VIS Racing CF hood - Any first hand experience?

[GotZHP]

Hello Mafia,

This past week on Monday, I unfortunately had an accident while driving down the 101 to work. I ended up rear ending the car in front of me. No one was hurt, just some whiplash. The car I hit only needed a new rear bumper, reinforcer, and muffler, however the ZHP did not fair as well. I kept the car and have $7,000 dollars to rebuild the font end. My build thread has more specifics

I am in need of a hood and got a quote from my parts guy. $425 for the hood, then would need to have it painted to matched and clear coated.

I came across this hood while searching for an alternative

http://www.andysautosport.com/products/vis_racing__02BME464DOE-010C.html

Can anyone comment on the quality and fit? This may be a cheaper option for a new hood once I factor in labor for painting & clear coating of an OE hood.

There were some post over on e46f about vis racing, but mainly people selling items in the classifieds.

Let me know, Thanks!

[Johnmadd]

Gary (wolfn8tr) has one and he is happy with it.

[GotZHP]

Gary (wolfn8tr) has one and he is happy with it.

Ooo good to hear. Thanks Johnmadd! This is most likely going to be the cheaper route to go, not to mention it would look way cooler.

[Johnmadd]

Np, I'm sure he'll chime in and answer any questions.

[GotZHP]

I'll reach out to him. I found a VIS CF hood brand new on sale for ~$650 from an online retailer.

OE hood is $425 + tax + labor for painting. I am kind of worried about matching the paint as well.

[sillieidiot]

Are you going to be painting the CF hood at all? The fitment isn't perfect. And they tend to yellow pretty quickly unless you go ahead and clear coat it to slow it down. Other than that, there's not much to say about them.

If you have a good painter, the paint match will be no problem.

[WOLFN8TR]

I just bought one. Curious what color of hood do you need?

I wanted a vented hood to help keep the engine compartment temps down, living out here in the hot desert it's 110-118 degrees. I picked up a used VIS Racing XTS Carbon Fiber Vented Hood painted in Silver Grey (A08) already so I jumped on it! I absolutely love the look and function of the hood. But the install wasn't as easy as I anticipated. The kidney grilles were a challenge to get to fit properly. Basically I bought another set of ECSTUNING's grilles and had to cut off a few of the clips to get them to snap in. Then had to use some black silicone to help secure them in place. Next was the hood vent install. It had to be trimmed and siliconed into place, not a big deal but an issue. Next was routing the washer tubing and electrical. The previous owner just epoxied the line to the underside of the hood which was very ghetto. I ended up cutting another hole on the opposite side of the shield and ran it thru the inside. There are two splash shields under the hood on both sides. Also those hit a few items which had to be trimmed to get the hood to close. Then came the actual alignment of the hood and then the adjustment to get it to close and latch properly. That took awhile but with some patience it really lined up nice and looks great! New the VIS XTS CF Hood is approx $1800. Then getting it painted is approx $400-500. I picked this one up for $1100!

This is the VIS Racing hood I have-http://www.visracing.com/newcatalog/Bmw/3-Series/1999-2005-3-Series-E46/Hood-279/2001-2005-Bmw-3-Series-E46-M3-2Dr-Xts-Carbon-Fiber-Hood.html

Here's the hood installed-http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?14695-WOLFN8TR-S-M-Project-Thread!&p=495998#post495998http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?14695-WOLFN8TR-S-M-Project-Thread!&p=497110#post497110

E46Fanatics Hood Search-http://forum.e46fanatics.com/search.php?searchid=37949668&psa=

[johnrando]

Bmr that happened but glad you have options. Nice info Gary.

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[GotZHP]

So there may be some minor adjustments to get it to fit then. I was wondering about the vent over the cabin air filter and how the lines for the windshield sprayers would go.

I was thinking of just getting a clear coat and leaving it so you can see the fiber. With blacked out headlight housings and black grills, I think the front end would look pretty mean

[GotZHP]

http://www.andysautosport.com/products/vis_racing__02BME464DOE-010C.html

I've never heard of the retailer but the price seems pretty good to me. Would be cheaper than OEM plus paint and clear quote I bet.

[WOLFN8TR]

What ZHP do you have Coupe or Sedan? What color?
FYI- The hoods are different between the ZHP Coupe and Sedan.
If you have a ZHP Coupe you could get a M3 hood!

[sillieidiot]

What ZHP do you have Coupe or Sedan? What color?
FYI- The hoods are different between the ZHP Coupe and Sedan.
If you have a ZHP Coupe you could get a M3 hood!

Yeah but the M3 hood doesn't look good on the facelifted coupe IMO. The kidney grills are too small. It looks weird with the lines going to the mirrors. The part over the headlights look weird. Also it takes some cutting of the hood to make it fit.

OP, couldn't you just buy a used hood + paint? It would definitely be cheaper than buy a new CF hood then clearcoating it.

[GotZHP]

My car is a sedan that is Silbergrau metallic, so M3 hood is a no go. Plus, M3 hoods are expensive!

I could buy a used hood and paint it, but worried about how well the paint will match. Plus, IMO, I think a carbon fiber hood would look good a on silver car. Just enough flare for me. I don't like to venture too far from OE look with my cars.

VIS states there hoods come with a poly something or other UV protective coating, so could see how long that last, and have the hood painted in a few year when I have the whole car paint corrected and coated. reviews for VIS have been pretty positive, just minor adjustments to get things to fit is th eonly complaint, and thats fine with me. I took over 3 hours to get the exhaust to hang just right on my BRZ. Adjustments are almost always in order, regardless of the quality of the part's fit and finish.

Plus, with the bumper, carrier, and shock absorbers off the front end right now, I will be able to set the hood and bumper simultaneously for a better fit. There are spacer plates you can order that go behind were the bumper carrier mounts to the frame of the car which allow you to adjust the position of your bumper by the millimeter. Also, headlights are off, so they can be set to fit with everything.

[GotZHP]

So the seller / retailer is located in Monterey which means I could swing by to see the hood in person, and if I decide I want it, shipping to the car would be relatively cheap as the part is light and the distance is not too far.

Im gunna buy it:pimp:fistpump:thumbsup

[sillieidiot]

Yeah the paint match will be pretty close if you have a good painter pretty much.

Yeah their UV protective coating sucks. It yellows pretty fast. But that's fine if you're going to paint it over later anyways. I've always found their quality to be ok. Although their OEM style parts fit a lot better than some of their other creations.

Well with the hood, my concerns would be more about the spacing with the fenders than it is the bumper. There are already a lot of adjustments for the bumper. The only reason to add plates/spacers is if you're going to pull the bumper out.

Iono if shipping will be cheap though. At it's size, it's considered oversized. It is light though. I guess you could get lucky and it'll ship for super cheap. But I would just go pick it up if the distance isn't too far.

[GotZHP]

Well, I think the carbon fiber hood is a no go. After tax and shipping it was going to be more like $900. Just going to Get an OE one and find a good painter.

[WOLFN8TR]

Whoa $200-300 for shipping!!! Dam. Do you know anyone with a truck? Or even rent a truck. That's crazy. [emoji849]

[Damian]

I bought one years ago for my old civic and picked it up direct from VIS HQ in City of Industry to avoid shipping fees. Fit and look was great. Had it on for a year without any issues before I sold the car. I didn't put on the clips and the latch seemed to hold just fine. I didn't add an extra clear coat but maybe it would have started to yellow if I kept it longer? Good luck and post pics of you go for it.

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[GotZHP]

The retailer I want to get it from who has it on sale is a little out of the way, but could be a fun weekend trip to Monterey with the GF
obvi wont tell her im picking up the hood until we take a slight detour :)

[Damian]

Just tell her you're taking "the scenic route". Lol. In for pics when you put it on.

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[GotZHP]

Haha, After the BRZ I am not allowed to say we are taking the scenic route. Carved up so many mountain passes and canyon roads. She screams just as much as the tires did!

Still very undecided on the hood. Car is basically back together. Need a few fasteners which should be in tmrw, so running out of time to decide. Hoodless may happen for a week. Luckily there are a lot of tuner shops near where I work so seeing cars hoodless is common, and the ones with huge blatantly non-CARB turbos should be pulled over before me. Just going to night ride the car home this weekend I think. Be hard to tell its missing a hood with an all black engine bay at night.