

The cancelletion of this project is probably for the best. And not because of the air vents! In case anybody jumps on me now, relax, I can get carried away with the best of them and did put down the 3rd or 4th deposit.

Picture this scenario: you have a very rigid flat structure (C/F Hood), several times stonger than steel or aluminum, directly in front of your windshield.
Now you have a frontal collision: head-on, T-bone, rear-end ahead of you, whatever : your front end crumple zones fold like a concertina, but not the hood, which stays rigid! Then, as the frontal impact forces continue towards the passenger cell, it gets ripped off the hinges and slides back at a combined speed of 50-100mph. It continues to slice through the A-pillars, widshield, cuts the driver and front passenger in half, before doing the same to the kids on the rear seats. Gruesome? Not really!
Now your car comes to a rest with the flat MB hood emblem still clearly visible... from under the rain sensor...
If you find this hard to visualise, think of the scene from "Leathal Weapon 2", (or 3?), when the surf board flew off the SUV, through the truck's windshield, decapitating the "Bad guy"...
The next time, let's stick to cosmetic embelishments, not major structural changes where lives could be at stake.

jangy

Actually, lots of people use CF Hoods on the road these days and I wonder what the liability issues could be. I assume that all of them are actually "intended" for track use. Wouldn't body panels need to be DOT approved, like windshields? I can see where they would not, but these CF hoods have a real potential of causing concerns.

vraa

The A-Pillars are designed so that the hood would scrap up them wouldn't they?

rflow306

Brother you have way to much free time on your hands. Very entertaining and creative none-the-less.

Rafal

One day, my son, you will have time to smell the roses too, just work hard and be good to your mother...

jangy

Sounds like there was drama in the failed development of this idea?

Archi

This may be one of the most useless posts I have ever read. I've been in 2 different accidents in cars with carbon fiber hoods (fenders as well in one). One was front impact, the hood crushed just like the rest of the car. The other was a roll over, the hood didnt crush but the fender did. If this was the kind of **** Neal had to put up with, I dont blame him for cancelling.

Rafal

Your first hand experience is valuable but hardly statistically significant.
With such faith in C/F protection,you should hire yourself out as a crash dummy.
What kind of car?
What speed?
What thickness and construction design of C/F?
What method of attachment to the rest of the body?

Talk of a useless post.... We want debate, not isolated accident survival stories.
People fall off roofs of 6 story buildings and survive too - that does not make it a recommended mode of descent in preference to an elevator either!

jangy

Carbon Fiber does not crumble, like metal does. It shatters, which is the danger. I wasn't planning on getting one and I don't care if the safety aspect was used as an excuse, it still does not change the fact that the mod may not be safe on the road. They are designed for track use, which means the driver is safety suited out and the car has roll bars.