Fiberglass Hood Limit Radar Detection?

[Apoc]

Hey guys, I saw somewhere on another forum where a guy claimed that because his hood was mostly carbon fiber it cut down on the distance he was able to be clocked with Ka. I don't think this is possible but if it is, I am thinking about replacing the hood on my Impala with a fiberglass one...

[Bear-Tweezy]

I dont see any truth what so ever to his statement

[RadarHell]

there is truth to that statement....

Yes his signature will be less with a non-metalic, then the next question would be what is his cross section. Since radar does depend on the doppler shifting, how much return will he still produce? He next problem will reside with his radiator, roof, etc etc.....

[trainedmonkey]

carbon may help but only nominally, a radar gun can clock a baseball... good luck getting your signature that low with just a hood. fiberglass does not absorb radar, so it would not help like graphite, though it really doesnt help anyway.

[GTO_04]

Yes, it does have a significant effect, at least with fiberglass. The slope of the hood may have something to do with it also. I had a '98 TA with the standard aluminum hood, and a Stalker Dual Ka could clock it at 1500 ft., similar to the range you would get on a Buick Regal. I traded the '98 on an '01 WS6, with the fiberglass Ram Air hood, and the Stalker Dual Ka could only clock it at 520 ft! I was stunned, as was my LEO friend! He hit me with instant on at 1500 ft. and................nothing! He thought I had beaten the instant-on LOL! So we redid the test the next day with a different patrol car and a different radar unit, but still a Stalker Dual. Again, the range was only about 520 ft. There was nothing wrong with either of the radars as they could easily clock Suburbans and Jeeps over a mile away.

I did a similar test this year with my '06 GTO. The clocking range with Stalker Dual was again about 520 ft. Multiple runs were made with the same result. As an added bonus, I was able to test with a Decatur Genesis Handheld Directional radar that operates on K band. The clocking range with it was 740 ft. Quite a bit longer than with Ka band, but still not too bad! So yes, there is a significant difference.

Also recall the tests that Car and Driver did on radar range and a 'Vette could only be clocked at about 550 ft. with a KR-11 K band radar. It would be interesting to see range tests on other vehicles with fiberglass hoods.

When I had my WS6 TA, I was hit with instant on Ka (Python II at 33.8 GHz) at about 1500 ft. I was driving about 15 over and got on the brakes immediately, but not real hard. By the time I was within range my speed was close enough to the speed limit (within 1-2 MPH) I didn't get pulled over. If he had a successful clock on me at 1500 ft., I definitely would have received a ticket because that PD had ticketed people for 5 over!

Yeah, a radar can clock a baseball, but they are normally using K band, and they are clocked at much closer range, less than 90 feet.

Do they make fiberglass hoods for Impalas? If there is much metal on the front of the Impala, it may negate any advantage a fiberglass hood may provide. There may also be other factors, like how the engine is mounted, assuming some of the radar signal gets through the fiberglass. In Vettes, TAs and GTOs, the engine is mounted front to back, not transversely like in fwd cars.

GTO_04

[Arashi666]

CF probably wont do anything to your RADAR signiature, but an FRP hood might

[Apoc]

for anyone that cares, here is the fiberglass hood for the imp: http://www.mpd-inc.net/Impala.htm

[Joe Diver]

Yes, it does have a significant effect, at least with fiberglass. The slope of the hood may have something to do with it also.

:lol: :lol: My buddy, in his WS6...seems to have no trouble getting clocked by the popo.... :lol: :lol:

[a-casanova]

The fiberglass hood will have an effect but minimal, reduce your lock range by maybe 20 percent giving you a bit more time.

[BIG Dave]

Another reason why it's great to own a Corvette. :D