The hood is Atilla's (atihun on the forum) version of the Mazdaspeed hood. I went with this one because I don't like the hoods with huge vents all over, they are just to busy IMHO.

Anyway the fit quality is good, not quite as good as the stocker but well within what I'd expect. The fit and latch quality is great compared to the Faspac and VIS hoods I've seen. The hood will be painted CYM to match my CYM car.

Hood and CF sill pics: (might take ~1hr to update)

http://community.webshots.com/album/150060713EAGUnv

As far as temps go, I've seen comments on the forum about vented hoods not dropping temps. Well I got my specifically to drop temps and after 4-5 drives in 85-95F heat I think I can say with a fair degree of confidence my coolant temps are 5-10F lower on average. In traffic my M2 stage 3 modded FD runs about 200-210F with the AC on (activates fans) with the stock hood. Today my car seemed to run at 195-200F in traffic. On the freeway it runs at 195-200F with the stock hood and about 190-195F with the vented hood. These temps are read from a SPI temp guage with the sensor in the water neck.

I drive the car to lunch and then back to work where it sits for ~4hrs. Usually in the summer it is 120-140F when I get in the car at 5pm. Today it was about 113F. Not a huge difference but an improvement, somewhere between 7-27F drop.

I have a pic or of the door sills but not on the car. The door sills are a CF replica of the factory aluminum sills. I like the CF parts better since the aluminum sills get scratched easily. Also the CF sills with CYM background will look awesome IMHO (when it is done).

CYM project where the parts will eventually go:

http://community.webshots.com/album/89560034SgoVwL

Guys PM atihun and he'll get you a NICE fitting good quality hood, the CF sills are just as awesome.

Jeff

 

Jeff, how does the hood hold up at speed? Any need for hood pins?

 

Nope. I have the same hood on my car.

 

Hey Jeff,

Looks great! BTW what did the CF door sills cost?

Richard.

 

Looks very nice actually. I like it. Not too many vents (big plus). I also LOVE the CF door sills. Those look great. How much were they? (The hood also if you don't mind). If you feel more comfortable PM'ing that info, feel free.


PS-- I love the battery tray I received today. Thanks.

 

The latch looks like a nice quality piece but I'm going to go with hood pins on the CYM. The hood won't be on the VR R1 for very long so I'll just keep the speeds down.

 

Aesthetics aside, note the total area of the two slots in the Mazdaspeed. How thick are the CF? I'm lucky my car is black as the CF sorta blend in, on a VR, it's just too noticeable.




Now note how big the vents are on the KS hood. This was the primary reason I went with the KS hood. I didn't care for those two little side vents on the KS though.



BTW, driving in pouring rain today, I saw water being drawn out of the vents.

 

Another thing I like about this hood is that it fits very well with my M2 IC and CF airbox. Since it has the lip on the front edge there is actually MORE clearance between the IC, airbox and hood.

Poman,

You are right, there is more total area on the KS hood, it just isn't my style to have so many vents, to each his own. I would have bought a real Mazdaspeed hood if they weren't $1800-2800!

 

Fer Crying out loud turbojeff, you still have the air blockers on the car!!!!







Damn, this latch is high quality: it looks like it's welded to an aluminum plate and then the plate is bonded to the FG hood so even if the plate delaminates inside the FG backing it's still captured in the FG backing b/w the exterior and the FG backing.

 

What happened to all the pictures of turbojeff that I pasted into the post??

 

Too bad he doesn't have the newer R-Spec Mazdaspeed hood. I like the additional vents. With my custom FMIC setup and other V-Mounts a Panspeed replica would be awsome. RE-Amemiya replica would be pretty tight to. I haven't seen his CF work but he is way cool and has helped me with my car. No worries buying from him.

 

Heya Everyone!

Thanks for the kind words. Mike (65Imp) and I have spent quite a bit of time with the shop on the hood and other parts; sometimes way too much.

About not needing hood pins; well we highly recommend them for your safety. The hood will bow at high speeds as with any FG or CF hood. That being said many, including Mike, have been driving the cars without hood pins and no problems, but at their own risk.

As for the vent sizes; we alloted for larger vents as the KS. We just didnt make them larger as most liked the normal vents. The vents can be enlarged onto the horizontal plane, similar to the KS, and a metal rod can be added / epoxied into the underside of the center of the "W". With the added strenght you can double or tripple the vent size. But as Jeff said, "to each their own".

Please visit www.atihun.com for pricing.

Thanks again!

 

I know...

I'm going to be selling it, the CYM won't have them.

 

pomanferrari: did the KS hood increase underhood clearance?

 

My KS did. It gave at least 1/2" if not more where the vents are

 

I have had my hood for about two years now. A stress crack has developed above the hood latch. I have a Fiber Glass hood with hood pins.

I need to have the crack fixed and re-inforced but besides that its a good piece.

Chris

 

Very nice door sills. Are they susceptible to cracking if they're drilled and bolted down?. What type of install/placement are you intending to utilize? ... OEM or adhesive type??

 

Ooh, looks very nice! I love the MS hood, I think when I get around to it this will be the one I get.

 

i'M GOING TO VELCRO them on...

 

That's the spirit!!

 

I gotta ask... Do you notice the cabin air seem to be any hotter? Does the A/C seem to be less effective? With the vented hood the air pulled in at the base of the windshield should be hotter.

 

I think your thinking too hard . I can't imagine this to be a noticable effect.

 

Hey Jeff.. how much do you want for your VR mirrors ?

 

Actually I thought about the same issues. I think the AC works just as well if not better, probably a trade off since the condensor should be getting more air through it and the intake air maybe hotter intially for the cabin air but it should be cooled better due to the AC getting more cooling air. I dunno.

Of course when you hit the recirc button all the air comes from inside the car. I think when I'm driving with the windows down it might be hotter inside the car but not very much different.

 

Your progress on the CYM make you..

SO.

VERY.

EFFING.

COOL!!!

keeps it upses!!