89-7coder

I was looking for something to buy for my FD and saw this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/93-97...#ht_7867wt_710

I like carbon fiber, I like the shape, and I like the idea of keeping my engine bay a bit cooler. Adding lightness doesn't seem like a bad thing either. A quick search of the forums revealed lots of people buying, selling, or showing off their hoods, but not much discussion. So:

Can anyone confirm that there is actually any benefit to installing a vented hood, or is it just for looks?

Do I really need to have it professionally installed? Isn't a hood just held on by a couple bolts? How hard could it be? Maybe I would need a proper body shop just to install pins?

Does anyone have one of these or anything else from FRP Bodykits? Are they decent, or should I look for this design from another vendor?

grimple1

iTrader: (1)

they vent more heat than standard hoods. they're also prone to rain (water) problems.


the FD hood is aluminum, so the weight saved wouldn't be as much as a typical carbon fiber hood to replace a steel hood.

you should be able to change the hood w/ a friend.


I know nothing about the vendor but it's knock off of a "Scoot" Hood (Not "scoote" like the listing).

Montego

iTrader: (1)

they do help in reducing water/oil temps. I had mine installed on a really hot day. On the way to the body shop my H2O temps were around 102C and on the way back after installing my hood (1/2 later so it was just as hot) I was seeing 97-98 IIRC.

As grimple said you get no weight savings by going aftermarket. As far as fitment is concerned it's all about the manufacturer. Mine is made by seibon so it fits pretty good.

mike_merryguy

iTrader: (8)

i had a VIS Drift on my FC and the temps dropped from 1/2 to about 1/3 or 1/4 on the gauge, until the supercharger went in then they went back up...

89-7coder

Thanks for the replies! I was actually looking for something like yours montego, so you feedback is especially good. However, I notice on the Seibon site they specify that it is not for highway use... Have you (or anyone else) had any problems on the highway?

mike_merryguy

iTrader: (8)

by not for highway use they mean it may not be legal, that have to say that for legal purposes as a disclaimer (correct me if i am wrong there anyone) but if you use the stock latching system IE you have the hood latch operational with the 2 stage locking system (cable then hit the lever) then you are legal (check your state)


HOWEVER i would always recommend hood pins for CF hoods

Montego

iTrader: (1)

As mike said hood pins are strongly recomended.

Prior to installing mine I could see the hood moving under high speeds. It was very slight but I knew that eventually it could lead to trouble. Though it was very well made the hood latch was still held on by fiberglass. Not the most strong of materials out there if you know what I mean. After I had my hoodpins put on, that hood became rock solid.

juicyjosh

iTrader: (29)

I've been at 120 mph without hood pins drilled on my very expensive VIS. Another forum member with a white FD has been at 140. A factory FD with the stock hood does 160. A hood that's latched doesn't just suddenly fly off. Let's be realistic here. btw, my VIS flexes less than the stock hood did at high speeds.

Water problems? My car's been washed and heavily rained on parked uphill, downhill, upside down, whatever. Aside from literally a couple drops on the alternator, no problems. It's not going to get drenched, and it's easy to fabricate an alternator shroud to keep it 100% covered.

Does it do anything to relieve heat? That's like asking if the bumper's hole for the radiator does anything.

You're welcome.

Montego

iTrader: (1)

Yes lets be realistic here.

First a VIS hood is not expensive, it's a knock off.

Second, you are saying that you know some dude that went 140 and you yourself have been to 120. Given that the hood didn't fly off on those two instances means that you are good to go right? No far from it.

A hood that is only secured with the stock latch has only one focal point when it comes to stress. The real danger comes from the constant pulling on the fiberglass area where the metal latch is attached to. Over time that area can develop cracks (given that its just made of fiberglass) until one day that hood actually does fly off. That is why hood pins are an extremely good idea, as they distribute the stress.

There is a reason why real companies stress test their products. It's to make sure that the product's integrity is not compromised over time. During a real stress test they don't just do it once or twice and say hey it's great were done. It's done hundreds of times with multiple samples and with varying circumstances in order to determine if the product passes or or not.



I don't know about your stock hood but mine flexed zero at speeds of 150+. Not a big shocker since the stock hood is reinforced. Maybe yours had play in the latch area.

juicyjosh

iTrader: (29)

Stickin to my story guy.

How many hoods that were actually latched has anyone personally seen just ...fly off?

As much as the story of a single occurrence always gets misrepresented and sensationalized, one would think that pictures of broken hoods would be all over this forum, and all over all the other car forums, and twitter and facebook, linkedin. Maybe not linkedin, but that would be funny.

So if you're calling the VIS hood cheap compared to the "real" one, you probably have a lot more money than me. I'm a broke Med student, and for someone like me - and for a lot of us here on the forum - the VIS was *very* expensive (but it's so pretty I just wanna lick it), and I sure wouldn't have paid more than what I did. (Make that "couldn't.") Man I didn't know hoods could come more expensive than mine

Montego

iTrader: (1)

hey that's fine. Do what you want but be careful about spouting out flawed reasoning to others.

I've seen it happen before. Tecate 1/4 actualyl, it was a 60's muscle car. The hood flies off on a guy that was on the right lane. He lost control and hit the guard rail on the right. Yanked hard on the wheel to the left, crossed two lanes barely missing his opponent. Ended up hitting the center guard rail so hard it flipped him up and over it. Landed upside down and skitted to an eventual stop. No hood pins either.

What you are failing to comprehend is that FB does not have the same stress qualities of our stock aluminum hoods. An FB hood breaking at the latch is not improbable it's probale.

as far as a single occurence is concerned and where the vids are:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-UTR...1&feature=fvwp


Others:

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!videos...&v=v9Z7_84CFDY

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=B_4X...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=nbCY...eature=related

I dind't call it cheap. I just said it wasn't expensive and noted that it's a knock off (just like mine). Expensive is a relative term and in this case it's relative to what the original scoot goes for which is 2K+ (from what I've been told) or an actual OEM counterpart $1152 from my local dealership.

Well I am an engineer. With my designs I deal with the device under test's (DUT) longevity and integrity on a continual basis. So I know the importance of sample size vs anomaly vs real world endurance.

Im curious are you pre med or in actual med school?

mike_merryguy

iTrader: (8)