carbon fibre bonnets

[statement]

hi guys, just wondering wat is the go with laws about fibreglass / carbon fibre bonnets cause while my car is in the shop i thought it would be a good time to get a new bonnet as my is damage.

so really i want to know is
1- are they legal
2- wat do i need to hold it down (rally clips or factory clips)
an finally any idea on the cost?

cheers guys

[ElDubya]

One word for you buddy ...... ILLEGAL!

In QLD anyway.

[Bax]

And if they're illegal in QLD they're illegal everywhere.

[statement]

i'm from wa, but i see cars in mags with them an i did see advertise in street commodoes mag a while ago, but why would they be illegal, i even seen a company that sold fibreglass parts for fenders ( mainly toyota 4wd the old types) an hows it any different from aftermarket bodykits?

[walesy]

if i ever get a decent car with a detailed engine bay i wanna get a clear bonnet... is a perspex type hood illegal?

[Bax]

They're changing the structrual integrity of the car.

Clear bonnet.. I'm fairly sure that'd be illegal too.. Unfortunately I don't think it'd be too practical too. Heat/ Fumes/ Dirt would get too it. Well at least thats what I figure.

[walesy]

yeh i spose i diddnt think of that... it would end up stained and filthy

[Evman]

It's not really the structural integrity, that would imply that if you took the bonnet off, the body wouldn't be as strong, which is false because there is no load bearing on the bonnet. The reason they're illegal is because they change the crash rating of the car. Where a metal bonnet would bend and buckly, a carbon fibre bonnet wouldn't. For example, if you hit a pedestrian, a carbon fibre bonnet would be more likelly to cut into the person rather than bend. Here's some trivia - one of the reasons the cost blew out on the Monaro 427 was because of it's carbon bonnet. The problem was, in a frontal impact, the bonnet would be pushed through the windscreen, into the driver and passenger. Scary really.

[walesy]

hmm yeh i dont really feel like being decapitated by my bonnet

[Bax]

Thanks evman, thats what I was thinking- just couldn't word it.

[statement]

thankxs for the replys guys, but i still don't understand if they are illegal why do i see cars running around with them? an how would fibreglass bonnets go?

[Boonz]

get your bonnet carbon fibre wrapped....somewhere in adelaide does it so im sure somewhere in another capital city would have a place that does it too

[Bax]

Why do you want one?

[Boonz]

hell no..... i like my green bonnet thank you

[statement]

getting it wrap is no good for me as it is damage pretty badly, an the reason i after one is once my custom bodykit is finish i would like to have my design made up
1- light weight
2- custom design
3- cooling benifents
4- an once its done i think it would look hot

[Shounak]

So carbon fibre bonnets are stronger then metal ones? Cuz they don't bend if in an accident?

And what about the black carbon fibre ones that are on Asian cars. Every second WRX, Lancer or Echo at Uni is white or blue with a black bonnet. They advertise the black carbon fibre ones for $500-600..

Are they illegal?

[minux]

why would you want one? lets go Rice racers!

[Shounak]

why would you want one? lets go Rice racers!

I don't want one.. Just wanna kno cuz then it'd mean that all those ricers are illegal.. Can be defected at the drop of a hat..

Copper: Ahh lemme see. Bonnet doesn't meet ADR regulations, poses a hazard to other drivers and pedestrians.. *CANARY*

[Patrio7]

call me thick but theres one thing i dont get, sure switching to a CF bonnet will save you some weight compared to a steel one and sure they look alright but does removing 20odd kilos from the hood make that much of a diff?

i was going to argue my view that weight on the front wheels would be good for accelerating out of corners [touch less understeer / front wheel skid ] but on the other hand you would already have 200+ kilos of engine doing that. so i suppose switching to CF would mean you can shave that whole half a second off your 1/4 or thanks to the reduced weight, knock off more than a second in a lap race.

again i dont know that much so dont take my word for it, im just saying what i think.

[minux]

I don't want one.. Just wanna kno cuz then it'd mean that all those ricers are illegal.. Can be defected at the drop of a hat..

Copper: Ahh lemme see. Bonnet doesn't meet ADR regulations, poses a hazard to other drivers and pedestrians.. *CANARY*

I would of thought some of them huge rear wings were illegal.

[Patrio7]

I would of thought some of them huge rear wings were illegal.

which is where you would see a lot of cars with just the wing mounts on the boot.

i suppose it would have something to do with the dimensions. someone once said to me it had to do with the fact that if you were to hit someone and they went over then the wing would make a nice mess. no idea tbh.

yet another reason we need a "big book of you cant do this" from the cop shop

[greenfoam]

You should be able to run any kind of bonnet you want on an older car that didn't have to meet ADR's but it's a different story on Commodores. There used to be heaps of HQ's running around with the entire front end made of fibre glass panels, that's a massive weight saving on a HQ and since they run a proper chassis anyway who needs metal panels : )

[statement]

why would you want one? lets go Rice racers!

how can you say that when c/f bonnets have been use by all kinds of motor cars an not just ricers, like the maclaren f1 road car which the body shell is made up in total carbon fibre.

just cause one side willing to do more or something different should not be reason be putdown

[Bax]

They don't way that much at all normally so I'm fairly sure any weight loss wouldn't be noticed anyway. If weight loss is what your after then maybe a different interior, strip your stereo out entirely- ditch your spare and tool box.

[statement]

the weight loss i'm not worried about it more the fact i'm after something different an stands out of from the crowd.

where does it say or i can find about the legal side to wat materials i can an can't use use on my car?

p.s for WA an i can't seem to find an on the dpi site???