The great hood pin/latch debate...Yes, No, or the Alternative?

[J14cm7]

Recently i bought a siebon CF hood. I hate hood pins and wasnt gonna use them but after reading NUMEROUS "My hood mated with my windshield" threads i decided to take this to the people of nico for a second opinion. Please dont vote unless you have personal experience or actual knowledge on this subject.

Here is my alternative. My only concern is that the hood could still separate from the fiberglass but i have NEVER heard of a siebon hood having that issue. Just that the latch striker fails. i haven't finished the other side. And the two hooks will be secured from under the car FOR EMERGENCY ONLY. the latch will still be used. Its just a mock up.

Thanks for the input guys. And i know its seems inconvenient but keep that out of the equation with voting

[kozanatos]

Works for me, no one should give you any trouble for that, just depends where that is attached to.//edit but i do not have any CF hood experience, though i do understand what your saying when the top layer could still come off, hence the hood pins on top keeping it down.Just use your solution, You have a quality CF hood. Should hold up

[Dire91]

HOOD PINS ARE SO MUCH EASIER!!! Just use the free ones you got, if you aren't happy with those get a pair of aerocatch pins you can't even tell those are there.

[TheRealNap0le0n]

aerocatch pins look awesome

[AZhitman]

If there is ANY slack in that at all, it'll do nothing for you.

That thing will rip right out of the hood structure, OR the hood will come up *just* enough to block your vision.

Use the Aerocatch system instead. Way cooler (and safer) than pins. Pins are too 1974.

[J14cm7]

Well when AZhitman himself tells you to get hood latches its time to get hood latches. You guys dont think they are to ricerish huh? Ok ill go with the areocatch system. Any tips on installation?

[Elbowblk]

i have hood pins on my cf. dont really like them but eh does the job. definately would do aerocatch next time around.

[AZhitman]

You're in luck - There's an article on Aerocatch installation on http://www.240sxTech.com

I have them on my car and love them.

[AZ89two4Tsx]

I wish I still had AeroCatch pins. I had them on my old hood.

Make sure to keep them greased up, and don't mess up cutting the holes for them.

[jeff420]

lmao glad you finally took the advice that everyones been saying all along. maybe theres hope for you yet, but the rope idea? seriously? that looks worse than pins. id be embarassed to pop my hood with that.

[Dire91]

safety related car modifications does not = ricer

[scotty-2-forty]

safety related car modifications does not = ricer

Agreed!

... Pins are too 1974.

Eh, I still like'em.

[J14cm7]

lmao glad you finally took the advice that everyones been saying all along. maybe theres hope for you yet, but the rope idea? seriously? that looks worse than pins. id be embarassed to pop my hood with that.

It wasnt rope...It was super cool jdm steal braided cable. And how does it look worse than hood pins when you cant see it from the outside...you know what nevermind thanks for the input all minus one person feel free to kill it.
Modified by J14cm7 at 11:10 AM 2/23/2010

[Ajax]

Sorry- I know you're done thinking about it now, but I was just thinking- where does all the extra loop of that braided wire go when you close the hood. Unless you've got a clear plan, I'd be worried about it catching on anything that rotates really fast.

[BrianHarte]

I never ran anything on my DMAX hood. Never had a problem either.

If you must run pics, run the normal ones.Aerocatch style is HORRIBLE.

[J14cm7]

Sorry- I know you're done thinking about it now, but I was just thinking- where does all the extra loop of that braided wire go when you close the hood. Unless you've got a clear plan, I'd be worried about it catching on anything that rotates really fast.

Both loops would attach to the core support bottom of the intertooler side of the core support. They fed down right in between the intercooler and the core support. I wouldn't dare put it on the engine side.

I never ran anything on my DMAX hood. Never had a problem either.

If you must run pics, run the normal ones.Aerocatch style is HORRIBLE.

Unfortunately my friend your situation/thinking is far and few between. I have heard numerous ppl that have not had a problem but i have found for every one that didn't there are 3 that did. And that whole hood meeting the windshield thing really looks like it sucks.

[BrianHarte]

Yeah...... and most people buy SHETTY PRODUCTS TO BEGIN WITH. Or, they forget to latch them all the way.

Buy quality - feel safe.

You would think people would wise up, but they don't.

(I certainly wouldn't consider Seibon as quality, by the way)

[mrgreeneyes]

i want a lightweight hood, for sweet drift weight savings, but i have no problem attaching an 89lb steel cable to it to fasten it.

america. f*ck yeah.

[OM3GA]

Word.

[kouki munster]

i want a lightweight hood, for sweet drift weight savings, but i have no problem attaching an 89lb steel cable to it to fasten it.

america. f*ck yeah.

I loled.

[J14cm7]

Lets do a little math. Stock OEM kouki hood=320Quality paint job=100 or more

Seibon cf hood=480Didnt have a kouki hood to begin with. If i had a OEM black hood i wouldnt have gone this route. 60 bucks more for CF sounds like a no brainer

And like i said before it was super light jdm cable that weighed less than 2 ounces. Costs more than the hood itself

[scotty-2-forty]

Lets do a little math. Stock OEM kouki hood=320Quality paint job=100 or more

Seibon cf hood=480Didnt have a kouki hood to begin with. If i had a OEM black hood i wouldnt have gone this route. 60 bucks more for CF sounds like a no brainer

And like i said before it was super light jdm cable that weighed less than 2 ounces. Costs more than the hood itself

Here's what I can appreciate ... trying to keep a clean exterior appearance. I'm not going to knock the cable; it's original and yes, it helps keep the hood from looking butchered if you don't like pins. If the goal was to open your hood at a car show or something, yes I'd reconsider the 'look' of the cable option. But for keeping the outside clean and for originality I give you a 10.

[J14cm7]

Thanks scotty for thinking outside the box. All i have is an s14 SR20det with a greddy FMIC and an HKS BOV. Nothing is powder coated. By all means nothing that hasnt been seen on the internet a 1000 times. Whats the big deal with showing your engine bay off when all you have is a run of the mill sr20?

[Lev_96_240sx]

If you open your hood and you have 2 pieces of wire hanging down, no matter how light and JDM they are, people will ask you wtf you were thinking jerry-rigging that onto your car. It's like people that keep their trunks closed using a bungee cord, it may work but it's not school.

[J14cm7]

The jdm thing was a joke...seriously its like 10 feet long and weighs a pound at most. Like i said the latch would still be used the cable is solely for emergencies just like hood pins. If you cant see it while im driving down the road and its functional i could care less what it looks like when i go to work on the engine. It was just an idea and we have already determined it wouldnt work due to it only holding the fiberglass which could seperate from the CF.

[TJcars2]

I rock some half inch thick hood pins ONLY. No latch. Haven't had a problem, track or street. If you don't want to take a chance keep the latch and get hood pins.

[Dazzla]

Seibon is crap...but better safe then sorry

[snowyred180]

IMO: OEM hood latches are fine. You have a newer 240sx, so the latch is probably ok. It went a good 12 years working properly. If you're THAT concerned about your hood flying up though use the alternative. My friend tied bungie cables to hers and it worked until she bought a brand new latch. I'd hate to spoil the good looks of a CF hood with pins. yucky.

[J14cm7]

Seibon is crap...but better safe then sorry

hmm alternatives?

[Aoshi1]

I had just assumed hood pins were mandatory, lol. That, and I guess I kinda dig the way the hood pins look on a cf hood...but that's my $0.02