Hood on 2014 Mazda3

[KuroHouou]

Has anyone else lifted up the hood on the new Mazda 3.. I don't know about anyone else but that thing weighs a ton! I am surprised Mazda didn't put an aluminum hood on the car, probably would have saved a good 20 pounds or so... Just caught me off guard as to how heavy it was. Just thinking about weight savings for auto-x

 

[ceric]

True. Same for CX9 (even heavier).
Luxury cars use aluminum hoods, which cost much more to save a few pounds.

 

[80243]

maybe some law for pedestrian safety?
I mean: I would use plastic, as fenders in some cars, but likely this is not viable.

 

[npaladin2000]

Probably a combination of structural and crash necessity and sound insulation (denser metal should block more sound).

 

[serge]

Structural integrity most likely. Denser metal transmits sound better BTW.
Speaking of which in many countries hoods have a synthetic mat mount on the underside
- to reduce noise. Are they available in US?

 

[LennyR]

I, too, was surprised at how heavy the new M3 hood is and even commented on it to the salesman. The hood on my '04 Mazdaspeed Miata is aluminum. My guess is that they don't worry so much about front-end weight on a FWD car because it adds to traction.

 

[Chibana]

I suspect cost is the greatest factor, both OEM and in body shop repairs. My RX-8 has an aluminum hood, as well as aluminum rear suicide doors and trunk lid. I've been told by my body shop guy that because those parts are more expensive in aluminum, when they must be replaced by insurance companies, they will usually try to weasel out of replacing them with aluminum replacements and instead go with cheap aftermarket steel parts. Car companies try to save money in every way possible, and even small differences add up in the quantities that cars are produced. The extra cost isn't just for materials, but also for the extra cost of forming the part, and most auto suppliers are tooled for steel, not aluminum. So even though the extra $50 (just pulling a number out of my ass) may not seem like much to us, to a manufacturer, that's a big deal that has to be justified. For an RX-8, it was apparently justified. Mazda3? Not so much.

 

[npaladin2000]

Remember, it's $50 times however many cars. When you sell 10,000 a month, that's half a mil per month in savings.

Not exactly chump change.

 

[KuroHouou]

Wish they would make it an option of course they would charge 500 or something lol

 

[npaladin2000]

I'm sure someone will make an aftermarket version.

 

[Chibana]

That sucker is heavy! I opened mine up yesterday after washing and waxing it for the first time (and maybe the only chance I'll get before winter). It's a long hood for a small FWD car, though.