what is the best carbon fiber hood?

[chixSI]

I just got into an accident last week and did some pretty harsh damage. i had a JKL carbon fiber hood OEM style on my car and i WASN'T very happy with it! here is my chance to get a better hood and one that i'm going to be happy with. i was thinking about going with VIS but i heard some bad stories with their hoods! a store in N.Y. will sell me a hood called advance for 475 shipped! what i am wondering is if this hood is good. i never heard of it! if anyone out there has this hood or another hood that is good, let me know! i have a 99 honda civic SI and i want the OEM style hood!

[SilverY2KCivic]

Originally Posted by chixSI

I just got into an accident last week and did some pretty harsh damage. i had a JKL carbon fiber hood OEM style on my car and i WASN'T very happy with it! here is my chance to get a better hood and one that i'm going to be happy with. i was thinking about going with VIS but i heard some bad stories with their hoods! a store in N.Y. will sell me a hood called advance for 475 shipped! what i am wondering is if this hood is good. i never heard of it! if anyone out there has this hood or another hood that is good, let me know! i have a 99 honda civic SI and i want the OEM style hood!

Hello there Jennie, welcome to AF.com :wavey:

Sorry to hear about your accident, those are never any good.

As for CF hoods, you want to go with a hood that's Grade A carbon fiber. I don't remember if that means it's stronger or just better quality (or maybe both) but that's one thing to look for. I haven't myself heard anything bad about VIS hoods. Other than that I'm not sure which hoods to recommend. Eitherway, good luck with your search for one.

[lkailburn]

go to jdmshit.com, they have hoods for 375 shipped

[SilverY2KCivic]

Originally Posted by lkailburn

go to jdmshit.com, they have hoods for 375 shipped

How good are the hoods though?

Kaminari also has some excellent hoods, but if I remember right they are kinda pricey.

[eckoman_pdx]

SilverY2KCivic is correct, look for a Grade A carbon fiber hood. As for brands, I also have not heard negetive things about VIS. I do know, however, that Kaminari makes very good hoods www.kaminari.com. Fiber Images also makes good hoods.

[SiGNAL748]

kaminari and vis are excellent choices

and basically anything thats DOUBLE SIDED (key attribute) - rolled edges - and uv protected

NOTE: 99% the hoods on ebay are single sided, aka:worthless pofs

[lkailburn]

jdmshit is really good. all of theres are grade A(i'm pretty sure)

[pheurton-skeurto]

what makes carbon fiber hoods good? i guess im just kind of jaded in that i see something cheap like that and think, well what can the difference be. they are both hoods and theyre both light. can someone give me a quick run down because im sure that there can be differences. thanks a bunch.

[chixSI]

thanks guys for helping me out! i went a head and got the VIS hood and a trunk for my car...it will be here in 7 to 10 days! how exciting i will let you all know how i like it! thanks again

[eckoman_pdx]

Originally Posted by pheurton-skeurto

what makes carbon fiber hoods good? i guess im just kind of jaded in that i see something cheap like that and think, well what can the difference be. they are both hoods and theyre both light. can someone give me a quick run down because im sure that there can be differences. thanks a bunch.

Are you asking the diff between a good carbon fiber hood and a cheap crappy one. If so, http://www.kaminari.com/brandXhood.htm shows a differnce between there Carbon Fiber hood and an un-named cheap one. It'll give you an idea. Also, there is more, some cheap ones discolor due to UV light over time, some have a crappy looking carbon fiber weave, etc. As the link shows, not all Carbon Fiber hoods are created equal.

Originally Posted by chixSI

thanks guys for helping me out! i went a head and got the VIS hood and a trunk for my car...it will be here in 7 to 10 days! how exciting i will let you all know how i like it! thanks again

You are welcome.

[IntegraBoy2003]

any thing but APC carbon fiber hood, i heard they were not good

[pheurton-skeurto]

eckoman you thourgholy and completely answered my question with that link. youve proven yourself again and for that you get a tip of the hat and my coveted "czar of the internet" award...thanks a bunch man...

[eckoman_pdx]

Originally Posted by pheurton-skeurto

eckoman you thourgholy and completely answered my question with that link. youve proven yourself again and for that you get a tip of the hat and my coveted "czar of the internet" award...thanks a bunch man...

No problem, you're welcome. I am always glad to help. On a side note, Kaminari hoods also have no need for hood pins. The latch will hold them down fine, unlike some cheap ones where without hood pins, bad things can happen.

Originally Posted by IntegraBoy2003

any thing but APC carbon fiber hood, i heard they were not good

Yes, APC does suck...in general, all APC products sucks. However, there are other cheap and crappy Carbon Fiber hoods out there, I have seen some un-named ones that are worse. So just beware, don't go buy anything other than APC...yes, don't get APC, but just remember there are other crappy CF hoods out there too. In general, as I stated above, Kaminari makes very high qaulity hoods, and VIS and Fiber Images make pretty good qaulity hoods too.

[supafly1024]

I think that you'll be pleased with your carbon fiber parts from VIS. I actually have a VIS carbon fiber hood on my Lude and I love it. The fit and finish are nice. That's awesome that you got the carbon fiber trunk too, that's gonna' look sweet. One suggestion I'd make is to wax your carbon fiber parts every month or so. I try to do that to mine anyway. I've heard that if you don't take good care of them they can actually fade out. I'm not sure if that's completely true but I'm not willing to find out that it is. It does make sense though since the carbon fiber is usually black and it does absorb a lot of heat from the sun. Anyways, I hope you enjoy your stuff from VIS.

[Duatone]

though im probably a little late with this. I also have a VIS c.f. hood on my hatch and its pretty durable and strong.