Let's talk hoods...

roninsoldier83 · Postby **roninsoldier83** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 9:14

Alright, so from my other thread, it's obvious the stock hood is a bit too bent up to repair, and is interfering with the driver side headlight a bit. So, even though it will ultimately be a track car, I'm going to have to replace the damn hood. Here are my options:

-Stock aluminum hood painted.

-Carbon fiber hood (can leave unpainted).

-Aftermarket steel hood painted.

^^^So, there's nearly no weight to be saved between a stock aluminum hood and an aftermarket carbon fiber hood. Whereas with the steel hood, there's a good amount of weight to be gained... as such, I'm wanting to avoid the steel aftermarket hood.

Prices for a factory hood painted (even refurbished) are fairly pricey. Carbon fiber hoods are also fairly pricey, but if I went that route, even though I'm not a big fan of ricey looking carbon fiber all over, I might just leave the carbon bare. The lack of having to paint the hood would be a significant cost savings, but some might look upon it as an eyesore (subjective), and there might be more fitment issues to deal with than stock.

Granted, it's a 21 year old Miata that has seen it's share of dings/scratches, so it's never going to be a "show car", so I suppose looks aren't all that important. With that said, I would like to get some second opinions before pulling the trigger.

What thinks you CMZC?!?

-Brandon

bellalyssa · Postby **bellalyssa** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 9:14

Is the Miata a garage queen? If not, the carbon fiber may yellow. I think you should go with the carbon fiber in all honesty.

chickenwafer · Postby **chickenwafer** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 9:14

You can prevent carbon fiber from yellowing/fading by getting a clear bra installed with UV protection. I got a full clear bra on my Seibon hood on my old RX-8 and it looked brand new when I sold it to Jimmy (2 years old, but babied). The clear bra I got had UV protection so it wouldn't fade out, and I got the hood when I lived in Phoenix- the desert sun will fade carbon in months.

The clear bra also protects it from rock chips and road debris and looking nice. Only issue is you're looking at even more expensive, almost as much as painting the hood, so it may not be for you. Honestly, if this car is slated to be a track rat, I would try to find a used OEM hood on eBay or at a local yard or even craigslist, you never know.

Ryanmmacoustic · Postby **Ryanmmacoustic** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 9:14

"Let's talk hoods..."

Loveland is my hood

:d1cfc8e:

roninsoldier83 · Postby **roninsoldier83** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 9:14

bellalyssa wrote:Is the Miata a garage queen? If not, the carbon fiber may yellow. I think you should go with the carbon fiber in all honesty.

At this current time, no, it would not be a garage queen.

chickenwafer wrote:You can prevent carbon fiber from yellowing/fading by getting a clear bra installed with UV protection. I got a full clear bra on my Seibon hood on my old RX-8 and it looked brand new when I sold it to Jimmy (2 years old, but babied). The clear bra I got had UV protection so it wouldn't fade out, and I got the hood when I lived in Phoenix- the desert sun will fade carbon in months.

The clear bra also protects it from rock chips and road debris and looking nice. Only issue is you're looking at even more expensive, almost as much as painting the hood, so it may not be for you. Honestly, if this car is slated to be a track rat, I would try to find a used OEM hood on eBay or at a local yard or even craigslist, you never know.

I didn't think about UV protection based clear bra.... and this is why I ask questions on forums

I may be fairly savvy when it comes to tuning/the workings of an internal combustion engine/drivetrain/suspension, but I never paid much attention to cosmetics haha! :lol:

Honestly though, I've been scouring eBay & craigslist all day at work today haha! The cheapest OEM hood I can find used that appears to be in good shape is $400 shipped, which isn't bad. However, I haven't yet looked at local scrap yards.... any recommendations in the southeast Denver/Aurora area?

roninsoldier83 · Postby **roninsoldier83** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 9:14

Ryanmmacoustic wrote:"Let's talk hoods..."

Loveland is my hood

... I see what you did there

hehe

roninsoldier83 · Postby **roninsoldier83** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 9:14

Actually, if this guy still has these parts, this might be perfect:

http://denver.craigslist.org/pts/2303908277.html

The fender is a bit dented as well... if those are still available, I might just take a few of them off the guy's hands (at least the hood, light cover and fender) and just have them repainted

erod550 · Postby **erod550** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 9:14

$400 shipped seems like a lot, though shipping I'm sure is a big part of that. BTDT Racing (Been there done that) sells just about any used part you can think of for Miatas, but they are in Wisconsin, so shipping can be pricey on certain items, and they don't always have the part you need in stock. You could try contacting them though. They have the 90-97 OEM hood priced at $150. Even if they charged that much for shipping which I doubt, you'd still save some money over that eBay one.

http://www.isellmiataparts.com/

GR-8 · Postby **GR-8** » Sat Apr 09, 2011 9:14

chickenwafer wrote:You can prevent carbon fiber from yellowing/fading by getting a clear bra installed with UV protection. I got a full clear bra on my Seibon hood on my old RX-8 and it looked brand new when I sold it to Jimmy (2 years old, but babied). The clear bra I got had UV protection so it wouldn't fade out, and I got the hood when I lived in Phoenix- the desert sun will fade carbon in months.

The clear bra also protects it from rock chips and road debris and looking nice. Only issue is you're looking at even more expensive, almost as much as painting the hood, so it may not be for you. Honestly, if this car is slated to be a track rat, I would try to find a used OEM hood on eBay or at a local yard or even craigslist, you never know.

Completely agree with this. I've had the hood for 1.5 yrs and almost everyday from when I left the house early in the a.m. it saw sunlight. Pretty much only garaged at night. It still looks like it did the day I picked it from Dave.

Dave is also right that doing a clear bra is probably more expensive than buying a hood. To do my front bumper and parts of my fenders would have cost me well over 1k. I was gonna do my stock hood to but that itself was over $300.

coloskydiver · Postby **coloskydiver** » Sat Apr 09, 2011 9:14

Find a stock hood. There are so many NA Miata's out there, it should be really easy to find one. Like you said, the stock hood is so light why waist your money on something else.

chickenwafer · Postby **chickenwafer** » Sat Apr 09, 2011 9:14

Check out http://www.partsgroup.com/ they also have lots of used Miata and RX-8 parts for real good prices.

EDIT: Parts group has a 90-97 NA Hood in Red for $200 bucks. Says they won't ship but still worth a call to see if they could?

As far as shipping goes, you can ship anything huge via Greyhound bus and it's much cheaper. I shipped my RX-8 Mazdaspeed bumper via Greyhound to Jersey for $55 bucks. It took about 10-12 days to get there (thanks to weather delays) but it did so in one piece. Only problem is you have to drop it off and pick it up at a depot. But much cheaper than any other kind of shipping out there.

G-Man · Postby **G-Man** » Sat Apr 09, 2011 9:14

My buddy's got an NA (90-97) red hood to sell. Pretty good shape if I recall. I'll get a price if you're interested, can send pics next week. Other parts, too.

roninsoldier83 · Postby **roninsoldier83** » Sat Apr 09, 2011 9:14

Thanks for all the replies guys! I think I'm going to stick with another stock hood. On a side note, I just took the Miata in for emissions testing this morning... passed with flying colors.

Should have the title switched over on Wednesday.

G-Man wrote:My buddy's got an NA (90-97) red hood to sell. Pretty good shape if I recall. I'll get a price if you're interested, can send pics next week. Other parts, too.

That would be GREAT! If he has a driver side fender by chance, I would be interested in that as well. As it sits, the fender is just a bit dented and doesn't appear as though it would cause any issues with the hood, but if I'm going to paint a hood & headlight lid, I might as well throw a new fender on there while I'm at it....

Let me know what your buddy says, as I would be willing to pick it up this weekend if possible.

reconbygod12 · Postby **reconbygod12** » Sat Apr 09, 2011 9:14

if you paid for cost of it and some gas i could get you that hood from wisconsin pretty damn cheap since i am form there my grandparents are coming down this way so it wouldnt be out of the question to bring it in they're vehicle, when i had my mazda 6 they brought my seibon hood down here the day i got home from iraq

roninsoldier83 · Postby **roninsoldier83** » Sat Apr 09, 2011 9:14

reconbygod12 wrote:if you paid for cost of it and some gas i could get you that hood from wisconsin pretty damn cheap since i am form there my grandparents are coming down this way so it wouldnt be out of the question to bring it in they're vehicle, when i had my mazda 6 they brought my seibon hood down here the day i got home from iraq

I talked to a guy at a local junkyard that said he has one in good shape for $100, but won't be able to pick it up until Wednesday. If that falls through, I'll let you know, but otherwise, thank you for the offer!

Let's talk hoods...

Let's talk hoods...

Who is online