just thought i'd let everybody i am gonna be getting a seibon carbon fiber hood for $528 shipped... yes thats $528 shipped. its way cheaper then repairing the dent in my hood now, and i am excited as hell bout it... so anybody interested in snagging my old hood in about 2 weeks? anybody know any secrets i might need to know about the installation?

 

1. Remove latch from your old hood.
2. Loosen bolts on the rear side of the hood.
3. Remove the hinges for easier installation.
4. Remove hood
5. Put latch and hinges on the hood.
6. Put hood on car loosely to make sure it fits and has even gaps.
7. Profit.

 

you forgot "clamp off and disconnect windshield washer fluid" its always fun to try to disconnect that and keep it from spraying while holding up the hood too

 

How big is your dent? Personally I dont think a CF hood is worth it, because the aluminum hood on the STI is already pretty lightweight. My .02

 

Yeah I heard the stock hood is lighter than the CF ones but its still cheaper than having that dent fixed since its aluminum ya know? Plus it'll look even sexier (I think)... The dent is a little smaller than a fortune cookie I'd say (roughly same shape) and the hood's taken a beating since I bought the car in South Dakota about 2 years ago... Is it a pain hooking up the IC sprayer at all?

 

You may want to get recon first before you get your hood.

Butt weight wise, theres very little different between a cf and stock hood. I had the VIS and it seems like it was only a tad lighter.

 

look into getting another clear coat or 2 shot on top of it. my neighbor as a seibon and its about 2 years old and after being in the elements it looks like dodo.

 

Agreed. I had a vis on my del sol and it faded. If you primarily park in the sun, its sure to fade....

 

And you need to drill all those holes to run your washer lines, the holes for your weather stripping on the front, make a bigger hole for your prop rod, the holes for your heat cloth(optional) and hopefully you wont have to enlarge one of the hinge mount holes like I had to as well.

And if you want that Seibon to last, shoot at least another layer of UV protected clear on it. I have had mine on my GC for a little under a year and the extream S.Texas climate is taking its toll on it, it no longer has that deep dark gray look but more of a goldish gray look which kinda of goes with the STM color but now does not match my new CF S201 scoop Hopefully I can have someone sand it down and shoot some more clear on it

 

you actually can save more weight with a mini battery more than a cf hood
04silver is right

 

eh, i wasnt really lookin to cut weight, more for looks and so i dont have to look at that dent and those chips on my current hood.

...damn i was really hoping i didnt have to do any drilling considering i dont have a drill. how much you guys think a coat of UV protected clear would cost? now im gettin a little discouraged from buying this hood, i just wanted to pick something up with my tax rebate, haha maybe ill just get tattoos and my 60k mile service done.

 

it is much safer to have two people working on it...

Extra clear coating is recommended...it's easier and better to do it when your hood is brand new...once it starts fading, it takes a lot more effort to make it look good again. Spend the extra bucks now and get some UV and clear coat added...you'll be much happier in the future.

If you have to drill holes, like I did, to mount the rubber pieces, makes sure you limit the depth at which the drill bit can travel (I used masking tape)...wrap the tape around the bit to the depth you want it to travel. I've heard horror stories of people drilling away and the bit went through both bottom and top pieces because they applied too much force. I had to drill nearly 50 holes...with no mishaps...

Also beware: Did you get the CF hood with the side vents cut out? Two members in our HIIC had problems when their MAF sensors were exposed to the elements...caused some serious issues. If so, beware.

Two other precautions:

1. Hood Latch. One of the problems with CF hoods is that the latch that holds the hood down is weak. Read up on Seibon...I"m pretty sure they are ok...but you may want to think about Hood pins if you are not sure. I have the Chargespeed and it is very strong...no need for hood pins.

2. Gas hood struts. Many CF hood manufacturers do not recommend the use of hood struts...I've been using mine for about 2 years now with no issue, but again, make sure you do some searching prior to adding this to your car...

Good luck and have fun!

 

and pray to god that you dont get a crack in it or a huge rock chip or that it starts fading....... cause they look real good at first but if any of the above said things happen it wont be as attractive!

 

I agree with the above:

1. Get it shot with a few coats of clearcoat...if you don't you are a complete NOOB and should be treated as such

2. Get hood pins put in...the latch they put on there is for show more than anything else.

3. Get a friend to help you put the hood on...so much easier.

 

I agree with everybody also they look god for a bit but once they start to fade they look like crap I had a Civic with a CF hood that was a few yrs old when I got they car and it was crap and it was a Seibon. I would try to get another metal hood personally but if you can get a couple coats of clear on it and are able to keep it mostly out of the sun you should be ok for a while.