Hey everyone,

I am trying to find a quality CF hood for my FD and it seems there is a large variation in price. From what I can tell, I've seen three different price ranges:

1. ~$600 for hoods like VIS and Seibon
2. ~$1200 for FEED and RE Amemiya
3. ~$3500 for AutoExe

I'm just wondering what would cause such a large range. What factors affect the price of carbon fiber?

Nathan

 

Multiple factors affect the price of carbon. However, as long as you are not looking into using dry carbon, which is extremely expensive, 3500 is too high. The Feed and RE quality is the best in my opinion, but there also some very close copies of their hoods for between 6 and 1200. Check out aerokits.net , I have always really liked their quality.

 

The cheaper stuff is usually just fiberglass with a decorative carbon skin on it, whereas the more expensive stuff may well be all carbon.

 

It's not the price of the carbon that's the factor here, it's the name. Feed, RE, etc. make a killing selling them for that expensive and it only costs them a hundred or two to make.

 

Most CF products for the auto industry, especially large panels, aren't full carbon fiber, it's usually wrapped on fiberglass or plastic. So just like a lot of other kinds of products you are possibly just paying for the name, and the cheaper ones may not be of the same quality (looks, fitment, etc). Sometimes something cheap ends up being better than a higher priced version, you just never know. A CF hood my brother ordered once was just a OEM style from TCSports something or other and it fits nice on one side but the other has huge gaps around the headlamp cover and fender. I've seen a few cars on here (can't think of which ones off the top of my head) with Seibon hoods and they look really good.

 

You're not counting the cost of R&D. It's not like these knockoff companies have to figure out their designs and test what fits, they just need to buy a real one and make a mold.

 

Usually, you get what you pay for. I personally like Shine Auto Project. They replicate rare, discontinued parts, but they improve upon the original part instead of passing on the flaws to the customer. Just because you buy the real deal, you might not be getting the best quality. We found this to be true with some original Feed front fenders. They were'nt flush when mounted, even with a Feed hood. Now, I'm not bashing Fujita Eng, but I'm glad that I received a modified copy that cost less and fitted perfect. Just research a little more, like you're doing now before you spend your $. Here's another option; send out your stock hood to be wrapped by a professional company. You'll have piece of mind knowing that there won't be any fitment issues. You can open the possibility of using different type or color of carbon fiber to fit your style.

 

It doesnt cost 3000 for r and d on a hood.... not even CLOSE. I used to work for Mosler automotive and we built the Mosler MT900 by hand ( a full carbon fiber car.... I mean FULL, www.moslerauto.com) And we would spend just under 500 designing new hoods, doors, etc. RE and FEED make a KILLING because people think like you do, that they are getting more because they spend more.