Hood pin location?

Hood pin location?

I have the VIS carbon fiber hood (so it comes with a hood latch).

I'm tired of seeing my CF hood jumping up and down as I travel down the freeway. As soon as I hit 70mph it looks as if it's going to flip up any minute. The bolts are tight and I've tried raising the bump stops a little but then the hood looks like it isn't closed all the way. So I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to have to throw on some hood pins.

One problem...where the heck to I drill?

I was going to use locking pins (the kind you need a key to open) but then I'd have to unlock them whenever I wanted to do some engine work (which happens almost every other weekend) and that would be a pain for me. So now I'm going with regular pins, but that leads me to another question...

What specific company (brand) should I use?
Where can I get them from?

Man, luckily that hood did not fly off on you. VIS recommends using hood pins for safety reasons. Some good pins are from Moroso and Ford Racing (believe it or not) - domestics had this stuff going for decades before the import scene, heavy duty and relatively cheap - I still have the ones that I got for my Chevelle. Summit Racing is a good spot to get these types of pins. NOPI or similar for the import brands. There are some decent ones from Sparco - but they were a little on the thin side (OK for most apps, but I prefer a heavier pin for durability - they might have fixed this issue). As for location - the radiator support bean that runs across the engine compartment behind the headlight assemblies would be an ideal location. Just back that area with some big washers to prevent the studs from being pulled out (usually suppiled with the kit anyway).

just so you know..... do NOT use locking hood pins.... too many people think they're load bearing pins, but they aren't.

yeah...I looked at that little metal pin and thought..."that's suppose to hold my hood down?!" It's what kept me from installing it as soon as I got it. That's another reason I'm looking for regular hood pins.

So why the hell do VIS hoods require pins? Isn't carbon fiber suposed to be stronger then the stock hood?

cf has a higher tinsel strength but is more flexable.. and the latch they put in it isnt always the strongest. if not reinforced properly during the laying process, It could break off. Also most/all hoods on the market are mostly fiberglass with a cf top layer.

I was going to buy a CF hood but I don't want hood pins so I guess scratch that idea.

they dont look all bad if done right.. I used to want one until I found out it's not SCCA STS legal but I'm getting tired of autoxing.

I'm planning on Autoxing this summer My car is finally worthy.

<offtopic>
nah, there's a bunch of people in stock class. It's actually better to do a few runs and mash on your car a few times stock, that way you could really appeciate each new upgrade. With that TC I think youre either bumped up to DSP or DSM and they're REALLY competative. It's fun but my local chapter of SCCA is really screwing me so I'm not going to renew my license this yr, instead i'm planning on doing some track days, maybe join NASA.

DO THIS AT YOUR OWN CAUTION AND MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE SAME PINS THAT I HAD IF YOU CHOOSE TO FOLLOW THIS. IT IS HIGHLY RISKY IF YOUR NOT READY TO RISK IT DONT FOLLOW. IT WORKED FINE FOR ME BUT I WAS FEELING VERY BALLSY THIS DAY AND JUST WENT FOR IT.

OK, here is what I did, and I have a VIS hood too so it should be similar should you choose to do it like I did. I have the kind of hood pins that have a metal screw with a hole on the end that the pin actually goes through, this piece goes into the frame of the car, I used the place where my bumper stops were. The actual latch piece screws into the hood above the hole you make. Check my car domain site to see pics. www.cardomain.com/id/blokkem

1. First remove your bump stops and screw the metal screw piece that will attach to the frame of the car in the hole that is now empty.

2. After I had the screw piece install with that came with the hood pins set, i put white lotion on the tips of them and set the hood on them.

3. The mark where to lotion is on the hood is where your first hole will be drilled on the underside of the hood. The hood will actually have 2 holes drilled in each side because you have to go through the bottom later and then the top.

4. After you have your holes drilled in each side on the bottom layer of the hood your screw with the hole in the end for the hood pin should now touch the actual carbon fiber if you closed your hood down far enough. You actually want to set your hood down to make sure that the pin is clearing the holes you just drilled.

5. Now repeat the lotion on the pin and set the hood down again and now it will leave a mark on the next spot you will drill. Be careful because now you will actually be drilling through to carbon fiber and the part that will be visible. I will add that if you have a set of hood pins like I have, there is a rather large margin for error as the latch covers much more than the space needed for the hole in the hood.

6. After you drill all 4 holes you should now be able to close your hood, after you verify hood will close the next step is to install your latch which requires 3 or 4 screws and basically all you do for that is have your hood closed and the pins sticking up out of it and set the latch over it and drill your holes for the screws. Your going to want to drill holes and not just screw the screw in because it will crack your clear coat on the hood.

7. After this you should be good to go. A few things to keep in mind, if your pin that you screwed into the bump stop areas does not fit exactly as you want it, it is easily adjusted. It just takes time and the right angle to get it in.