DVWP - Vorsteiner Race Hood for e46

[Miss325]

Hi guys!

I'm thinking of buying the Vorsteiner Vented Race Hood in Dry Vacuum Woven Plastic for my 325Ci convertible.

I know a couple of people on the forums have it but I'm having trouble understanding what exactly is DVWP?

I know it has a plastic component, so does that mean on impact it'll flex and snap? Or is it a brittle material like CF or FG that will splinter?

I'd also like to know how it would hold up over time engine bay heat, I'm worried that it may warp

Sorry if they sound like silly questions but I'm just trying to understand what I'm buying

Thanks!

[RacerJames666]

DVWP also exhibits a higher heat tolerance enabling the material to retain its structural shape and design under high temperature environments and everyday driving conditions.

-Elimination of air bubbles and air pockets
-Reduction of parts warping and waving over time
-25-35% weight reduction over fiberglass wetlay up process
-Stiffer and more durable parts due to full impregnation and bonding of resins into composite layers
-Superior quality control and finish
This vacuum forming process is ultimately designed to allow the DVWP finished parts to maximize weight to strength ratios, offering superior stiffness and durability much like Vorsteiner's Dry Carbon Fiber Vacuumed Plastic.


That help any? Its what a website said so it could be some hype.....but it looks good to me
JP

[Highboosted]

"plastic" and "resin" are interchangeable terms depending on where in the world you are. FRP (fiberglass reinforced plastic) and fiberglass are the same thing, i.e. the resin IS plastic, and the fiberglass reinforces the matrix, hense the name. "woven" just means they didn't use fiberglass flox or CSM, but actual cloth.

Technically speaking, there is no such thing as "dry vacuum woven plastic", or "dry vac bagging", or "dry carbon parts". Fiberglass thats dry is just fiberglass cloth, you need to add resin, which makes it "wet". Vacuum bagging can be done 2 ways, normally you'd use "pre-preg" or wet out the cloth, then place it in the vac bag to press out the air and excess resin, making a stronger part. Another way is placing the fiberglass and core if any in the bad dry, then using the vacuum (and gravity) to draw in the resin through a tube from a bucket. This is called resin infusion, and results in less excess resin production and waste, but harder to get right without doing lots of testing and experience. People who are not specialists in the field of composites call this "dry" because it's not "wet layup" (which do not use vac bagging), but just because it's not "wet" doesn't make it "dry".

Anyways, that hood is just a vac bagged fiberglass hood. Which is good.

[Miss325]

Originally Posted by RacerJames666

That help any? Its what a website said so it could be some hype.....but it looks good to me
JP

Can you link me to the website you got this from? It sounds like some good info!

Originally Posted by Highboosted

Anyways, that hood is just a vac bagged fiberglass hood. Which is good.

Interesting, quite technical too...

Thanks or the valuable info guys, this helps!

[RacerJames666]

twas an excerpt of some random website... Vorsteiner V-CSL Boot Lid DVWP BMW E46 M3 01-05 Vivid Racing
but they dont seem to have much selection really...so check this...
Welcome to Vorsteiner.

And thanks there Highboosted....It all makes sense to me now! (ive done alot of fiberglass & know CF techniques fairly well, but the infusion method new to me)
JP

[Miss325]

Thanks for that link

[RacerJames666]

N/P homie