Ok, so as I posted before, my car is in the shop for front end/hood damage paid for by the other party's insurance. Now my question is... should I get a Carbon Fiber Hood and paint it WRB? The place said as long as it is cheaper than the OEM hood I can (less than $599 unpainted). She needs a website to order it from... that is where I need your guys' opinions.

I want an OEM look alike CF hood, unnoticeable once it is painted with no fitment issue at all especially with the stock scoop (as that is not being replaced).

For starters what do you think of this one
http://cvrmotorsports.com/store/inde...product_id=141
(Thanks ruehl)

All opinions appreciated!

EDIT: I'm just going to go with aluminum. It is lighter. I wanted strictly performance since I was painting it either way, but there is little to no difference so I'll stick with OEM.

 

That's not a bad idea
I am getting the Seibon RS CF hood to get rid of my non-functional hood scoop painted as well

 

I dont see anything wrong with something lighter, and keepin' a sleeper look. Good luck with finding the right hood.

 

aren't aluminum ones better?

 

I would just stick with the aluminum hood. There's insignificant weight differences, you get OEM quality and fitment, and I believe (someone correct me if I'm wrong) if you're in another accident aluminum will bend while carbon fiber cracks.

Unless of course you have a FMIC, then do as the previous poster said, and get an RS style hood, since those OEM are super heavy.

 

Its not that great of a mod if you just going paint it since its not that much lighter and the main point of a hoodscoop cf hood is the look.

I thought you were going leave at unpainted or try to handle the repairs yourself by getting paid by the insurance company.

 

but its for an RS, so its like taking 35 ****s in a row before a race.

 

It would be for an 02 wrx and he has a TMIC

 

Ok you guys were right, I'll stick with the OEM aluminum, It is lighter. And since I don't want the CF look, there really is no point.

Oh and ruehl, I ended up going with the place since they are going to do a bunch of 'necessary supplements' that the estimator didn't even state. So I would have been screwed if I just got the check. So in the end I'm getting everything I want done and more, with no out of pocket money. I just want my car back, this is the most inconveniencing thing ever.

Thanks for the opinions everyone
/thread

 

I speak from experience:

Carbon fiber hoods are really damn cool when you first get them and a couple years after... However, most hoods are made in China or other low budget areas and are clear coated with really cheap clear coat, and even good clear coat starts coming off or getting yellowish after sun exposure for a long time. Another thing is they are not perfect, they have inperfections and aren't as smooth as OEM hoods so if you paint them you'll be able to tell that they aren't OEM.

I know there are really high end carbon hoods, like the dry carbon which are damn perfect, but unless you're paying well over a grand for a carbon fiber hood, don't count on it being great in the long run.

I say go with a really high end hood and paint it when you get tired of the carbon look. Don't go cheap, go big or don't go at all! Trust me!

 

Well atleast you aren't getting screwed ive seen to many people get there car damaged by someone else and end up getting screwed since the repairs are done half ***.

 

spoken very well
I contemplated whether getting the OEM RS hood from subaru but it's a lot compared to a CF one
but if you can spend the dough, I totally agree of doing it right the first time

 

why on earth ever have a cf hood painted????

 

Because a lot of people don't like teh look of CF and like the strength and weight of the CF hood. What's cool about CF hoods is that you can't really dent them or anything, unlike the aluminum OEM hood which is so easy to ding/dent. You can drop something big and heavy on the CF hood and it wont do anything really, you cant do that with an OEM hood.

Another reason is because the CF hoods fade and turn yellowish in the sun so it's better to just paint it and avoid all that and still have the weight and strength of a CF good.

 

Also, people sometimes paint them once they turn yellowish since they are sometimes tired of the look by then or they don't want to clear coat it again.