NEW HPF full CARBON FIBER BMW E46 Hood GROUP BUY with AGRESSIVE STYLING - $1650

Originally Posted by Grendelsbane

Chris - Will the hood have an option for diverters to prevent rain from going into the engine bay?

For now no. It will cost more money. i'd like to know how many people would pay a little more for diverters even if the rain vents were in a place that didn't hurt the engine.

Chris.

Originally Posted by Brian N

I don't see anywhere where it says there will be a sedan version. I doubt that will happen, totally different fitments and would require a separate mold. I'm sure this is coupes only.

That's too bad. Sounds interesting if it fit sedans.

No pics? A bit pointless...

Originally Posted by johnhk79

No pics? A bit pointless...

We met with the company yesterday that is building our carbon fiber hoods. We have assembled a great team of minds to attack this project and will be bringing an amazing product to market. We are taking a "real" look at aeromdynamics of this hood and hope to improve downforce, improve flow through the engine area w/increased cooling, and reduce the pressure gradient that cause some of the aftermarket hoods to shake wildly at high speeds and want to blow off . We are also bringing forward a class "BMW" looking race design that I think will impress. It is similar to other hoods but takes everything one or two steps further. The underside will utilize carbon fiber as well so when you open your hood, it will look amazing underneath. The hood will NOT require hood pins to stay on the car. The hood will have reinforcements for the hinge and attachment areas and will not flex in those areas when opening and closing the hood. The hood will fit perfect every time and will be made here in the US.

I may raise the retail price of this hood over $1,995 once we release it. However... I will guarantee the group buy price of $1,650 to everyone that pre-orders. I will have pictures up next week so stay tuned.

Chris.

We will have hood designs for review next Monday/Tuesday.

Is thursday...still waiting for the pics?

Originally Posted by Wickedly

Is thursday...still waiting for the pics?

I have them. I just need to post them up.

We met with the company that is designing and building our carbon fiber hoods earlier this week. They brought a lot of great ideas. The drawings below are their conceptual ideas before they take it to CAD. I'd like to hear your freeback on these concepts below and the hood designs as I want to maximize the overall market for our hoods.

My Requirements

• It MUST be AGRESSIVE!!
• It MUST work for most E46's.
• It MUST have strong internal webbing to support the attachment points to the rear hinges so the hood doesn't flex when you open and close it
• It MUST have a super strong hood latch so that no hood pins are needed
• It MUST have venting on both sides
• It MUST be fade resistant
• It MUST be blemish free so the hood can be run without paint
• It MUST simply bolt on without modifications
• Vents should be less wide but more of them
• Vents should be in a location that doesn't affect the electronics
• Hood should seal to the rubber strip at the top of the hood that seals in the electronics.
• HPF Should be embossed on the underside of the hood in a clean manner that is noticeable if you look but doesn't stand out

Their Ideas

• The aftermarket hoods on the market are simply a copy of the factory hood and can be better designed using the full capabilities of composites and re-designing the hood from scratch.
• With the center section lowered and the webbing removed like it is on some aftermarket hoods, the torsional reinforcement is gone. This causes the fluttering of the hood in the back.
• Torsion beams on the underside of the hood must tie the rear hinge points to the front hinge points. These designs are shown in the pictures below.
• Core material should be designed into the hood to provide these torsion beams. This core material is extremely lightweight and provides extreme rigity.
• Some hood designs below also add a structural reinforcement on top of the hood (the lip running from side to side) as well to make it extremely strong and also provide downforce.
• Molded in vents should be produced in such a way that they are sharp and clear cut. Other aftermarket hoods have vents that have slow radiused curves into the vents which makes them look not as aggressive.
• The sides of the hood should retain the original 4 rubber bump stops that allow the hood to lock in snugly against the body of the car.
• The underside of the hood should be as amazing to look at as the top side. You can see separation between the top and bottom parts of the hood on many of these aftermarket hoods out there and as a result the hoods are not as strong. When the hood is designed as one composite piece you get an extremely strong hood that is very lightweight.

Looks like a nice product. Too bad there isn't a sedan version.

Originally Posted by thotfulspot

looks like a nice product. Too bad there isn't a sedan version.

+100

This is very exciting. I think its awesome you are giving your consumers a chance to give direct input on the design of your product.

Originally Posted by sogoos

This is very exciting. I think its awesome you are giving your consumers a chance to give direct input on the design of your product.

Thanks.

Getting the end users involved is great, but it would be better if you were doing a sedan version.

With the price of sedans coming down it seems like the aftermarket is increasing.

I like this one

No updates?

Sent from my SGH-I997 using Bimmer App

sedan would be nice...