weight

Idk, the benefit is cause it Looks so FREAKIN Awesome!!! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> j/k. I've heard CF is stronger, its a little bit lighter and it looks so freakin awesome!!! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

Frank, did you check out the aerocatch hood pins on that one site. You prefer one of these Tradition pins Twist lock style Twist lock pin or this one? Aero Catch pins

Yup, it'll be a lot lighter. Remember that CF is only stronger in certain ways. If you crash the car with a CF hood it will splinter in to many tiny pieces <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Who cares thought? I'd have one <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

ps make sure you tell your insurance company you are putting aftermarket parts on it. Otherwise they may not take the extra expense in to account if you do have a little 'incident'

As long as I have records showing that I purchased aftermarket stuff. They wont question it if I purchased it durning or after my first incident, so it should be cool.

I'm awaiting more pics of the "full" carbon fiber hood. Most carbon fiber hoods you see out there are only half carbon fiber. Most are carbon on top and the underside of the hood is usually fiberglass. This hood I'm looking at is resin infused double sided carbon fiber. It has a custom "racing" theme already painted on it when it was made. So we'll see if I like that kind of thing. I'll post pics when I get it.

I like this one in satin black or silver/stainless if the car is black/grey/silver/white:





Frank

May I ask what's wrong with the stock hood that's making you want to replace it?

The appearance of CF is a personal taste, so I'll just deal with issues of function. A little devil's advocate, if you will.

I've seen a lot of CF/fiberglass hoods that lack any substantial bracing, and they flex & ripple badly at speed. Some cheaper ones develop cracks around the hinge areas and I've seen one where a hydraulic hood strut punched through the hood, either because they used a strut that was too stiff or the hood was just weaksauce. Have you asked other 3000GT owners if this hood's structure is up to snuff and holds up long-term?

Weight, schmeight. You're talking about a vehicle (VR4, yes?) with a curb weight approaching 3800 lbs (as porky as my 4runner) and you're looking at spending over a grand including paint to save, what, 15 lbs give or take?

The main benefit to aftermarket hoods IMO is if they aid in heat extraction. And there are other ways to accomplish this without buying a whole new hood. You could have a body shop add louvers and/or an extraction vent to the stock hood for less than the cost of a new CF hood. Paint cost is a wash as that has to be done either way. In any case, I'd wait to drop the coin for that until I confirmed that my underhood temps were an issue for the type of driving I do. On the strip it is unlikely to matter. OTOH, on the track it could be a significant benefit. I'd also make sure I upgraded other more important stuff first, like wheels/tires, BRAKES, safety gear if necessary for the car's intended use, etc.

If your goal is just to have a cooler looking street car, then by all means feel free to ignore all the above and just buy it. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Bare CF is not my taste though. It does look good on some cars, just a little too conspicuous for me since I'm really not into high school delinquents in bone stock Civics revving at me. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

I've seen the aerocatch latches on a few track cars and although they're 6-8x the cost of old school hood pins, they're pretty damn trick. I'd get locking ones though, just for peace of mind. And the top mount ones will be easier to install than the bottom/flush mount ones, since you'd have the top cover to hide any imprecise cutouts. Many of the pics I've seen of the flush mount version, even those allegedly installed by someone who had a clue what they were doing, look poorly executed.

A little background.. my vehicle was involved in a hit n run. I have to replace the whole drivers side, corner to corner. Luckly the rear and front bumper just have scuffs.

So, Insurance cut me a check and I was able to find alot of very good used parts and save thousands. Now I have a 94, alot of people with the Gen I and Gen II want to do the GenIII conversion to the front end (different headlights, signals and bumper) You can keep a Gen II hood to work with a Gen III conversion.

So to the hood part. Down the road I wanted to paint the whole vehicle, so now that I have to paint the whole drivers side, I saw this as a chance to paint the whole vehicle using the left over cash from insurance. I'm also going to sell my 94 front end and purchase a used 99 front end. I told myself that IF I was able to sell my front end for a good price to get some extra cash, I would get that 99 front end. But since I'm going to eventually (in the future) purchase an aftermarket hood (not nessisarily a CF) I saw this as a chance to get one since I was able to sell the front end of my 94.

Now I do have the choice of keeping my 94 hood cause it will work with the 99 conversion, but I do want the Victory Hood and saw this to be the best chance to get it now that I can sell the rest of the front end for a good price. But I havent made up my mind 100%. I'm still debating on keeping the stock hood and just painting it, maybe getting a Fiber Glass Victory hood and paint it OR get the full CF hood and paint it. Of course each hood getting more expensive as we go along. So by knowing these things, it will help me make a decision on what I want to do.

Since I'm able to cut corners now on "forced modifications", now would be the best time! I want another hood cause yes, it does look sweet, I do want a more aggressive look, better cooling (and yes, the victory hood is fuctional too) and maybe enter it in shows down the road. Some companies make crappy CF or Fiber Glass hoods, but Cianci is well known to the 3S (3000Gt/Stealth) World, so they have a good rep and knownn for one of the best quality. They take pride in their work so I have no doubt in my mind anything will fail cause of poor material or workmanship. If it fails, it will most likely be my fault.


But to answer your question, no I dont have to replace it, but I want to cause of the pros mentioned above. So I'm still deciding <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/drunk.gif" alt="" />

You guys apparently don't understand. Hell yes a CF hood is awesome. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

I hear its truly a work of art.. I'll soon find out