rzrxn

iTrader: (1)

wow RalliartN always has bad-*** mods that can be done DIY style...

so far, the next mods i want on my car are:
1) his diy "big intake pipe" mod
AND
2) this diy "hood vent" mod

cant wait to put some real time on my RA. been waiting to see the day when she gets pampered. im slowly getting there

hey Nick, maybe when i take a trip to Trenton, i can come by and see ur mods and i'll try to replicate them on my car ahaha! Garrett tells me that ur RA is the cleanest RA he has ever seen. daaaaaayum lol!!!

congrats on the hood vent/oil cooler/ps cooler bro! wish i had MadOwnageSkillz to pull off things like that lmfao!

cheers!

RalliartN

iTrader: (1)

Thank you, rzrxn, and do let me know if you're going to Trenton, we'll hook up.

Okay, its gloss black vinyl wrap. I ordered some then chickened out on installing it myself. I took the roll to an auto graphics shop "Reflections" in Port Hope. They were cool and let me hang out and watch/ask questions.





They suggested a mesh, which they happened to have lying around, to cover the vent hole, and installed it using windshield urethane to glue it down on the backside. Lets try this for awhile. It looks like about 70% opening area so hopefully the mesh won't affect the hot air extraction too much.



They had some carbon fibre style vinyl wrap and wrapped the exposed structural member with it, so when the hood is shut and you look down through the mesh the beam looks like a carbon fiber part.



Afterwards, I realized it was a good move to have pro's install the vinyl. In spite of how easy the youtube videos make it look, I'd strongly suggest not trying this yourself. These guys also tend to be artistic and make awesome suggestions you might not have thought of. Anyway...

nekkidlad

iTrader: (4)

looks great...

1 question...
what's that red dot on the front edge of the hood..?
actually...on second look...it might just be you reflected on the hood while taking the picture?...lol

good deal on the cf wrap and mesh too...

bakuro117

iTrader: (5)

This actually looks quite awesome. Ive been giving some serious thought to doing my RA hood in a similar way. First though Im hoping to get ahold of some Evo X/RA vents and do my eclipse hood with those. It might not look too bad on the RA either. IDK we will see...

truthdweller

iTrader: (1)

Awesome...without compromising the reinforcement beams... I figured there had to be a solution, for I'm looking to do the same. How about some silver/chrome or black door edge guard look around the edge of the cut out? I'm thinking it would give it a more dimensional and finished look, then again I'm just looking at a photo. And would the heat melt that stuff right off.. I'm just thinking out loud. A body shop recommended the above on my front clip where I had to make some cut outs:

nekkidlad

iTrader: (4)

if the engine heat won't melt the vinyl wrap on his hood...
it shouldn't melt the door edging if you made a hole and used it to make a neat looking vent on yours...

mikemike396

iTrader: (3)

The hood looks good! So you decided not to put a rubber edge around the hole?

bakuro117

iTrader: (5)

I was thinking about the Rubber edge too. Might make it look more finished. IDK...

RalliartN

iTrader: (1)

I didn't put rubber trim because I wanted no raised edges around the vent. It's just what look you prefer, although on the hood I think there is a slight airflow extraction benefit to having smooth edges. As for pure aesthetics, I'm not too good artistically so I would just ask the Reflections owner for advice if going for killer looks.

Good catch on the little red patch! Manufacturers of vinyl recommend installing it on top of the OEM paint. That little area was where I repaired some bad rust-thru, and when I got home the vinyl had lifted slightly from the new-ish paint in that spot. It was repaired using some adhesion promoter so the vinyl stuck.

Thanks for the reminder, I will re-install the underhood sound proofing to help with keeping the hood cooler, although hot sun alone does bake it good - I'll keep you abreast about how this vinyl survives.

That silver colour vent mesh might have to be painted black, too.

rzrxn

iTrader: (1)

Wow! Just wow...

I haven't been active on EvoM for quite some time as I just started in my new role and the transition period is such a hassle

@Nick: Your custom hood looks amazing! That "Black & Yellow" looks really nice and appealing. I also like your idea of painting the mesh black. I think it will go really well with that theme that you got going on there. Overall, very nice job, my friend! I planned to stop by this month but it's almost over and I still haven't found the time to take the trip there. Hopefully, sometime soon, work will slow down a bit and I can take a few days off and finally make my way. Hope all is well and congratz again on another "BAD *** MOD" aka "BAM!!!" lmfao! Take care, bro!

RalliartN

iTrader: (1)

Thanks, rzrxn, and I hope life slows down for you a bit later so we can hook up somewhere.

Technical FYI: about nekkids mentioning melting hood vinyl, which I was concerned about - after a couple of blistering hot lapping days, and with no underhood insulation, the vinyl has not been affected at all.

MirrorEyes

Just saw this now, and I gotta say dang that looks good. If you don't mind me asking, how much was it to vinyl wrap the hood?

nekkidlad

iTrader: (4)

think about it tho, theres lots of cars out there that get vinyl wrapped...and i don't remember hearing any of them having heat blistering issues or anything like that...
think about monster trucks...(not the huge trucks that run cars over...but the ones for monster energy drinks)...they're wrapped...
and red bull minis..and the 5hr energy vans...along with tons of other advertising vehicles...they dont bubble and catch on fire(ok...that's an exageration, but you know what i mean) and almost all of them are vinyl wrapped..
granted they dont have hood vents, but with the hood vent i bet your temp under the hood is actually cooler than OE with or w/out any insulation

RalliartN

iTrader: (1)

Thank you, Mirroreyes. The wrap itself is Vvivid, which I bought off ebay, was $60 and the installation was $70. The shop that did the installation uses a different kind (3M), but they had no problem with me bringing my own.

A paint job would have been about $300.

You're right of course nekkid, but sometimes I just gots to see for myself.

nekkidlad

iTrader: (4)

sounds familiar...*points to self*