Hood pins- must have?
 

After reading/hearing all the horror stories of hoods flying up(even below highway speeds), I was wondering if it is completely necessary to have hood pins installed in my new hood. I'm not too enthusiastic about drilling holes into a brand new hood, but considering it's a lighter carbon fiber hood (http://www.carbonfiberhoods.net/imag...96MZRX7-ST.jpg), would the installation of hood pins prevent me from ending up with a broken windshield?

I have had THREE (I have ADD when it comes to car parts) carbon fiber hoods and have never used hood pins. I have never had any problems, the hood might shake a little bit on the highway/high speeds though.

I have the stock hood but it would shake very bad at from 60mph and up. It is pretty scary so I put on hood pins. I'm very happy I did. Makes the car look great and the security of knowing my hood isn't going to fly up is very comforting.

i think fitment of your hood would also help in your hood not flyin up durin high speed,
as mine CF hood's fitment is not the greatest, it shakes past 80 MPH and how hard it shakes depends on the wind conditions, and it scares the crap outta me. i also do not want to drill holes into my hood
but if your hood is authentic and fits like stock, i doubt it will fly up

Some aftermarket hoods are too thin/flimsy. Also, there is really no super strong way to secure the stock latch to a carbon fiber hood. Most of them are just bolted to a piece that is bonded into the carbon fiber. I would run the pins because over time the latch can fail. The hood could fly up blocking vision and you could crash.

The main concern with any carbon fiber or fiberglass hood is the attachment point, like Ihor mentioned.

Over time, natural vibration and flex will fatigue this area, and the time frame will most likely be MUCH shorter than the stock aluminum hood.

Good fitment will help alleviate this issue, but not eliminate it.

YES ! The manufacturer recommends them and you should install them


later

I most definitely would install them. Here are some high quality ones that won't rust on you:

http://www.240sxmotoring.com/aelihopilo.html

I was just looking at those :icon_tup:

with that scoot-style hood you're definitely going to want pins. i had that hood on my previous FD, and i noticed that (without pins) it tended to bow up almost 1/4 of an inch above the fender when driving on the highway - i think this is due to the front scoop; air gets in there and pushes the hood up towards the sky. i was always worried that the hood was going to fly off when i was on the interstate, but it never did...but who knows? all it takes is for the latch to break and then you're EFFED!

i've got the AeroCatch "locking" hoodpins on my CF hood.

they look great, and definitely keep the hood nice and tight (and key-locked!)

oh, and just so you know, due to the mounting locations for the pins, these latches need to be installed "backwards" on our hoods. aerocatch recommends that you install them so the wider end is towards the back of the car and the smaller end goes towards the front, but you can't really do this on our cars. i'm pretty sure this isn't a safety or function issue, as the latches are definitely tight & secure when closed/locked.

HOWEVER, A WORD OF WARNING:

there seems to be some sort of defect with some of these regarding their latching mechanism. after a week or two of use, i have found that sometimes the latches open BUT will not close the way they are supposed to. i bought a set several months ago, so this issue might be resolved now, but i know the problem is not limited to just my experience. i've heard a few other people have the same problem.

in order to close them, you must stick something in the spring part of the mechanism and compress it while you fold the latch down (i usually use a key, or small flathead screw driver).

either way, defect or not, they are some really sweet hood pins, and the fact that they look is a definite bonus.

here are my install pics:

http://memimage.cardomain.com/ride_i...0148_large.jpg

http://memimage.cardomain.com/ride_i...0150_large.jpg

http://memimage.cardomain.com/ride_i...0149_large.jpg

http://memimage.cardomain.com/ride_i...0151_large.jpg

http://memimage.cardomain.com/ride_i...0153_large.jpg

http://memimage.cardomain.com/ride_i...0152_large.jpg

http://memimage.cardomain.com/ride_i...0155_large.jpg

http://memimage.cardomain.com/ride_i...0154_large.jpg

^^^ i'm planning to paint the hood silver to match (maybe the latches too), but i'm waiting until i replace the front bumper & maybe fenders so i can get it all sprayed at once.

i would install them, just for peace of mind

Car looks great Tom :icon_tup:

Hell, at 125ish mph yesterday I noticed my oem hood was definitely rattling around a bit, didn't make me feel too warm and fuzzy :lol:

Ha, reminds me the first time I went to the track, on the front straight at 150 the two corners right behing the head lights were lifting up a good 2 in each. Looked like the hood was "stretching its wings." Had to install some pins after that.

Mine did the same thing at about 170MPH. I installed pins the next day

regarding hood pins... It's just a good idea, you know.

Think about it this way:

The latch is attached to fiberglass. As we all know fiberglass is not really the optimum material used in a load bearing structure...

I attached hood pins to my aftermarket hood. Though the latch seemed rather sturdy, it would not surpise me if EVENTUALLY I found cracks near or around the latch. That something I'd like to avoid, so came in the pins.

I would rather pay for and install pins than for a new hood, possibly a windshield and roof repair. The stock hood flew up on mine when my brother owned it and ended up replacing the roof and hood. The hook on the latch was worn out and just finally gave out when he was going down the highway. Luckily the windshield didn't get smashed. I know the car looks better without them but not having to worry about it is worth it to me.

its preferance, but if it makes you feel safer then go for it

Mine hasn't flapped around too much on cruises, i spent alot of time getting mine to fit decently though. With my seibon KS bonnet i had to file the holes in the hinges right out to get enough adjustment so the bonnet sat pretty evenly on both sides of the car ie. even gaps.

I also had to move the latch over a tad too.

I will still get bonnet latches though, just haven't got around to it just yet. So many things to do to my car.

I am also thinking of spraying my bonnet to match the colour of the car, but carbon on montego blue doesn't look too bad imho.

if you prep the hood right you can get a really cool weave effect in the paint - not like a texture, just an effect that you notice at certain angles.

i had carbon fiber fenders & a carbon fiber front end on my previous car, and had them painted. at the right angle you could see the weave and tell that they were carbon fiber. it was a really sweet effect.

I have an aftermarket hood with huge ass vents and I dont even run a latch anymore. I use 2 hood pins in the front, not behind the headlights like where Theorie has them.

i'd get some if i were you. gives you one less worry

yeah im sure either spot works fine. i picked the spot behind the headlights because i thought it would be the most secure.

LORD SATAN, PLEASE HOLD MY HOOD DOWN!!!!!!!

https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1242746808

:lol:

Hahahahaahahahha

I think it doesn't have so much to do with the prepping of the CF pieces as much as mixing the paint in with the clear coat. :dunno: not really sure though.

well the cf parts came with a clear coat already applied, so it had to be sanded down first. i think sanding off the original clear is what gave the paint the cf effect.

does anyone know what the size of the aerocatch hoodpins are. I have a hood that previously had hoodpins and would like to know if these will cover the screw holes.