WOW, a bit of buzz here for the CF Hood.

FYI, the hoods are shipping out of CA not the NYC area.

Yes it's a risk, but most mods are a risk some more than others, but a risk none the less.

I will post pics and give a full report of the product AFTER I get it and see it.

I'm always amazed that people would pass judgment about a product or person without seeing/knowing it/them 1st hand. When my company gets an over stock of products we discount to move, it's not less of a product, just about warehouse space and market timing.

If MINI over build inventory and discounted them, would you think those MINI's were less of a MINI then yours was at full price?

 

to shut the product down. Just move 'em out. No clue really, but when I was at companies that wanted to move stuff, the cost of manufacture wasn't an issue, as that had already been paid. It was just discounted like all get go to get it out the door.

Who knows....

Matt

 

just chatted with sales....

No more to come...

Matt

 

they are going out of business. i pass judgement on them because i have seen a ton of the crap that they sell. time and time again the stuff that comes out of that place is garbage but, im not sayin the Mini hood is garbage...we will have to wait and see.

 

So Dopamine, did you get one to compare to the VIS?

 

No he found out,like me, that they had sold out

 

Both of them! (There are two). THey had hoods. They're sold out. They won't be getting more. Ever.

Matt

 

Hello Matt,

I dont think this thread needs to die. It like many NAM threads justs needs to stay focused on the real issues of a given thread.

It's like Mom said, "if you dont have anything nice to say, then shut up!

I hope this and other threads I have been part of would stay on issue and let the high jacking come to an end.

 

it seem the original topic has run it's course...

Oh sorry, that's an Off Topic comment...

Matt

 

yeah but i am still interested to know what it looks like, fit, quality, pictures, opinion ETC.....


Jack

 

OK, I have seen the 3 makes of crapon fiber Hood on the market. I bought one used /damaged on this forum, made by Vis, The extent of the damage compared to the impact (parking lot bump I believe) was amazing and not surprising considering the materials and craft used in the making.

A-grade CF as advertised by all of them, (check their web site) is so expensive that they wouldn't, and hard to get that they couldn't, use it for cheapo parts .

An important and often proprietary part of CF manufacturing is: sizing. A treat ment/coating of individual fibers to promote wet out and adhesion. CF is usually sized for epoxy resin,(High tech fiber 4 high tech resin).

These guys use the cheapest resin: polyesters and cheapest process; open mold wet layup similar to the bathware industry. that mismatch of material lead to the kind of structural defect I saw on my hood .

They all call them "all carbon" hood (check the web sites) I suppose they refer to the area rather than the thickness of the material since there is only one layer of carbon fiber on these things. remember me calling it "wall paper CF" in an earlier post?

Any way I don't want to sound like I'm bashing any body, these companies are in business to make a profit at serving up what the consumer ask for. If cheap and looks is what we ask for, that's what we get .

What bugs me, is all the marketing B.S. and false statements about CF. It is in my mind, abusive, Lying, misleading.

BTW I bought mine to cut it up and modify it and try out new aero thing so I could not care less of what it was made of, just not metal, and under the price of a new OEM one. Wish I had waited for the 125$ one

In any way it will not end up on the car as my Mini is not my bathroom

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Here is my experience......

Every hood I have seen them sell for the Z3 has needed body work so it actually fits onto the car, and has reasonable gaps. Its light than stock, but don't think you are getting a cf shell. Its a fiberglass shell that they smeared cf onto. The cf they apply is all looks, not high quality structural stuff. The hood sells for ~$450

FWIW, every TC Kline cf hood I have seen has needed some body work as well. TCK makes no bone about this and says its a race part not meant for street fitment. It is a true structural cf piece and is not just wrapped over fibergalss. The cost is ~$2500.

As for first hand experience..... I have a TCK cf hood in my living room waiting to go on the race car when its ready.

 

Hello CF Fans,

I got the Carbon Fiber Hood last week, and installed it tonight with two friends . I'm very happy with the CF hood and the overall look is great. I will take some pics Friday in the sun light and post them up for you to see. I was very happy with the install and took our time to do it right the 1st time.

Drove it home and found two things right away, the hood holds no heat at all and when I opened the hood the engine was not nearly as hot as it would have been with the steel hood on. However no lower running temp.

 

Nice to hear it went on smoothly! Looking forward to the pics.

 

Glad to hear you didn't have any issue with it, and it wasn't a piece of junk. Almost wish I would have bought the last one when I called...

 

Below is one source for the fenders if you havent found them yet.

http://www.body-kitz.com/index1.html

 

Dude, where are the pics?

I bet that you owe the two friends who were helping you BIG TIME!!!

 

Yes, my friends at www.coopergear.com made it very easy to install and to whom I owe much. Here is a pic. There is still some fine tuning for fit and I need to find a grill. Over all VERY happy with it, looks great, a real head turner too.

 

Glad to hear/see it worked out well for you. It appears to be a pretty good looking piece, and the fit seems to be clean. Is it 100% cf, or cf covered fiberglass as someone here mentioned? Does it use the stock latch mechanism(s)? Did you notice a large weight difference from the stock steel piece?

 

glass under cf no doubt.

 

Not bad for the price if fit and finish is good.

 

Yes it is glass under CF, most are, remember an all CF hood would cost BIG $$$.

I was able to use all the stock parts on the CF Hood without issue.

I will be making some fitting adjustments in the weeks to come.

My M7 Brace fit under just right too.

The new hood is half the weight of the stock hood. But I didn't buy it for that reason, I got it, because it looks great and the M7 Brace does not fit under a "COOPER" hood.

 

Cool! Sounds like it was a good purchase.

 

your not going to find a full carbon fiber hood. there was a company that made a full carbon fiber hood which clear coated the top and bottom side of the hood, but it ended up weighing more than the stock. HAHA.

Anyways nice find. Looks cool too.

 

Thanks Gang, I found an all CR stock "S" grill on NAM too, will update pics once I install that too.