One of the big things I want to do to my car is some carbon fiber. I want a hood, handles, trunk, and fuel door for the exterior. I have a few questions about the hood and trunk. Do they make these latchable? I really dont want to have hood pins. Do they make them latchable or is it relatively easy to rig them to be latchable?

 

I think almost all of the CF hoods have latches. (They usually state it) but even with hood latched they recommend hood pins. I know of a guy who has a sponsored Eclipse that was on his way to HIN in Chicago, and while getting off the interstate the latch broke, and the hood smashed his winshield and too ruined his CF hood that was around $600. Not to mention, his car didnt look that great in HIN and he had it towed from Chicago to central IL!!! $$$$
I think itd be a good idea to get some.....

 

i havent had any on mine for almost 6 months now. it's a VIS, so the quality is good. do i even need to say ive gone really fast since without them?

 

i believe with trunks its recommended you modify or completely remove the spring mechanism because the CF weighs less, so it could go flying

 

no pins on mine and ive gone pretty high speeds many times (100 mph +)...the latch has a secure hold in my opinion...i have the seibon cf hood

 

The CF hoods and trunks shut and latch just like the factory hood and trunk. I've gone withouthood pins for a year now, but then again I've only been up to like 90mph. And yes you either have to remove the tension rods in your trunk or bend them so the trunk doesn't fly up and crack when you open it!!!! I took my rods out and bent them so there was less tension. It's a pain in the a** but it was worth it in the end.

 

just wondering, is there any point to carbon fiber things other than aesthetics?

 

I think it gives imports asporty look. The big thing about carbon fiber is that it is very light, thus taking off the excess baggage of the heavy stock parts.

 

not only is it light, but its strong, esp for its weight.

 

the downside is usually fitment. this is to be expected though not coming from the factory. they come close to factory specs, but it's usually noticably off by a little.