Fiberglass Hood for S14

[S14aMike]

My hood has some scratches on it and since I have to paint it anyways I might as well try and get a fiberglass one while I am at it. I did a Google search but didnt find anything so I was wondering if you guys knew anything? I don't want a carbon fiber hood because I think it looks riced out and I think fiberglass hoods are lighter anyways. A stock looking one would be best but some modest vents might be OK.

[Spectre]

You might not want to put a fiberglass hood on. Do you really want all that heat under it? I don't like the carbon fiber look myself, but I'm pretty sure that carbon fiber is better at handling heat.

Anyone know if a carbon fiber hood can be painted?

[MaineExport]

CF hoods can be painted, they are lighter than fiberglass, and more rigid. They are also nearly twice as expensive. They get a bad rap as ricey... but they do serve a purpose... just not a very important one.

[S14aMike]

For some reason I thought you couldnt paint carbon fiber. Is the surface smooth? Are you sure carbon fiber is lighter than fiberglass? There is still the price issue, though.

[MaineExport]

I believe cf is lighter than fiberglass... almost positive, but I've been wrong before! It can easily be painted... even if is has a smoothed surface.. a quick scuff sand and primer job will take care of that. It is more expensive, and like I said it has benefits over fiberglass.... WAY more rigid.

[Daunttless]

CF IS lighter than fiberglass.

Stock hood is like 47 pounds.

Fiberglass is like 24.

Carbon Fiber is like 16 if I remember correctly.

Carbon Fiber can be painted.

Fiberglass can be painted.

Fiberglass will hold up just fine against the heat.

Did I miss anything? : )

[S14aMike]

Yeah, one thing, carbon fiber is very expensive, so where can I get a stock looking fiber glass hood?

[S14aMike]

I guess Ill just have to shell out the money and get a carbon fiber hood. Who makes a good one?

[UncleBen]

i doubt there is that much difference from company to company. there are alot of places out there on the web that make them. just google search or sumthin.

[Daunttless]

There are a lot of differences in the quality of materials, try to buy from a place that specializes in either fiberglass or carbon fiber. If you get ****ty materials its a waste of all the money you spend. There IS a big difference in this market...

[MasterMan]

here is a site with clear hoods.. kinda cool if your gonna do SR swap or somthing.. show off the insides (tho some of u might think its rice.. i havent seen anyone with it so i think its kinda cool)

http://eurohoods.sureshopping.com/default.asp

[Spectre]

Did I miss anything? : )

Nope. Thanks for clarifying the heat thing.

[Megaseth]

about the painting issue. CF hoods and other pieces can be painted, like the other guy said with a little scuffing, but why paint it. if you're gonna spend the $400-500 on one, leave it CF looking. or, i was watching some Rice show on Speed channel and i saw an Eclipse with a CF hood that he painted by spraying a clear candy red in the air over and let fall down and then a few clear coats. made the hood red tented. looked real nice.

[iwantanr34]

im looking at carbon fiber hoods too, trying to free up some weight, and i came to the conclusion that if i get one, i might as well do it right... i saw one with a giant negative hood scoop, (you know the kind that suck the heat out of your engine bay) for like $450... and one thing that people do to "de-rice" cf hoods is to paint part of it... there is an Si on my block that just left the center unpainted so you could still see it was carbon fiber underneath and covered it in clear coat so it would be safe to wash... looks really good too.

[Megaseth]

Thats a good idea. i didnt think about just painting some of it and leaving a little bit of the CF showing. this guy i know has a F&tF blitz style kit on his Eclipse. it looks fast, but it is only a stock GS. he has a small piece on the front that is CF, well looks CF ish and you can see where it has a bad paint job on it, like it was painted on.

[UncleBen]

There are a lot of differences in the quality of materials, try to buy from a place that specializes in either fiberglass or carbon fiber. If you get ****ty materials its a waste of all the money you spend. There IS a big difference in this market...

well sorrrrrrrrrrrrrrry.