wkbb1

SO I was wondering if they make vented carbon fiber hoods for the E55? How do they look and what is the cost? Are there any pics floating around of this?

Jon2007E63P30

Never seen one.

I would safe more weight with a gym membership.

wkbb1

Ha...already have the gym membership! Thought it might be something different for the ride.

novae500

i was looking into one and found VIS racing carbon fiber hoods running $750

outrun

aren't the hoods on these cars fiberglass? I swear mine is not metal....

BenzoBoi

Doubt there is much interest in this. I asked this same question a lil bit after I bought my W211 and not too many people interested. I don't think you'll be saving as much weight as you think if you switch out to CF. Unless you're doing it purely for aesthetics

Hammer Down

I found a company on eBay once, if you search CF hoods for C63's and email the guy. I do remember that they need E55 hood to get the mold to be able to make one CF

Hammer Down

I think the biggest advantage of having a vented hood is to be able to let fresh air in (making way for a nice CAI kit) and to let the hot air out

CharlyE500

I wonder how much weight will reduce with CF. 20 to 30 Lbs ?

Cylinder Head

iTrader: (1)

Deck chairs on the Titanic, you're better off reducing unsprung weight by getting lighter wheels and rotors.

E55W

I would like a cf hood with vents also

MB_Forever

Vorsteiner and Evosport made a vented hood for the E55 about 3 years ago but it was NOT carbon fiber. I think they would just modify your existing hood and add their carbon fiber vents. For some reason, there hasn't been too much demand for it, so the project never took off.

Here are a couple of pictures courtesy of mymbonline.com:


It'd be nice to have this hood in full carbon fiber. I believe the C63 guys are saving 40 lbs by going to the carbon fiber hood so I figured our savings would be in the same range.

Hammer Down

even something like this will help reduce the temps under the hood and if you combine this with removing the plastic water shield & heat shield with removing the undertray and you've got a winning combo.

Yacht Master

Searched and found,

https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...iber-hood.html

Jakpro1

Hood is already aluminum correct?

grantwoodtx

Correct so are the fenders.

wkbb1

So it looks like the whole CF hood thing never really took off. I guess with the minimum weight savings it wouldn't really be worth it?

Hammer Down I am interested in your comment about "removing the plastic water shield & heat shield with removing the undertray and you've got a winning combo." Have you done this? What kind of results have you gotten?

Hammer Down

I haven't done any logging of any sort but I can see the heat waves coming through the hood. The 1st pic is what it looks like after removing the plastic piece and trimming the heat shield with box cutter/razor blade. The 2nd pic just shows you how much you can see through the opening and the 3rd shows you that you can see through down past the exhaust to the ground. Some say that you can get water in the engine compartment but I say just control your hose and don't spray it all over the place she'll appreciate it. Of course I'm talking about the car

pearlpower

I had a chance to purchase a real full CF hood just months ago for almost nothing, still passed. Just not worth the headache for a couple of lbs as the stock hood is light enough and the consensus was rice written all over it.

e500slr

The E55 hood should NEVER has vents, once you start ricing it up and making it look like a race car it becomes tacky, the CLK Black yes but the W211 is an executive saloon. The E55 is a rocket but in a professional way, you might as well put a wing on the back. I know it can help cooling but IMO it looks tacky, to each his own though.

The carbon fiber hood should be looked at, if you have money do it, weight savings are extremely important. Power adds speed but at the expense of reliablity and fuel consumption, weight however improves both while making everything else better. Weight savings are expensive but there are NO mechanical disadvantages. Especially at the front which causes under-steer.

GT-ER

I would put hood vents only if I could make the car wide body like the CLK63-BS.

I knew the hood was aluminum...never knew the fenders were as well. Cool. I doubt a CF hood would save much since our hoods are pretty light as it is. MUCH MUCH lighter than my wifes steel '10 Grand Vitara's hood...heck, I'd say 50% lighter at least...lol.

_AMG_

Does Vorsteiner still make that CF hood? Looks awesome.

e500slr

I'm pretty sure if they used aluminum for the E55 roof they would the C63 and some guy said it saves ~35-40 lbs, now I don't know how much but this car would lose 70 pounds easy from CF: hood, boot, roof, front guards and bumpers, maybe even 100 pounds, aluminum is heavier than aluminum, PERIOD. With enough money you can make it MUCH lighter. Although you have to make sure it's DRY carbon which means everything is done before the resin is put, after that the resin is injected into a sealed bag, this way minimum amount of resin is used and thus saving weight. I also think it's baked in a kiln.

GT-ER

Aluminum is heavier than aluminum? LOL....j/k

Anyways, CF may weigh half as much as aluminum, but aluminum is very light already. If our hood weighs 50lbs ( I have no idea how much is weighs, but it sure feels light without the gas shocks ), then a CF hood may shed 20-25lbs off....but at the cost of nearly $1K. Doing the roof is going to be nearly impossible money wise. The countless thousands spent on such a mod would make it an insanity to do. Bumpers, being made of plastic, are probably going to be just as light as the CF ( You can lift a regular bumper with 3 fingers ).

novae500

my friend had a nice vis racing cf hood for his integra back in the late mid 90s. The vent was more towards the front of the hood

http://www.google.com/products/catal...ed=0CEMQ8gIwBA#