what are the pros and cons with running a cf hood without hood pins? I have seen a few members running them without them and it looks clean, but what about safety?

 

You may have no issues at all with running a CF hood w/out pins, but it is a general rule of thumb that it's better to be 100% safe than sorry down the road.

I've had friends who's hoods have peeled straight in half, where the top layer of CF came off, while the under skeleton was still latched and bolted down. (cheaper CF hood of course).

But I NEVER recomend using a CF hood w.out pins, just not a sound idea. And it only costs $75-100 to protect your investment of not only your hood but your car overall. I don't see why someone wouldn't do pins

 

if it has a nice secure latch, then it shouldnt be a problem. id use it only if you track your car alot, or drive at high speeds often.

id say keep it without them, unless your hood vibratyes and wobbles when your on the freeway.

 

from experience, I had a buddy not use pins and the hood flew up on him smacked the windshield, broke it and damaged the roof very badly, not to mention destroyed his hinges and wiper moter covers. I have ALWAYS used pins for any aftermarket hood I've used.

 

I'd use the pins. For I don't trust the latch that comes with these hoods. It's also recommended from the manufacture to do so. Plus to me, it looks good when you have them. I'm about to swap out from the Sparco pins to the Aerocatch ones. There straight bad a**.

 

Use pins.

 

I have gone almost 10k miles with no pins on my CF hood..

BTW.. there is prob 50 threads on this topic..

 

Bro definatly get hood pins!! My hood just flew up 3 weeks ago doing 45mph, and It ended up bein $7000 to fix. Thank god insurence covered it, id be screwed!! It cracked my hood in half, cracked my windsheild, bent the wiper arms, bent the fenders, and collapsed my roof.

 

I've been running CF hood w/o hood pins for a few weeks now. Hood pins are getting installed on Wednesday..better safe than sorry.

 

if you drive or race at high speeds, get it but a lot of us don't really speed. I rarely even go 60 mph in a few months at a time.

 

in reality of safeness, just run pins. it looks good with or without them, but at least with the pins, you won't ever have to worry about a broken windshielf/roof, or swerving on the highway cuz you can't see.

 

Isn't it more about the weight, then just being carbon fiber. From what I know, most of the CF hoods for the Z are just as heavy or maybe even heavier then the OEM hood, so there shouldn't be a problem.

 

no not really. The metal latch can break off from a carbon fiber hood easier IMO than from the metal of a stock hood.

Stock hood is super light. From what you are saying, our stock hoods would fly off since it's just as light as a CF hood.

 

I'm with this guy.

To the OP.... hood pins probably aren't ABSOLUTELY necessary, but considering what CAN happen, particularly when driving at highway speeds, just get them. Makes no sense to spend all that money on a hood, and not another 80 bucks to keep it from damaging the rest of your car, and possibly triggering an accident.

 

Is the main reason ppl are experiencing issues due to the hood not latching?

 

Hood pins are the only thing holding my hood down now..

The fiberglass understructure on my CF hood has slowly deteriorated over the past 3 years to the point where the latch was wiggling a little and would no longer close..

better safe than sorry..

--mike

 

I don't know about you guys...but if my hood looked like this, I would most def have hood pins:



(FYI, not my car... girl is the gf of the owner...don't PM me).

 

Ok, I dont get it.. Why did you pick G unit as an sn leemik?? (is that really leemik)


BTW.. Go with hoodpins if you want OP.. Do the flush pins though.. They flush with the hood..

 

seibon... i took mine to 130mph its stable. but yes safety first, you should have hood pins. eventhow I dont have them.

 

i think its the fact that the factory hood is aluminum rather than fiberglass or CF, which are less rigid. I wish the manufacturers of CF hoods would build hidden pins in to the hood, so that you don't have to look at pins sticking up through your hood if you don't want to.