How it’s made; hood edition

In the coming weeks I’ll be posting a series of articles on how automotive hoods are designed and manufactured. A hood can offer various performance gains, a performance hood can offer weight savings over stock, by doing so it can improve weight distribution, fuel economy, acceleration and top speed… design elements like air induction or “Ram Air” as most call it can improve engine performance. A hood can offer the required clearance for mechanical upgrades such as superchargers, they can also extract heat to keep engine temperature down. It can even depressurize the engine compartment and improve acceleration and top speed…. So basically it all depends what the designer is looking for… The purpose of the series is to explain how different hoods are made and mostly what to expect when making a purchase.

I’ll be writing a series of articles to cover the following;

Article 1
Hood Basics

1. Safety in design

a. Internal hardware

b. Assembly

c. Manufacturing quality

2. Durability

3. Painting various panels

4. Installation and fit

Article 2
Composite Hood Manufacturing

1. High volume SMC Composite, (Sheet Molding Compound)

2. Fiberglass based composite hoods

a. Hand Laminated (Chopper)

b. Hand Laminated (Mat)

c. RTM light (Resin Transfer Molding)

d. ACS RTM heavy tooling

SLP Corvette C6 Functional Hood

Hood, 2005-08 C6 Corvette

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SLP now offers an all-new C6 composite hood with functional hood scoop to fit 2005-08 Corvettes. This OEM quality C6 hood is manufactured using the same process that SLP used when manufacturing over 52,000 Camaro SS, Firehawk and WS-6 specialty vehicle hoods for GM and its dealers. This aggressive, functional hood scoop will set your Corvette apart from the rest. The hood is designed to force cold air into the engine compartment, extracting unwanted heat. Manufactured from an OEM-quality resin transfer molding (RTM) process providing a stronger, more durable hood. An internal water control system is built into the hood, preventing rain and snow from getting onto critical engine components. OEM-style crush initiators are also molded into the hood, typically not found in aftermarket fiberglass hoods.The hood is shipped to you (or your body shop) ready to prep, prime and paint. All necessary hardware, detailed instructions and a serial numbered authenticity plate are included.SLP’s C6 composite hood includes the following features:

• OEM styling, safety and performance benefits typically not found in aftermarket fiberglass hoods.
• OEM quality composite material utilizing RTM (Resin Transfer Molding) process.
• OEM style molded-in crush initiators.
• Same weight as stock OEM hood.
• Fully functional scoop forces cold air into the engine compartment, extracting unwanted heat.
• Internal water control system prevents rain and snow from getting onto critical engine components.
• A permanently attached serial numbered authenticity plate.
• Coated inner hood hardware with bump-stop receptacles.
• Accepts factory inner hood liner (needs to be cut to keep hood scoop functional).
• Easy, bolt-on installation requiring no modifications and maintaining all factory gaps.
• All hardware and installation instructions are included.
• Factory matching 3 year/36,000 mile warranty covering materials and workmanship.

[Source : slponline.com]

SLP Corvette C6 Hood Press Release

How to buy the hood

Corvetteforum.com Review

Advanced Composite Specialties – ACS

is an OEM composite supplier offering automotive component solutions. Our specialty has been developed in composite manufacturing for automotive and transportation markets where high quality and competitive cost are basic customer requirements. Having built over 70,000 components for various OEM automotive customers over the last 10 years has enabled us to apply this knowledge to any new application where composite properties are favorable to getting a low cost, lightweight, and durable part to market. ACS assists its customers in product development, design, engineering, manufacturing, tooling design and fabrication.

www.acscomposite.com