We have all heard about carbon fiber car parts by now. Carbon fiber or graphite fiber is a lightweight graphite cloth that when coated in resin becomes a very light composite material. Carbon fiber because of its strength and weigh is used extensively in the aerospace and racing industry. These parts have started to trickle down to the consumer. But are these parts the same material NASA or Indy are using?

If you see "carbon fiber" hood advertised on ebay for 500 dollars, chances are it is a single ply of graphite over a fiberglass hood. If you want graphite for a cosmetic reason, this may be a great way for you to save money. What you need to know though is this hood has little in common with a true racing part. Graphite over glass fiber has no where near the strength of a true carbon fiber laminate. The other issue is what grade resin is being used and is it UV stable? For a hood its all about weight savings not strength so a fiberglass/graphite one cannot be all bad can it? Actually most fiberglass laying methods produce a composite twice as heavy as its carbon fiber counter part. For an example of a purely carbon fiber build look at: http://graphite.volvospeed.com/gallery/p17_sectionid/4/p17_imageid/7

So can you even get all carbon fiber racing parts? Yes, but they are expensive. For a hood expect to pay 2-3 thousand dollars. What you will get will be a very light racing component. Though it varies vehicle to vehicle, graphite hoods are often in the 7-10 pound range. If you are looking for the real thing and not a cheap copy, you now know what to expect and what questions to ask.

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Source: www.articlecity.com