Custom hoods are very popular among the car lovers like you, so this article is written to act as a buying guide and help you choose one to improve your car’s individual style and performance.
Why should you replace your car hood with a custom one?
Hood is not just a cover of your car’s front part protecting the engine from the dirt and damaging elements. It is one of the major elements of a car which makes it look stylish and beautiful. Installing a custom-fit hood will provide benefits listed below;
Improved the appearance of your car
While a hood serves as a primary part of the protection of your car’s engine and other important internal parts, it can beautify it as well. By customization of the hood, you can make a complete makeover of the front part of your car.
Improved car ventilation
A smartly designed hood scoop in a custom hood functions as a ram-air system that improves the air intake. It will increase the engine power by allowing more flow through the engine of your vehicle.
Improved aerodynamics of your car
Those who love smooth and stable driving with lesser wind noise can benefit from an aerodynamically designed hood. Along with the bumper lips and side skirts, the hood will improve the aerodynamics of your car, reduce the drag and improve the stability by removing the unnecessary lift force at a high speed.
Better ground effects
In the modern car designs, the ground effects are considered as the important factor to create downforce. Bumper lips, spoilers, side skirts, custom hoods and some other components collectively called as body kits and play an important role in creating ground effects. It is used to improve the aerodynamics along with making your car appear outstandingly beautiful.
Improved car engine performance
As an overall effect of improved ventilation, better aerodynamics, and increased ground effects, your car engine will perform more efficiently. Reduced drag and increased air flow through engine will help in increasing the power and life of your car’s engine.
Ventilation in custom hoods
Custom hood is a vital part that changes the front look of the car completely. The custom hoods come with a variety of design, style, size, and colors, and have two crucial components. You can use any of the two choices or both in your custom hood. They are;
Hood scoops
The hood scoops, which is also called air dam is a component on the hood. The primary purpose of the hood scoop is to allow an air circulation in the engine compartment. This component functions as a cool-air system as well as a ram-air system and it help air enter the engine’s intake faster and keep it cool. However, it adds a valuable effect to the stylish look of the car that a hood is meant for.
Hood vents
This component is different from scoops in terms of look and size. However, they also do one thing same as the hood scoop does. It helps keep the temperature lower and thus improves the performance of the car engine. On the other hand, being a supporting component of the hood it also plays an important role in improving the appearance of the car.
Types of custom hoods
It will be helpful to know the types of custom hoods. It will give you an answer to your question “How to choose custom hoods?”. Selecting the most suitable hood for your car is important. You wouldn’t want to spend for non-matching and non-performing hood for your car. Considering your car model, color and size help you choose the best custom hood. See the types of hoods and their benefits.
Steel Hoods
You can select steel hoods depending on the model and material used for the outer parts of your car. They are large in size and stronger compared to other materials. You can get it in different color and size that suits your car. They provide proper air circulation and ensures that the engine performance is at its best.
Fiberglass Hoods
Fiberglass hoods are cheaper, stronger than some metals and easy to assemble. With its scoops or vents component, this hood will set your car out of the crowd. They will save your money as it can bear small accidents without being dented or ruined easily.
Carbon fiber Hoods
This type of hood is high in strength and low in weight. They can resist chemicals, tolerate high temperature and expenses less. These characteristics make this type of hoods very popular. Like other types of hoods, this gives a good ventilation for proper air circulation and a good look to your car. They are available in different colors and sizes and you can choose according to your need.
Cawl Hoods
These are relatively easy to fix and are ready to be assembled right away. It is also called cowl induction and provides better airflow. Since the proper air circulation boosts the engine performance, this hood is often the first choice of many car owners. It is applied by alteration of the previous hood. They provide stylish look and protection to the engine.
Materials from which custom hoods are manufactured
Confused about how to choose custom hoods? This section will help you by providing the details of materials used for hood manufacturing. Custom hoods are manufactured using various materials. There are some advantages and disadvantages of each of them, as given below.
Carbon fiber
This is a fiber product made mostly of carbon atoms and is of about 5 to 10 micrometers diameter. It has several advantages like high stiffness, strength, chemical resistance, temperature tolerance, light for handling, cut weight significantly and low thermal expansion. The disadvantage of this fiber is that it is expansive compared to other fiber materials like glass fiber and plastic fiber.
Fiber-reinforced polymer
This is a composite material and consists of a polymer matrix reinforced with fibers. The advantages include the strength and resistance power which prevents the deformation of the polymer. The disadvantage depends on its application, i.e. the fibers are weaker when they are perpendicular to the force being exerted.
Fiberglass
This is a fiber-reinforced plastic which uses glass fiber. It can be flattened, woven or randomly arranged depending on its usage and application. Though this material is stiffer and stronger than many other materials in terms of tension and compression, it is weak in shear when it is across its axes. There are several negative effects on health when its exposure is beyond the tolerable limits by a human body. Common issues are the irritation of mucous membranes and respiratory tracts.
Polyurethane
This is a polymer composed of organic units joined by carbamate links and is used to manufacture the high-resilience foam seating, microcellular foam seals, automotive suspension bushings, hard plastic parts, rigid foam insulation panel etc. Although polyurethane has no direct negative health effect, it can be hazardous when ignited as it produces a significant amount of carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, and other hazardous gases.
Apart from these, there are some other materials like urethane, primer, and paint, which has their contribution to making a custom hood.
Installation and painting of custom hoods
You can buy a custom hood of the color, size, and style you prefer and get them installed on your car by an expert. But if you buy it unpainted, you can paint it yourself with flat matte black, grey, silver, red, blue or whichever is your favorite color. The cost of painting could be between $400 to $1000 depending on the size and material of the hood.
You can install your custom hood, hood scoops, and vents yourself if you have all required tools and know how to. However, there are some guides and videos available online. You can refer them to install your custom hood.
It is essential that you know the exact process of how to do it. Before you start the installation, there are some preparation tips to be followed, i.e. getting all the tools ready, removing the old hood, sanding the new custom hood before the painting etc. The installation steps include;
- Install the custom hood on the carand make sure that all nuts are tightened perfectly
- Mark the place for the scoop or vents on the hood
- Make large holes on the hood to allow air enter into the engine compartment
- Mark holes on the correctly measured places on the hood
- Make the holes and adjust them by widening if needed to install the scoop or vent
- Installing the hood scoop or vent
These are general steps. You should refer the hood manufacturer’s installation guide for step-by-step instructions to avoid problems.
Three most popular custom hoods manufacturers
1. Extreme Dimension:
Extreme Dimension is one of the top manufacturers of exterior components and accessories under many brand names like Duraflex, Carbon Creations etc., and is a top brand in custom hoods in the United States. It is headquartered in Southern California, has 200,000 square feet manufacturing facility and 100,000 square feet distribution centers. It has hired the most experienced designers and craftsmen to produce the high-quality custom hoods and other custom car parts.
2. AmeriHood:
AmeriHood is one of the most popular custom hood brands. It is a child company of AIT racing which is a foremost designer and distributor of car body kits. It manufactures top quality, perfect in fitting, and reliable body components including the custom hoods with very stringent and distinguished quality standards.
3. Seibon
Seibon is one of the top manufacturers of highly durable carbon fiber components and is very popular for its top quality among the car enthusiasts. It was founded in 2003 to produce the best carbon fiber products in the industry by some automotive aficionados. They follow high standards and rigorous inspection methods to ensure the best quality.