Carbon Fiber Bonnets Vs Stock Aluminium Bonnets

[Spunky Munky]

Hi fellas,

I must say, times have changed as I have noticed an increased number of car enthusiasts going from CF bonnets back to stock aluminum ones. Is it simply because of the age-old defect issue with cops or are people simply getting tired of the look and hassles with the CF ones? I mean, sure if you track your car then surely it does add some value in terms of weight loss etc, but for most (like myself previously included) it is simply an exterior item to add some more cosmetic appeal to the car.

I have had two CF bonnets on my R33 so here are my experiences (these are just my own opinions so not suggesting that CF bonnets are bad in any way):

- CF Bonnet SHOULD have bonnet pins as more often than not; at high speeds many people (including myself) will find that CF bonnets will become unattached and hitting the front windscreen which is both dangerous and costly to repair (my biggest issue).

- They break quite easily, a few stone chips, having it unattached and hitting the windscreen etc will be very costly to repair - not to mention hard to do so (my second issue)

- The vents on CF bonnets are good but I think the look is too "fast and furious" style and it's getting a bit too much in my opinion and I now find myself liking the slick, safe and stock look of the standard aluminum bonnets more. Moreover, rain water escapes through these vents and often than not will cause coil packs to be dampen so there's the fear of that too. Then there's the 'click clack' sound when the rain hits it which can be very annoying.

- Finally, the issue of safety and although I stand to be corrected; if your car becomes involved in an accident, the CF bonnet will almost break and shatter instantly providing little if not no support to the car at all. Then there's the issue of fire, CF burns much quicker than metal so CF bonnets are safety issues (cops of course back this).

So yeah, I've noticed a decline in CF bonnets on cars on the roads and if you look at forums, Ebay and other sales classifieds you will find that CF bonnets are not that rare anymore and are quite affordable and at most times are the same price or even cheaper than a stock aluminum bonnet. Why is this? I'm just curious to see if anyone's noticed this change and your thoughts on the reasons or is it just me that's not a big fan of CF bonnets any more???

Cheers.

SM

[Spunky Munky]

So what you guys think??

[ndxxx]

Dude to be honestly man times and styling are slowely changing. I mean remember when all used to be about huge paint etc.... These days its definately the 'clean' look. But everyone has their own thing ehh

[JnJ]

mind uploading a pic of your gtr? just curious to see.

[Spunky Munky]

Dude to be honestly man times and styling are slowely changing. I mean remember when all used to be about huge paint etc.... These days its definately the 'clean' look. But everyone has their own thing ehh

Hahahaha - you got a point actually...I'm going back to Stock as a Rock look!! Wonder why that is ah?

[Spunky Munky]

mind uploading a pic of your gtr? just curious to see.

Hi mate, it's just stock looking...waiting on new TE37 rims so once that goes on will upload in R33 Pictures section. :-)

[Pal]

I personally think the carbon fibre look (with all the vents in it) looks to messy/busy. I like the factory clean look

[10 4]

Aluminium factory bonnet.

Carbon not necessary.

Weight savings minimal..

Edited December 21, 2011 by 10 4

[central coast person]

Cheap carbon bonnets may not fit well and the clear coat can crack around lips of the hood and start to crack from the outside of it. Also vents give you a dirty engine and wet the shit out of your belts and they look worn after about 5,000km........only use vented bonnets for a track car or if you can get one with rain guards but they are expensive.

If you want really want a carbon bonnet i only recommend a copy of the OEM bonnet, it looks clean and keeps you away from vents.

[Spunky Munky]

Thanks guys...I guess vented CF bonnets are on the decline...I must agree - the trend nowadays is the clean and simple look - definitely my style too!

[PewPew]

Painted CF bonnet = best of both worlds

[HYBR3D]

1 - Where are you finding carbon bonnets for sale? let alone cheaper than stock aluminium ones?? I can only see 1 in total (in oz) on ebay

And another thing, This is my first skyline, I have owned the R32 gtst for about 5 months and im slowly building it up to a nicely modified daily... But I cant get over how much hot air the engine has to suffer! The pod is stuck behind the head light chocking itself, and

I could cook an egg on the intercooler piping/manifold it gets so hot its crazy and a serious power kill to the wheels not to mention. There has to be a better way?

Ive been considering a carbon bonnet for a while, not so much for the looks, but basically to let out all the nasty trapped hot air under the hood. Not knowing much about skylines, I haven't considered potential water damage i wouldn't of thought it would be an issue.

Evos have it sused, vented bonnet above manifold to let hot air escape and get good air flow through out engine bay, and the intake can be directed to either down behind the bumper or behind the headlight with a huge insulated duct going up through the guard to keep that flow of cold air.

Why couldn't skylines be the same

[GTR-N1]

Functionally:- The vented C/F bonnet albeit a genuine Nismo R-Tune one on my son's Nur reduces gauge temp by up to 7 degrees over and above the C/F V-Spec II bonnet with of course the NACA duct.

Cosmetically:- I like to see a variety of bonnets. Imagine what our cars would look like if they were all the same. Heck, I even had an exact copy NACA duct moulded into a former R34 GTR aluminium bonnet for looks; but hoping too that it just might be functional. Well it reduced temps by 1-2 degrees

[HYBR3D]

Functionally:- The vented C/F bonnet albeit a genuine Nismo R-Tune one on my son's Nur reduces gauge temp by up to 7 degrees over and above the C/F V-Spec II bonnet with of course the NACA duct.

Cosmetically:- I like to see a variety of bonnets. Imagine what our cars would look like if they were all the same. Heck, I even had an exact copy NACA duct moulded into a former R34 GTR aluminium bonnet for looks; but hoping too that it just might be functional. Well it reduced temps by 1-2 degrees

Im more or less comparing a CF vented bonnet to the standard aluminium GTS-t bonnet. Those Nismo bonnets would work really well id imagine

[GTR-N1]

Im more or less comparing a CF vented bonnet to the standard aluminium GTS-t bonnet. Those Nismo bonnets would work really well id imagine

Yes, well I think Nismo R&D did their job very well indeed! The C/F Bonnet has an airbox connection too.

[Spunky Munky]

I agree - if it's a proper performance-enhancing device like the genuine Z-Tune one then why the heck not but all the cheap copies etc just make the car look so tacky!

[sinistaGTR]

All the cheap copies Of the z tune would still cool the engine significantly..... And if it's painted 99% of people wouldn't know the difference

[Hanaldo]

All the cheap copies Of the z tune would still cool the engine significantly..... And if it's painted 99% of people wouldn't know the difference

As I've said in numerous threads now, the cheap bonnets won't have the R&D in them to have a design that doesn't cause problems with low pressure zones. So in actual fact, with cheap bonnets you will most likely notice an increase in temperatures.

[Spunky Munky]

I think besides the looks - poorly constructed Z Tune bonnets are known to cause issues - coilpacks getting wet, increased engine temperatures etc are things I have heard from some people.

[sinistaGTR]

Low pressure zones are caused by vent placement, vent in the wrong area draws air the wrong way causing low pressure zones. So on a 34, a z tune replica with the vents in the same spot as the original nismo item.... Surely won't heat engine up by having low pressure zones.

Theres plenty of big build 34 gtrs running replica bonnets. The white hamburger 34 gtr with a seibon copy z tune bonnet has no heating issues with 408kw atw. Water drainage may be an issue yes.... But overheating.... No, the are cooling the engine down. Please feel free to provide examples with a 34 gtr running a z tune copy that causes the engine to heat up, as stated im not talking about water drainage.