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| If you look closely, I think you can see bits of turn 10 at Streets of Willow stuck in that bumper somewhere |
My little rendezvous with the tire wall at Auto Club Speedway is why I needed to replace my hood, so what better opportunity than this to replace it with a carbon fiber one? I was pretty excited about getting a new hood because since I was 16, I had always wanted a carbon fiber hood. Back then, my only reason was just because they looked so cool. Now that I'm older and (supposedly) wiser, I was also excited for the weight reduction that it gave us. My stock civic hood weighed in at 33 pounds, while the Seibon carbon fiber hood weighed in at 19 pounds. That's almost half the weight of the original hood!
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The stock hood weighed in at 33 pounds |
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The Seibon carbon fiber hood weighed in at 19 pounds… thats a 14 pound weight reduction! |
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| Check out the fiberglass skeleton on the bottom side of the hood, you can see that it's pretty sturdy. This is one of the important things to look for when shopping for a carbon fiber hood. Some of the cheaper brands skimp out on the support, which makes them flimsy and prone to warping. |
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Another thing to pay attention to are the weaves in the carbon fiber. Seibon uses full single sheets for a clean continuous weave. Fitment is also important. This hood was perfectly shaped and fit as snug as my OEM hood.
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| How the epoxy is laid also makes a difference in the structural support of the hood, as well as the pattern of the weave. Notice how the weaves are all straight and aligned? In lower quality carbon fiber products, you will often see waves and bumps in the weave – which are usually the result of a lack of attention to detail. |
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