FTO AUSTRALIA

A few mates have said it is, but can't find this written anywhere...
Does anyone know for sure?
(NSW by the way)

short answer, yes.

Wow, that is a short answer ^

Very to the point, thankyou ahahaa.

I feel as though i should give my 2 cents here...
Unfortunately CF is defect because of the damn insurance companies.
From what i believe it has something to do with "crumple zone integrity" or some crap that would apparantly alter a crash in such a way that it would be deemed dangerous
*cough* ahem Load of S**t! *cough*
It looks good, is ultimately stronger, lighter - but the insurance they hate it so it is a yes
I know for certain that the hood is, but i only assume the rest of the panels would be too, im not sure.

Answer = dont do it or get enough paint to cover the weave

Taz wrote:Answer = dont do it or get enough paint to cover the weave

If you have comprehensive car insurance and you are at fault in an accident, they will not to pay out if your car is not legal.

Isn't it because of the way it breaks when it hits something? It doesn't absorb the crash as good as metal and if they snap they have a greater potential to cause more harm? Whereas a metal panel would just bend?

Dras wrote:

Taz wrote:Answer = dont do it or get enough paint to cover the weave

If you have comprehensive car insurance and you are at fault in an accident, they will not to pay out if your car is not legal.

Carbon fibre hood and boot is listed on my full comp ...

When I had a claim through LSV they replaced the carbon fibre hood for me... That hood was repaired/painted and on Dwaynes car...

Although my car is black, and I have been pulled in for many RBT's I have never been questioned. When I was un-licenced, I gave my car to a mate to drive... He got pulled over every time he drove it (thanks to numberplate recognition) ... Yet again, nothing ever got said...

I have been told you can get an engineer to sign off on it, and it is legal... I had an engineer do this for my Evo .. Although that was a full fibreglass hood... But was on the engineers report, so all was good... Only reason why people don't head down that path is because of the costs involved...

Sorry but a bit off topic.. How much for an engineers report?

If you do it properly then I am sure it won't be an issue, but I maintain that if your car is not legal they can get out of paying.

The biggest problem with cheap fiberglass and CF bonnets are how they attach to the car. If the clasp that holds it closed at the front separates from the bonnet while you are moving, your bonnet will fly up and act as a sail. Chances are that the remaining mounts will fail at this point and your bonnet is now a fast moving, rigid mass that has the potential to do real damage. I am very happy for police to give a hard time to people that go down this path.

Now, if you spend the extra cash and do it properly then it is not a problem. There are more than a few cars that come from the factory with CF bonnets / panels.

It comes down to what you are trying to achieve. If you are on a budget and just want the looks then go for a vinyl and not a cheap ebay panel. If you have the money and want a custom shape or just a lighter bonnet, then get it done properly.

FTO-BOY wrote:Sorry but a bit off topic.. How much for an engineers report?

Anywhere from $700 to $1200 depending on the engineer & car.

If the bonnet is ADR approved prior to you buying, then youre OK as well. My understanding is that legalities apply for structural components (and crumple zone is a part of this, therefore bonnet myst comply). Im not so sure on components like guards, wings etc though. As they arent conmsidered structural, they may not have an issue. Maybe someone else can clarify.....

I want my fto to be of show standards. But bonnets I'm scared of. My mum was a cop and said cops hate fiberglass. They have been known to scrape the paint off pplz cars to check if it's fiberglass. Instead of just using a magnet. My bro has a 300zx it's almost all fiberglass. He has been pulled over by cops and has Been complimented on his car So I guess it's how the cop feels.

Oh and cf bonnets are illegal. but cops usually don't care.

They have been known to scrape the paint off pplz cars to check if it's fiberglass

Doesnt matter if your bonnet is legal or not, its not legal for them to do that. They arent allowed to damage your car at all. A picture is worth a thousand words........

Yeah there just stories that I have been told. Police are limited to what they can do. There only making the laws more strict.

And in some cases its reasonable and others it isnt. The crumple zone issue they have based on the fact that CF shears when impacted seems reasonable to me. Unless it has been properly inspected to ensure its not a risk to the occupants of the car or others, it continues to be a potential danger. On the other hand, not sure why fibreglass is an issue as it does not have the strength of CF - it does not shear off into shards, it sort of collapses on itself when compressed. Fail to see how that could hurt anyone. Just my Opinion of course.