Ebay carbon fiber hoods....quality for the price?

[MarkEmark]

Hey guys,I have money burning a hole in my pocket from graduation, etc, and I was considering purchasing a carbon fiber hood for my S14 Zenki. Ebay has some good prices for real VIS carbon fiber hoods ($330), but the shipping ($150, for a total price of $480) makes the hood a pretty damn expensive item.

Does anyone have any experience with the quality of the no-name brand OEM replacement carbon fiber hoods available for the Zenkis? Do they fit well? Do they last long? Are they worth it?

Also, can anyone give me a factual statistic on the weight of our stock hood (It feels VERY heavy, at least 35 pounds I'd say) versus a good carbon fiber hood? My rationale behind a carbon fiber hood is to make the balance of the car just a little bit better and more toward 50/50 and to make the car look better, because my hood is incredibly chipped/looks like crap. But if a carbon fiber hood is only saving 10 pounds or so, it hardly seems worth it.

Anyway, here are some links to the ebay no-namer hoods I'm referring to. Any input is appreciated. Thanks

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...33646

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...33646

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...=WDVW

[Nissan-S14]

i wouldnt recommend buying that on ebay.

[MarkEmark]

Any specific reason why? I don't think our hoods would be hard to replicate by ANY company who knows what they're doing...if you look at it, it's very flat, no fancy curves or anything.

Anyway, does anyone know how much a stock hood weighs vs. a good carbon fiber hood?

[Nissan-S14]

I heard alot of ebay stories where people get ripped off, or parts dont fit correctly. If you going to pay $500 you might as well shop around the NICO sponsors and be sure that you are getting the right thing.

[MarkEmark]

The thing is, I DON'T want to have to pay $500 for a hood....$350 is a lot more attractive. The problem with the hoods is that they rape you on shipping. I don't even know if it's worth it...thats why i'd like to know the weight differences between a good VIS carbon fiber hood and our OEM steel hood.

[Nissan-S14]

But your not paying $350 ur paying $500 with shipping, go to a local performance car shop dealer, i bet they can beat the price.

[95_Nissan 240sx]

Hey I dont know if any of these will be any use to you but I tried searching for a while and came up with these:

*$392.00- http://www.customautotrim.com/...fined

*$500.00(Located in Ny, not too far from us.)- http://www.erebunicorp.com/NEW/NISSAN.HTM

*$350.00- http://www.evasivemotorsports....e=CFH

*$350.00- http://www.splittingimagez.com...s.htm

And I'm sure some of our sponsors have them for sale and could give you a nico discount if you ask about it. Hope this helps.

[DAEDALUS]

Anyway, does anyone know how much a stock hood weighs vs. a good carbon fiber hood?

I have been wondering this myself for quite a while. Sure, CF is lighter than steel on a stiffness basis, but a lot of the benefit goes away with cured CF, which is 60% heavy resin. Also, CF is only strong in tension, not compression. Complex shapes require thicker CF cross-sections to compensate for this shortcoming.Final thought: Be sure to ask about longevity of the part. If you can tell it's CF by looking at it, so can UV light, which will degrade the resin.

[MarkEmark]

Thanks man.The last site said free shipping on all carbon fiber hoods, and it's only $350...I wonder what the quality is bc it seems like it's a no-namer.

I searched all of the sponsors web pages..not many of them sold zenki carbon fiber hoods, and those that did did not have very good prices.

I think I'll check with CIP motorsports, which is located in CT...

[MarkEmark]

I have been wondering this myself for quite a while. Sure, CF is lighter than steel on a stiffness basis, but a lot of the benefit goes away with cured CF, which is 60% heavy resin. Also, CF is only strong in tension, not compression. Complex shapes require thicker CF cross-sections to compensate for this shortcoming.Final thought: Be sure to ask about longevity of the part. If you can tell it's CF by looking at it, so can UV light, which will degrade the resin.

A friend of mine has a VIS carbon fiber hood on his '00 Civic hatch, and the thing is unbelievably light....It can't be more than 7 pounds....That's why I was curious about the s14 hood, which is quite a bit longer/wider than a civic hood

[whiterps13]

check in the advertisers specials for undergrounds deal with gtp. also, those no name brands look like crap. the weaves are never straight, which causes it to look wavy and cheap. with carbon fiber, you get what you pay for.

[USDM240]

check in the advertisers specials for undergrounds deal with gtp. also, those no name brands look like crap. the weaves are never straight, which causes it to look wavy and cheap. with carbon fiber, you get what you pay for.

agreed. wait another couple of months, save the money, and buy quality stuff. you wont regret it...

[SpeeDDrifT]

i've got a vented s13 hood.....14lbs....it was a pain in the *** to make it fit.......weaves are all good and the quality was good but fitment was a *****...mine was from erebuni...i would reccomend gtp. i have a post on here somewhere about it.

[SpeeDDrifT]

here's the thread.......http://www.nissaninfiniticlub....+hood

here the hood......