wow that interesting, one way not to block airflow to the radiator

 

There is no way wet carbon over fiberglass that must be reinforced is going to weigh less that the aluminium hood that comes stock on the car.

I monitored coolant temps, but I'm not going to be giving you proof of anything since I've sold my rx8.

 

Easy_E1's Turbo II must have played some weird tricks over MazdaManiac's mind...

 

Indeed.

 

I love it!!!

 

nice thread... thing is... none of the hoods that i've looked come with rain ducts

 

Having owned a SEIBON hood for about 3 years now I can confirm much of what Mysql has posted with the exception of the flexing over bumps. At speeds in excess of 90mph I can see some slight flex and had had the hood flex above 110mph enough that it caught my attention.

I've not noticed any dramatic improvements in cooling at speed. The venting is not designed to channel air into the engine but more to channel air out. As such, I don't see how the velocity of airflow is going to be enough to carry away heat.

In regards to the weight, with the exception perhaps of a dry carbon hood there isn't going to be any fiberglass hoods with a wet overlay (as Jason pointed out) that are going to be lighter than the stock hood. If they are lighter it will be 1 or 2 pounds max.

You can get the same effect by skipping lunch and saving yourself $600+ in the process.

I think a vented hood helps but it by no means is a silver bullet. You'd be better served investing in a better radiator.

I've also driven without vent guards since I bought the hood including driving through various heavy rainstorms with zero problems of water getting under the hood. Everything is well protected.

 

MM, have a fan below that pulling down air?

 

That's a pretty sweet setup. Reminds me of the TMIC's (in this case trunk) that the 2nd Gen MR2's do. Anyways, a lot of them mount them to the bottom of the trunk lid and cut out the opening and set fans to pull air. Or is it push..I forget.

Just because it looks cool and is kind of not really relevant..but still sweet. EMBED!

 

Not carbon hood but I currently have the autoexe hood, its very effective for heat loss through the top and has a gap at the windshield area too and the best part is no inconvenience during raining at all coz the hood comes with proper drainage system, rain water gets drained on radiator cap

 

The autoexe hood is one of the few that would give you the best venting benefits as the vents are over the business area of the engine bay.

The version of the seibon hood I have has the larger vents towards the front which doesn't help much.

 

Leg Motor Sport CF vented hood with scoop







Painted

 

Were can I get that Mazda air duct?? I check the site but i can't find it..?
Also while driving with a vented hood does get alot cooler in the engine bay but on the light it's gets not as cool but the vents help...

 

Interesting MM have you taken it out driving yet and logged g/s the first thing that came to mind is rxsti lol, what did you do with that giant fan you had under the hood previously? I was trying to think of a cheap way to vent my hood as well and mocked up a few vent styles. There is a local S2k guy who cuts hoods and does a really good job for a great price.

 

what are some vendors of vented carbon hoods you would trust? ebay has many, I questioned 3 of them so far and none of them have the item in stock. I can't see paying a seller and then having to wait for them to obtain the item elsewhere, I'd rather just get it from the source if possible.

 

Varis
Most people run away when they see the price though.

 

The S2K is really easy to make vented hoods out of the OEM due to the way the hood is designed. they usually just trace around the support brackets. The RX-8's is ... unique. Take off the fire cloth off the bottom and see for yourself.

 

my factory hood is dented, and although I could repair and vent it, I just like the vented carbon hoods. I've ordered a carbon rear lip spoiler and would like the carbon hood as well, but I don't want to spend a fortune and don't want to deal with a shady vendor where I'll be wondering where my hood is a month from now.

 

I'm sure we all want inexpensive quality mods

 

don't get me wrong, I'm not a cheap skate, I just want to make sure when I buy an item it's at a good value with equally good service.

 

Yeah i know I have two hoods and spoke with the guy who has done over 200+ hoods very well known on the s2ki forum. Hes dealth with one other rx8 with the cone structure under the hood for i guess crash absorber purposes he said its a pain in the butt but it can be done. Thanks though that was my first question to him and he sent me an email with a picture of an 8 he has done and the underside. I mean MM has done it although his shape wasnt complex i guess it can be done if you take your time.

 

Ebay and quality doesnt belong in the same sentence.

 

You would be surprised at the good stuff you can get via E-Bay.
But you absolutely must know what you are looking at.
There are even a lot of copy-cat products that aren't half bad.

I often get cheap e-bay stuff and then modify/improve them, saving a bunch of money over "name-brand" stuff.
There are many basic things that are just that - basic.
The Chinese are perfectly good welders. lol

 

Hey MM, any pics of what your hood looks like underneath it where you made the cuts? Any issues cutting through?