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It came in today and I'm super stoked. It will be some time before I get around to installing it, but I'm looking for opinions on color/treatment. From the factory it's a pretty rough FRP gel coat finish. It clearly needs paint or something (along with plenty of bondo and sanding).
So the question... Should I paint it body color (Royal Gray), textured black, or wrap it in CF (real deal, not vinyl).
For context, here is my car...
Planned appearance changes to accompany the pod:
- Paint the roof red (maybe Royal Gray... open to opinions here too)
- Install red brake ducts/mirrors
- Red beltline kit
- Black/red text badging
- LED halo DRLs + HID fogs
- Carbon fiber handles, logos, and light trim rings
- Black TSW Turbina wheels / Indy 500 Fire Hawks
- Tint
- Fender flairs (this is up in the air at the moment - I'm trying to get a complete CF JCW kit with them to complete the lower body line)
- M7 splitter
- Lohen carbon fiber box wing
The pod is itself a grill assembly, so I'll be able to swap back to the red-lined OEM one at will. Check the Countryman daily thread for a picture of the test fitting of that liner.
Oh, these are the lights that are going in the pod:
Soooooo....
- Royal Gray?
- Textured Black?
- Carbon Fiber Wrapped?
As much as I dig that look from an aesthetic standpoint because they remind me of classic Escort RS...
...I'd have to agree here with the others that air flows seems to be severely compromised.
In cases such as this I usually tend to default toward tried & true tested parts which have been run through the wringer or else extensively tested by reputable companies who've invested much R&D time.
There's probably a very very good reason why Prodrive chose the location of leading bonnet edge for their spotlight pod:
I vote, black out chrome, light pods just keep a shade of black, get some rally-esque wheels, somma dem big ol mud flaps, leave the white as you have it, done. Any other bits of red and junk is just ornamentation. I think what would really seal the look is to dechrome and keep it simple....as if it were prepped to rally, its likely someone wouldnt take the time to have coordinating red bits and whatnot. Dont forget the tow hooks.
Get a Scangauge if you dont have one. then youll know where your temps are.
I run a Race Capture so I've got plenty of logging and display ability. After taking a hard look at it today and test-fitting a few things, I really think it will be fine. Space up there is roughly 1/3 of the radiator with that only taking up the lower 2/3 of the OEM grill. By the time you factor in the blocking in the OEM you're talking about a fairly small area in that zone anyway. The "scoop" under the grill and the lower slats are where the meat and potatoes live and the open grill on the pod is right where the rest of the radiator is. If I were to add something like the Duell hood, it's a total non-issue.
It's not really easy to compare the Prodrive car here because they went with such a HUGE intercooler that does need the airflow and the intake for the turbo is in that same space. It was never about cooling the engine and all about cooling the charge.
I love the Duell AG but it is crazy expensive for what it is. VIS offers a full CF knock-off for something like a 1/2 to a 1/3 the price. I can't speak to the quality differences but if a body shop has to paint and fit it anyway...
The old Prodrive WRC was really cool.
