Exotics Tunig Hood fins painted vs CF - opinions?

[ciaranob]

Considering purchasing the Exotics Tuning vented CF Hood but one sided so will paint the top side body color. MGM in my case. Whilst it seems like heresy to cover up the CF of the vent fins I have to say I like the stealthier or perhaps more finished look of painted fins - did a real quick copy and paste job here so don't fuss about the fins not looking properly oriented on my (pre-modded) car but want opinions on body color matching vs raw CF - and yes I know many don't like aftermarket hoods so appreciate responses to the specific question

Crappy PSP efforts - used SupremePower's pic and made their car's body color a darker shade (from white) wth fins in CF as std - mine on right with body color vent fins

[EALm4]

Personally, I like them painted. I also think it depends on the color. Raw finish on the pics you posted look pretty good both ways.

However, for SO in my case.... no way I'd rock those unpainted.

[ciaranob]

Originally Posted by EALm4

Personally, I like them painted. I also think it depends on the color. Raw finish on the pics you posted look pretty good both ways.

However, for SO in my case.... no way I'd rock those unpainted.

Agreed - leaning heavily towards painted as even with MGM the unpainted fins stand out a lot. For clarity in the comparison above the SupremePower car has the CF trims (I only changed the body color from white to dark).

[G1n Mast3r]

Granted my view might be bias since I have an AW / storm trooper build the unpainted raw CF finish on the fins looks awesome unpainted and raw. I know bmwtrix has the same hood and I know his "fins" or vents vents are also unpainted. so maybe he can comment on that.

But I digress. I think on light colored and bright colored (SOII, AW or MW, etc) look really good and contrast the raw CF finish really well on the vents. Personally I feel as though some of that contrast is lost on darker colors, but still looks amazing.

But again I'm probably bias and just one person lol. I will say this though, if you have a front lip (any front lip will do) it really really pulls the whole front end together. coupled with a drop even more so. I had the hood without a front lip for all of about 2 weeks and it kinda looked funny. But also just an opinion.

[bmwtrix]

Hi folks... I have received so, so many comments about the hood and leaving just the vents "raw". It is just a small piece of "flair" that really makes the hood stand out! It is clear coated, so it's not just plain carbon fiber. I love it as does everyone that sees the car. Thanks for the call out G1n Mast3r blake9220 also has this hood and loves it! We even got FUN2GOJOE to get one on his Mineral Grey F83 and he left the vents "raw" just like me. Looks great!

[Irishsig]

I've been lusting after this hood for so long.
Just not ready to drop that chunk of cash yet.
If i ever do it'll be unpainted cf on my mg m4.

[G1n Mast3r]

Not a problem bmwtrix . And I'll also just throw out there that, as bmwtrix mentioned, I get a lot of questions as well as comments about the hood, as well as everyone loves it! It's a massive conversation piece!

Irishsig I know what you mean. I couldn't believe it when I bought it lol. But in the end it was all worth it!

[ciaranob]

Thx for feedback guys - you are not making my choice any easier !! More importantly I would absolutely love to see the MG F83 as of course this is what I have - if you look around you'll see I have many posts on all my mods on the car on Bimmerpost which includes full 3D Design aero (anything but cheap!!) - so indeed had also considered that the extra bit of CF would tie into the CF all around the base of the car - also that CF on MGM tends to be less dramatic as you mentioned.

Would love to see pics of all your hoods to compare and again if there is any chance you can grab one of FUN2GOJOE's car that would be excellent!

Cheers, C.

Originally Posted by G1n Mast3r

Granted my view might be bias since I have an AW / storm trooper build the unpainted raw CF finish on the fins looks awesome unpainted and raw. I know bmwtrix has the same hood and I know his "fins" or vents vents are also unpainted. so maybe he can comment on that.

But I digress. I think on light colored and bright colored (SOII, AW or MW, etc) look really good and contrast the raw CF finish really well on the vents. Personally I feel as though some of that contrast is lost on darker colors, but still looks amazing.

But again I'm probably bias and just one person lol. I will say this though, if you have a front lip (any front lip will do) it really really pulls the whole front end together. coupled with a drop even more so. I had the hood without a front lip for all of about 2 weeks and it kinda looked funny. But also just an opinion.

Originally Posted by bmwtrix

Hi folks... I have received so, so many comments about the hood and leaving just the vents "raw". It is just a small piece of "flair" that really makes the hood stand out! It is clear coated, so it's not just plain carbon fiber. I love it as does everyone that sees the car. Thanks for the call out G1n Mast3r blake9220 also has this hood and loves it! We even got FUN2GOJOE to get one on his Mineral Grey F83 and he left the vents "raw" just like me. Looks great!

[G1n Mast3r]

ciaranob There are some of my car floating around lol and the same goes for bmwtrix. It also should be noted that the forum is a horrible place for people like us lol. We make getting make getting mods a "great" bad choice :P But here are some of mine that I have just lying around. I still have yet to finish all of my mods. Rolling mine out in phases lol But Tax season is right around the corner! so hopefully I should be able to finish then , albeit after I fix a massive rock chip that's right smack dab in the middle of my beautiful CF hood lol. Until then here are some photos of the hood. Also I suck a photography lol.



This one came out a little grainy... oh well


and to finish it off, a picture of those oh so beautiful, raw but clear coated CF vents oh mai....

[mariom3]

are those hood fins functional? Can air actually flow through those fins? It hard to tell from the pictures.

[shay2nak]

If your car has other carbon parts installed, leave the vents carbon. If the car is stock or no carbon parts, then paint the vents.

[G1n Mast3r]

Lowness i'd say they are semi functional. They are free flowing meaning there are or a mesh that allows air to flow over them and into the engine compartment. As for them just exiting into the engine bay nope. If you look underneath the hood there are channels where the vents are. Those channels are for any potential rain water or water in general from getting into the actual bay. The hood does utilize the stock water drains. an example is when it rains or when you wash the car it drains from the same place a stock hood. Hope that makes sense I can take some more photos this weekend if you like, that would better illustrate the point i'm trying to make.

shay2nak I suppose that's a good way of putting it, however to me it's so subtle that one would be hard pressed to paint the vents the body color vs leaving them "raw". I found it to be subtle yet super aggressive at the same time. But to each his own.

[Alvinized52]

Originally Posted by G1n Mast3r

Not a problem bmwtrix . And I'll also just throw out there that, as bmwtrix mentioned, I get a lot of questions as well as comments about the hood, as well as everyone loves it! It's a massive conversation piece!

Irishsig I know what you mean. I couldn't believe it when I bought it lol. But in the end it was all worth it!

Ive been considering this.. but then heard Exotics was suppused to be coming out with their GTS style version that I wanted to see first. Not sure if that new version is available yet.

Any way, how is the fitment on the exotics. Does it line up well? Any big gaps?

[G1n Mast3r]

Alvinized52 Fitment is pretty spot on. No major gaps and it lines up really well. I did notice that one side is slightly larger than my stock hood but it's nothing major and you can't really tell. Either that or It just doesn't bother me nearly as much as others. But I did kinda remediate that. The gap was due to the hood not being aligned when it was put on. I had that fixed like a week later lol. Next time I drive down to LA or down to Supreme I can shoot you a PM and you can check it out for yourself.

[Kossos]

I'm about to pull the trigger on this hood as well and plan on leaving the vents raw. My grilles, upper and lower splitters and mirror caps are all carbon fiber so it will complement those parts.

Can either of you guys post a pic of the underside of the hood?

[JTBM3]

Originally Posted by Alvinized52

Ive been considering this.. but then heard Exotics was suppused to be coming out with their GTS style version that I wanted to see first. Not sure if that new version is available yet.

Any way, how is the fitment on the exotics. Does it line up well? Any big gaps?

+1

[JTBM3]

Originally Posted by Kossos

I'm about to pull the trigger on this hood as well and plan on leaving the vents raw. My grilles, upper and lower splitters and mirror caps are all carbon fiber so it will complement those parts.

Can either of you guys post a pic of the underside of the hood?

Scroll down to "exotic tuning street kit" pics of under hood are on page 4

[G1n Mast3r]

Kossos A link so you don't have to scroll

[Fugazii]

I could never paint them why buy a Carbon Hood pointless! Just keep the OEM if you don't like the Carbon look.

[ciaranob]

Well the version I am purchasing has HCFRP top which is painted your body color so it is only the fins that show CF on top side (the full CF version is a lot more expensive) - if you are just going for the vented look I'd say it is a bit of a toss-up between painted vs CF fins - that said the majority here seem to like the fins unpainted and I may be convinced!

Originally Posted by Fugazii

I could never paint them why buy a Carbon Hood pointless! Just keep the OEM if you don't like the Carbon look.