Hood (car)

This article is about a part of a vehicle. For other uses, see Hood.

A flipfront provides easy access to the engine bay (Saab Sonett)

The hood (US and Canada) or bonnet (most Commonwealth countries) is the hinged cover over the engine of motor vehicles that allows access to the engine compartment (or trunk on rear-engine and some mid-engine vehicles) for maintenance and repair. In British terminology, hood refers to a fabric cover over the passenger compartment of the car (known as the 'top' in the US). In many motor vehicles built in the 1930s and 1940s, the resemblance to an actual hood or bonnet is clear when open and viewed head-on; in modern vehicles it continues to serve the same purpose but no longer resembles a head covering.

On passenger cars, a hood may be held down by a concealed latch. It is designed to protect a car from thefts, damage and sudden hood opening on the road. Hood release system is common on the most of vehicles and usually consists of interior hood latch handle, hood release cable and hood latch assembly. The hood latch handle is usually located below the steering wheel, beside the driver's seat or set into the door frame. When a driver pulls a hood latch handle the hood panel pops up and allows access to the engine compartment. On race cars or cars with aftermarket hoods (that do not use the factory latch system) the hood may be held down by hood pins. A hood may sometimes contain a hood ornament, hood scoop, power bulge, and/or wiper jets. Hoods are typically made out of steel, but aluminum is rapidly gaining popularity with auto companies. Aftermarket manufacturers may construct hoods out of fiberglass, carbon fiber, or dry carbon.

In Japan and Europe, regulations have come into effect in recent years that place a limit on the severity of pedestrian head injury when struck by a motor vehicle. This is leading to more advanced hood designs, as evidenced by multicone hood inner panel designs as found on the Mazda RX-8 and other vehicles. Other changes are being made to use the hood as an active structure and push its surface several centimeters away from the hard motor components during a pedestrian crash. This may be achieved by mechanical (spring force) or pyrotechnic devices.

Some hoods may need a power bulge to fit for instance engine and air filters, or may enhance the aesthetic appearance of the hood

A flipfront hood

A hood hinged at the rear on a Saab 9-5

Framework	Car platform Backbone chassis Beltline Body-on-frame Bumper Cabrio coach Chassis Continental tire Crumple zone Dagmar bumpers Fender Fender skirts Grille Hood Hood scoop Monocoque Overhang Pillar Pontoon fenders Quarter panel Roof rack Shaker scoop Spoiler Stressed member engine Subframe Tonneau Trunk lid

Compartments	Trunk / Boot / Dickie Hood / Bonnet

Doors	Butterfly doors Gull-wing door Scissor doors Sliding door Suicide door Vehicle canopy

Glass	Greenhouse Power window Quarter glass Opera window Sunroof Windshield / Windscreen Windshield wiper / Windscreen wiper

Other elements	Bumper sticker Curb feeler Front-end bra Hood ornament Japan black Nerf bar Omniview technology Run-flat tire Spare tire Tire / Tyre Tow hitch Truck accessory Window deflector

Geometry	Approach and departure angles Breakover angle Overhang Ride height Roll center Turning radius Weight distribution

Exterior
equipment

Lighting	Daytime running lamp Headlamp Sealed beam High-intensity discharge lamp Hidden headlamps Turn signals Trafficators Rear position lamps Stop lamps Reversing lamps Safety reflector Retroreflector

Other elements	Vehicle horn Vehicle registration plate vanity plate Windshield washer fluid / Windscreen washer fluid Wing mirror Power side-view mirror

Legal	Motor vehicle theft Vehicle identification number

Category
Commons
Portal

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/2/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.

Hood (car)

See also

References