Date: Thu, 9 Mar 2006 12:12:55 +0000 (UTC) From: Craig's Saab C900 Site <c900nospam.apana.org.au> Subject: Re: [Saab_c900] C900 Carbon Fiber Hood Now Available!
KeithG <noonenospamay.com> writes: >I will not get into a discussion of the balance implications, but the >safety implications are definitely a good reason to keep your steel >hood. CF is strong, but the c900 hood has been engineered to absorb >energy in a frontal collision. Just changing the material will affect >the buckling performance of the curved hood which will have an unknown >effect on the safety of the vehicle. I find this important. I hit a >barrier at 55+ mph and walked away from the wreck. Another thing which I hadn't really considered is heat. The engines in our cars radiate loads of heat and the arrangement of the engine coupled with the car body shape overall means much of it (esp. when the fans are running) gets pushed towards the back fo the engine bay and subsequently this channels a LOT of heat into the hood. Metal hoods are of course far better heatsinks so would carbon-fibre material as used in Kevin Y's C900 hoods have a problem with heat? Craig. -- Craig's Saab C900 Page at | Craig's Classic Saab Workshop - Sydney .au http://lios.apana.org.au/~c900 | http://www.classicsaab.net and other URL's Email: c900nospam.apana.org.au | For Saab 99/C900/9000 Enthusiasts World-Wide! Alternate: saabonautnospaml.com | Web-forums, galleries, library, links, etc.