Hood Pins
 

So I picked up my car from the body shop where i had a new grill and a ViS CF hood put on, no hood pins (yet) just the stock hook and safety latch taken off the stock hood and bolted into the CF hood. I have hood pins for it but just wanted to hear some opions on how necessary they really are. I know beeter safe than sorry, but for 250 to install, would like to hold off if i can. Some additional info, I drive about 45 minutes a day at about 70-80mph to and from work so that is what im curious about. So how many of you guys thing hood pins are needed or is the stock saftey latch bolted in goin to be fine. Thanks.

if the stock latch still works great then go with it. if it doesnt latch well together Id say do the hood pins.

youll be fine, i have a few friends with cf hoods that have often hit 100+ on a regular basis and have no issues. Your gonna get alot more "flex" at high speeds but it really isnt much to worry about.

It's bolted into the hood? how stable are the mounting points? i mean you should be fine i doubt you should have any issue with it but it does look crazy scary when the hood flaps in the wind lol. thats the sole reason why i have hood pins.

How much is your hood worth to you? Things could go both ways... installation could possibly lead to future cracking. Not using hood pins could result in losing your hood. $250 is a lot! Why the hell is it so much? Installing them looks like a one hour install.

Thanks for the replies guys... I was pretty much thinking the same things but its easy to get a lil paranoid when your on the turnpike and ur mailbox of a hood scoop is movin around lol. And yes, It acctually latches pretty well with minimal gaps surprisingly. I know guy who go w.o hood pins for years i was jus worried about the constant winds of tp driving.

Its not really the hood im worried about persay, its the glass in my face from the windshield and and the chaos that will happen once i cant see the road lol.... Yea i thought 250 was alot too.. idk it was a quote from a very good shop local to me but the one ive called so far. If any1 knows a good place to get em done right and less than that let me know.

They're charging you for a 2.5-3 hour job. Ask them what's up with that.

250 bucks to install hood pins? sounds like you're gettin' ripped to me.

I think they're going to say that it's that much because it's such a tedious job with all the measuring involved. It also matters what kind of pins these are. Aerocatch seems to be the most difficult install.

But even if it is tedious, how much longer are they going to take? And if they do end up screwing something up then does the amount of money you paid out warrant you a new hood on them? I doubt it. This hood probably costs around $600? Too much for an install. I'd rather take 3 hours and do it myself. There are DIY's all over the internet.

Using only the stock latch can also cause the hood to crack in that area.

for a long time i was only using the stock latch on my miata hood...granted its different but i had no ill effects from it.

Presently I'm running hood pins AND the stock latch for extra support

how much is your face worth to you? Also how much does your car mean to u if you're doing 80mph and all of a sudden u cant see anything cause ur hood flew up and covered ur sight. I go by the safer than sorry mentality, but then again in my line of work ive seen some messed up stuff when people dont. from everything ive read bout cf hoods anything you do to them will possibly cause them to crack... I'll stick with my stock lightweight aluminum hood.

I've installed dozens of hood pins in cf hoods.. $100 and its done

This. I did my Aerocatches' in my driveway with a Dremel in ~1 hour, and they turned out fine. Once you get past that first cut, it's gravy. Measure twice, cut once.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/DSC_0009.jpg

Those are the latches I'd probably go with if I ever had to. Not a fan of ones that stick out.

Aerocatch actually makes a pair that sit flush against the top of the hood and install from the bottom, but I had already bought these by the time those came out. Plus, they lock; best of both worlds.

I've got aerocatch hood pins, I had them installed by JNZ tuning because i was afraid of cracking my hood if I did it...
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...9/th_hood2.jpg