Carbon Fiber vs. Projectiles

[extrashaky]

For those who have them, how do the carbon fiber hoods hold up to impacts?

I have to drive a lot of rural roads for my job, and I typically have to share them with a lot of large logging and construction trucks. As a result, I've had more than my share of small rocks and debris hit the car. I have a handful of paint chips that are not really that noticeable, but one of the rocks has left a dent in this tinfoil hood. The body shop says it can't be touched up; the whole hood has to be repainted to fix it.

If I have to have the thing repainted anyway, I was thinking of just replacing it with carbon fiber and having that painted to match instead, or possibly just leave it black. Obviously the CF hoods wouldn't dent the way metal does, but how do they react to impacts? Is the CF fairly rugged, or does it chip easily? Does it hold up better overall than the tinfoil hood?

I'm not really interested in it for looks or for weight reduction, but primarily for durability. Am I on the wrong track? Any thoughts from those of you who have experience with CF hoods would be appreciated.

[charged86]

the epoxy will chip like fiber glass i probably have mine wrapped in 3m clear bra. to protect my 500$ visual investment

[wheelhaus]

I work with carbon, glass, and Kevlar every day doing aircraft repair, just no carbon hoods. There's some variables, but for the most part structurally it will hold up to impact extremely well for most small and medium hits, until the impact is hard enough or sharp enough to chip surface resin, or worse, delaminate or crack the layers. It won't dent unless it's a sandwich construction (using foam or honeycomb core).

More so I'd be concerned about which resin they used and how sensitive it is to UV. This will break down the resin and make it yellow and brittle. Some more expensive resins are UV resistant, but a UV clear coat or something would be a great idea, also since many clear coats are harder and and will have a more durable finish than the resin. The 3m film mentioned above is a great idea, but may not block UV, not sure on that one...

[Jyn]

Originally Posted by wheelhaus

More so I'd be concerned about which resin they used and how sensitive it is to UV. This will break down the resin and make it yellow and brittle. Some more expensive resins are UV resistant, but a UV clear coat or something would be a great idea, also since many clear coats are harder and and will have a more durable finish than the resin. The 3m film mentioned above is a great idea, but may not block UV, not sure on that one...

Seconding this second paragraph - look into clear coating/UV blocking. The FR-S/BRZ is still fairly new, so there may not be a lot of cases here, but check some other forums and you'll see many CF hoods/trunks that have yellowed over the years.

[Carlitoz3]

Originally Posted by Jyn

Seconding this second paragraph - look into clear coating/UV blocking. The FR-S/BRZ is still fairly new, so there may not be a lot of cases here, but check some other forums and you'll see many CF hoods/trunks that have yellowed over the years.

which is why im staying away from CF.
Had a cf hood on my rsx years ago, it started to fade yellowish.
id looked really bad, had to repaint it black.

[Tgionet]

Originally Posted by Jyn

Seconding this second paragraph - look into clear coating/UV blocking. The FR-S/BRZ is still fairly new, so there may not be a lot of cases here, but check some other forums and you'll see many CF hoods/trunks that have yellowed over the years.

If it's not been explicitly stated the part has been clearcoated by the manufacturer I'd clearcoat it. All resins used for carbon fiber will photodegrade without some form of UV protection. UV stable resins will also degrade but at a slower rate.

[Ammunition]

Originally Posted by wheelhaus

More so I'd be concerned about which resin they used and how sensitive it is to UV. This will break down the resin and make it yellow and brittle. Some more expensive resins are UV resistant, but a UV clear coat or something would be a great idea, also since many clear coats are harder and and will have a more durable finish than the resin. The 3m film mentioned above is a great idea, but may not block UV, not sure on that one...

@OP - I had my car and all exterior parts that I've added on (shark fin antenna, bc tail lights, tail light covers, emblems, etc) opti-coated for the protection from UV damage which is one of the major benefits of opti-coat.

I'd recommend going with the opti-coating since it shouldn't alter the way the finish on the material looks, and its a seamless clear coating on the existing material, but if that isn't something you want to do then definately go with a clear shield like others have suggested - especially if your car doesn't get parked in a garage.