ok in the real world whats the best route to go.

this isnt really geared towards my jeep, my g/f is asking because she is looking into hoods for her jeep.

When going to an aftermarket hood what is the best route to go, is kevlar going to crack like fiberglass? is there a weight difference or duablility difference. i did a search but i didnt really come across anything.

thanks

DP

you just don't see many bullet proof vest made from fiberglass.

kevlar is a stronger material. but more $$$$$$$$$$$$$

Most of the time if you do something in a jeep to dammage your hood, you probably also dammaged a lot of other stuff, too (fenders, grill, etc.), so I would go the cheap route and get fiberglass. Just my $.02

camo... i was thinking the same sort of thing.... i guess my thoughts are if your wheel'n and slide into a tree with a steel hood its going to either push the tree or dent the hood. fiberglass is going to crack and break. whats kevlar going to do? so basicly if its going to break like fiberglass will then its not worth the money to go with kevlar if its going to stand up to more abuse its a decent idea (depending on the person).


thanks

KEVLAR!!!!!!! Then you can say "yah my Heep i mean jeep is bullet proof" But being serious i would go with Kevlar..

The stiffness in either hood comes primarily from the epoxy, poly, gel, etc. from which it is made. Kevlar will be more tear-resistant than fiberglass, but either will crunch just about as easily.

They should weigh just about the same, and the Kevlar hood will be more expensive because the Kevlar itself costs more and is harder to work with. That makes your 'glass hood easier to repair, if you crunch it.

Unless weight is a significant issue, just use a steel replacment hood... the ones I have seen listed run about $150, and I bet you could find one cheaper! IIRC, Quadratec gets two-and-a-quarter for their 'glass hoods,

Randii

stick with steel... you can always bang it back into shape

I've worked as a fiberglass fabricater in the past, and we used alot of kevlar. It is MUCH stronger then fiberglass. but is only added to the fiberglass. so instead of 4 or 5 layers of glass, you would sandwich a layer of kevlar between two layers of glass making to part much lighter, but over 10 times stronger. If used with the proper resin, you can make a "semi flexable" part that will flex and rebound rather then crack or tear. We made canoes and kayaks using this process and they were quite durrable.
So the choice is up to you, unless you're looking to lighten up your rig, it really comes down to personal preferance.

Crunchability is all about the resin. If you make parts with the right epoxy, either fiber product will produce a durable, and ductile product.

Kevlar will add strength, but not the type you are looking for...however most mass produced fg parts use polyester resin which shatters on impact...but its cheap. Kevlar isnt really compatible with polyester, so your going to get an epoxy part.

What about carbon fiber?