I need help again guys

Im on my way out to buy a carbon fiber hood

I took a quick look to see how to get the old hood off but I didnt see how the struts that actually hold it up come off. Anybody know how to do this?

Also, will I still need both struts or will I only need 1 with the lighter hood like with the carbon fiber hatch?

I need some answers asap cause I dont have room to leave the new hood laying around so it has to go on the car today.

Thank fellas (and lady fellas)

 

ive never done this, but since your looking for a quick answer, must struts are held on with friction which means they should pop right off with some force...but thats just my guess...hopefully someone will chime in and confirm.

 

^^I sure hope you're right cause Im home w/ the hood and its going on tonight one way or another lol

The guy at the shop said not to use the struts at all, but he also said he'd never actually done a cf hood on a mini before.

 

Have fun getting the hood aligned.

 

I plan on getting one soon, so let me know how it turns out...if you dont use the shocks, are you going to fab a prop stick somehow? be hard to work under the bonnet if it doesnt stay up. I looked at the shocks tonight, it looks like a saw a nut closest to the hood, but couldnt determine if it affects removal. I have a bentley manual...ill check there...assuming you havent got it on already , lol

 

They just pull right off. I actually feel better without either of the struts. I feel like they're gonna bust through the hood when I try and close it. I dont like the latches either. You have to slam the hood too hard. I think Im gonna ditch em and get hood pins instead.

Its still not perfectly aligned but it was on enough to drive home. I still gotta get the wheel arch trim and grill on too. The headlights were quite the project as well. I'll post up pics tomorrow. Its late.

 

There are spring clips and ball joints on each end, remove spring clip first, then pry off the ball joint.
BMW sells a special tool for this but you don't need it.

 

BMW sells a special tool for everything...

 

so whered you get the hood? im surprised you had trouble with the headlamps...theyre held on with just 3 bolts. and why do you think the latch is so hard to shut now? would adjusting it help?

 

^^I got it locally from a shop. Somebody ordered it, payed a deposit, and never picked it up so I got it for what was owed on it.

The headlight holes were off by about 1/4 inch. Same with pretty much all the holes. The passengers side latch is also about a full inch off so it doesnt actually grab, it just hits. Im gonna ditch the latches tho and just go with hood pins cause I dont feel safe slamming the hood shut.

I got the VIS hood BTW. The whole thing doesnt fit great, it needs alot of massaging. Along the top, the sides have about a half inch gap but the middle is still making contact.

Here are a couple pics. I still havent got the wheel arches on (the hood is too thick and the clips dont clip) or the grill (need to drill more holes)

I gotta say, even tho the fit still isnt quite right, it looks pretty tough. Pics def dont do justice.

 

I got in a lil fender bender a couple weeks ago, bent my hood, and figured what better time is there to upgrade to a CF hood?

Your fitment issues scare the crap out of me though! Will you be able to get it to fit right without too much hassle? Is there no good way to use the stock latching system? I really hate the look of hood pins :(

I was going to go VIS since they have a pretty good reputation for quality - is a Seibon a better product/fit?

CF hood owners - weigh in, is it worth it? Or should I just get a factory hood and paint it? I really want a cf hood :(

 

A mod needs to change the title to include cf hood discussion or something

I know plenty of other people on here are running the stock latching system but I was searching and it seems like almost all of them had to do some modifying to get it to work.

Apparently mine is having more problems fitting than normal but I was talking to a guy yesterday and he said he had a customer whose cf hood fit EXACTLY the same way mine does.

I dont personally have any experience with Seibon at all so I dunno if their hood is any better.

 

Sorry to change the subject - though I guess "removing the hood" is a moot point now huh

I'm wondering if I should just bring it to a skilled body shop and let them have at it - I was considering doing a clear coat, possibly a partial paint too.

Keep us posted - there really aren't that many people running CF hoods (in relative terms compared to the amount of MINI's on here), so talking with someone who JUST installed one, and working through the details really helps.

I know it's not OEM, but why do they have such a tough time getting it close to the right fitment?

 

If you can find a shop that can do it right, Id def recommend it. It'll save you alot of headaches. And just FYI you're gonna have to at least clear coat it or else it'll turn green on you after a while.

I managed to get the grill and wheel arches on today so it looks alot better now. I'll post more pics tomorrow.

BTW if anybody knows where I can get exterior latches (like a jeep or hummer) then I need a link. I think those will work better than pins.