Carbon fiber hood opinions

[ozone]

Greetings,

I'm interested in getting a carbon fiber hood for my wife's Solara and was wondering what people thought of them, specifically those who have them. I've seen on this site where people have had them fly up and break the windshield, which is definitely of concern to me. It looks like hood pins are necessary to keep this from happening, but I saw at least one post where the guy said he HAD hood pins.

I was thinking about the one from carbon creations. It can be found here:
www.extremedimensions.com

I was also interested in opinions about fitment and overall quality of build. Can the hood struts still be used.

So please render opinions, questions, comments . . . flames.

Just an aside. I don't like the carbon fibre hood "look" so it would be painted to the color of the car. I'm interested in it because her hood is slightly damaged and I figured, why not lighten the car and fix the problem at the same time.

[krawzyazn]

where u located? i have one in so cal forsale

[CamryOnBronze]

I had one o my gen 3 camry and I never had a problem with it- I was running sparco hood pins for piece of mind, I never had any flexing issues or anything like that and the fitment was top notch.

[SpikedMantis]

Hood struts can be used, but not recommended. They've already created bumps in my hood, so I had them removed.

[ozone]

Kraw, I'm in Florida. Shipping would probably kill. What brand is it?

Camry, what brand was yours and do you think the hood pins are a necessity? Not sure I can sell those to my wife, although I kind of like the look, myself.

Spiked, what do you use? Makeshift prop rod?

All, thanks for the responses.

[SolaraGuy22]

Where in FL? I don't have anything to contribute to this thread I was just curious.

[Duffman]

What I think of them is that unless the vehicle is actually being used for racing, it's a waste of money. They're not as sturdy; I've heard of issues with poorly-done CF hoods coming off at speed (on a veriety of vehicles), and in my opinion it looks too ricey.

Still, if it's what you enjoy, more power to you.

[CamryOnBronze]

I think hood pins are a necessity for sure, though I never tried running without them. If I were to have a cf hood again Id use them for sure, I would just be too nervous about it and have had some friends who had their hoods fly up on them and do a lot of damage to the car. Better to not have them quite as aesthetically pleasing than to damage the car or yourself IMO...

as for the hood struts, hes right- i didnt use them either. I had a broken hockey stick i used to prop the hood up, worked fine.

[krawzyazn]

VIS this would be a good hood for you to Paint also

[SpikedMantis]

I usually don't open my hood for very long. If I do, I just look for a big stick. One time I had to use my head since there were no sticks or stick like objects around.

[ozone]

Solaraguy22, I live in Melbourne, although I used to live in Largo, very near you.

As far as ricey goes, I don't like the look either, which is why I would paint it. The only reason I am even considering this, is because my wife's hood has a lot of paint chips and scratches from lots of highway driving. I'm considering having the car painted soon and thought this might be a good time to add one and save on some weight, but it would have to be a good deal and it's really not worth it to me to have it stick up on a corner or not close right or worse, just to save a few pounds.

Keep the opinions coming, especially if you have or have had one.

Thanks guys.

[CamryOnBronze]

If all it is is chips, I would say avoid the hassle and fitment issues/look of hood pins and just have the factory one repainted witht he rest of the car. Would save you a lot of money and time- just take the spare out and that would save a lot more weight for a lot less money

[orlin03]

If youre gonna use pins and no struts, screw the hinges altogether and go with four pins and line it with something soft... then you can just lay the hood on your roof whenever you want to work on the car without any hassel, and there's no worries about kinking the hood (a sticky hinge can do worse damage than a strong strut). Also, you can't skimp on the hardware unless you like rust puddles; only use stainless pins AND nuts & bolts. As far as paint, I think (for the classy street crowd anyway) that the bare look is out; paint it unless you can go for a colored carbon (if you like that look).

[NCSolara]

im looking 4 a carbon hood?

[ozone]

Ok, you guys have convinced me. Think I'll just skip it and let the body shop do their magic with the hood as is, since there are no major dents or dings. Honestly, it's only some very minor surface rust that worries me. I'm afraid that if the body shop misses even a little bit, it will come back to bite me from underneath a new paint job. But it is very minor.