dmax hood fitment

[FRpilot]

yes, i searched. only found a post about the hood hitting top of motor, but that's not the fitment i'm concerned about.

to all you guys and girls who have a dmax hood, how is the fitment? i've seen a lot of post with people saying they fit pretty well to just ok. what are your personal experiences?

specifically, i'm concerned more about the 180sx pop-ups version of the hood (more specifically cf version. is there a difference between frp and cf fitment? are they made the same or does one fit better than the other?),

i've seen quite a bit of photos where there is minimal gapage around the fenders and pop-up lights, but major gap between the bottom of the hood and the bumper.

examples:
http://driftwolrd.com/r/10122009228.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y13/Treefish/240sx/2009050800019-5.jpg

[jookybanana]

i've got dmax cf one and its not the best fitting hood i've had, i had a VIS cf hood fit way better, the dmax has gap between the bumper and the headlights, the gap is enough to fit about 2 fingers in i'm not sure if its just me, and others have better fitment, but either way thats not good quality control/consistency in thier products

[MrFairlady]

I modified the STock Brackets to Push the hood towards the Headlights more - Thats where the Big Gap was for me.but I'm also Running hood pin's and No Stock Latch so Thats why I did it.

Mine - The Beginning of the Vent is Hitting the Motor (valve cover a tad) but I think due to NEW Nismo Mounts (free BTW) that I have installed.

Overall,..it fits Pretty good..But It was def the STyle I wanted but I do Kinda hate the Vent in the back...oh well.Blk Hides it pretty good.

[ILoveJDM]

i dont own one, nor does anyone i know. but from just reading on zilvia

dmax products fit well, everything BUT the hood.
the 180sx pop up hood had gaps between the fenders/headlights/FB

and pretty much every picture of dmax on popups i see backs this up.

[YoungGun]

DMAX hoods fit good.

[C-unit]

My frd has a D-max hood on his r32 and it fits like shit. The skeleton was hitting the valve cover..lol

[red240]

My frp D-max hood[180sx] fits poorly, But I am glassing it up so it will be nice when I'm done
Just a bummer to have to do it to a nice hood, mine hit the valve cover until I lowered the engine with different mounts

[Edgar]

I think this is a hit or miss thing but all the dudes I know here locally there hoods fit good and are FRP. D-MAX stuff is pretty good!

[ayuaddict]

mine fit very well.

if i didn't raise my engine up it would have fit well with no mods at all.

[Matej]

http://driftwolrd.com/r/10122009228.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y13/Treefish/240sx/2009050800019-5.jpg
Not sure about the second picture, but I know the first one is not a real D-Max hood.

[CrimsonRockett]

Not to mention the first picture, bumper isn't even installed properly.

That thing is sagging like crazy.

[Brian]

I guess mine fits fine.

I chopped a lot of the skeleton out to clear my tower bar though.

it has larger than stock gaps behind the headlight hoods, but at the end of the day, I don't really give a shit.

[Dousan_PG]

second pic i think is joels brothers car, in AUS, which is koguchi power
dmax fits mediocre. not so hot. but it works w/ some modification such as a bit of cut and grind and such. most aftermarket hoods do hit the valve cover, its nothing new.

[REVGASM]

yup, doesnt fit great, just put some time into getting it to fit right. I've modded plenty of aftermarket hoods. it is what it is

[Brian]

That's a USA car, Dousan.
It isn't Adam's.

[FRpilot]

That's a USA car, Dousan.
It isn't Adam's.

it's treefish's car from kouki thread. i pm'd him and he said he had to drill the hood hinge holes wider for more adjustibility.

seems like hit or miss. you get a good one or a bad one, almost all replies on this thread are of people saying it doesn't fit perfect or the ones that do fit well, aren't speaking up.

from what i've seen around the internet, seems like frp fit better than cf. but you can add glass to frp. not so sure how to fix a cf hood.

[3AM]

ive got a genuine dmax silvia hood. fits like crap. maybe because they're so popular now, they focus more on producing them quicker and in bigger qty, rather than quality control? so they probably run the molds longer than they should.

[slideways2004]

i've seen 2 dmax hoods in person. Both of them fit pretty good. Took some work to make them fit better, but that is with any aftermarket fiberglass hood.

also, they fit better if you use hood pins and not the stock latch. I wouldn't use the stock latch anyways on a aftermarket fiberglass

[Treefish]

yeah that's my lowly little drift car.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2537/3925397812_f1888c140b_b.jpg

Mine fits pretty well, D-Max FRP. Car was in a minor accident before I got it so the drivers side front is a little messed up, hence the small gap between the hood and the fender. Latch is pretty sturdy.

Had to get the hood hingers drilled out a bit so it could be pulled forward more to close the gap by the headlights. Front gap isnt bad, and is only there coz I'm just using pignose support brackets and hardware. Would probably fit better if I got the JDM bumper support and stuff.

[loosesocksdiff]

get a-spec hood, fits great!!!

[lflkajfj12123]

my car sucks

yes there is crazy sag

yes that is a real d-max hood but its one of the very first run-offs

i even talked to dmax and they said their old plant had very poor quality control and was still shipping out bad hoods

the new frp hoods that shipped out end of september from dmax should be good

my hood has been modified to fit many times and the skeleton still hits the valve cover

i'm just too lazy to make it look better because my car sucks and has no real paint

[FRpilot]

the new frp hoods that shipped out end of september from dmax should be good

my hood has been modified to fit many times and the skeleton still hits the valve cover



details of what you modified?

cf vs frp.

i want to get cf, isn't it better for durability (stronger/stable) and wouldn't warp as much due to engine bay heat. or is dmax cf practically a frp hood with a layer of cf like VIS. i'm going to be painting it anyways and using aerocatch hood pins.

is frp is the way to go if you want to reglass? how durable is it?

[Brian]

Oh yeah, so I am willing to bet that a lot of people get gaps on the (USA) drive side.
Here is a tip.
When you use the hood prop, prop it from the CENTER somewhere. I use the area where the latch is if I need to prop the hood for a long period of time. The hood WILL warp if you use the stock hood prop location for extended periods, which is on the driver side.

[lflkajfj12123]

http://driftwolrd.com/r/10242009241.jpg
http://driftwolrd.com/r/10242009240.jpg
http://driftwolrd.com/r/10242009239.jpg

like i said my cars a real piece of shit

bumper is just ziptied on until i paint it so here is pic of how it sits and how it SHOULD sit

there is still a little bit of a gap without the kouki bracket maybe about be 1-2cm less with the bracket but yeah there is a gap FROM the dmax hood not huge but its there

just go with the FRP if you're going to paint it, the carbon fiber ones are REALLY expensive

carbon fiber is lighter but doesnt mean its more durable when that shit cracks you're SOL

the dmax FRP hood is pretty beefy and i cut a bit of the skeleton out and some other parts that were hitting / giving me fitment issues

the thing is with any aftermarket hood its not going to fit like oem

maybe keep oem hood and put a hood vent in it

[jookybanana]

details of what you modified?

cf vs frp.

i want to get cf, isn't it better for durability (stronger/stable) and wouldn't warp as much due to engine bay heat. or is dmax cf practically a frp hood with a layer of cf like VIS. i'm going to be painting it anyways and using aerocatch hood pins.

is frp is the way to go if you want to reglass? how durable is it?

yea, the dmax cf hood is frp skeleton, so i imagine the frp is the same as the cf underneath, and i dont think is much lighter going cf either, since you painting it get the frp hood, cause then you can also add or remove material on the hood to make it fit better

[FRpilot]

1. good advice BH.

2. thanks for taking snap shots soapgun, the gap on the end when you lifted one side of bumper doesn't look that bad compared to the otherside still hanging. (and you mentioned you have one of the shittier first run frp)

3. jookybanana, your input was probably the most helpful in deciding between cf vs frp, since you actually have the cf version.

btw jookybanana, did you mean the skeleton is frp, but the actual hood/molding on top is entirely cf? or the entire hood is practically frp even the hood portion and a layer or 2 of cf weave on top for looks.

[bejota180sx]

Oh yeah, so I am willing to bet that a lot of people get gaps on the (USA) drive side.
Here is a tip.
When you use the hood prop, prop it from the CENTER somewhere. I use the area where the latch is if I need to prop the hood for a long period of time. The hood WILL warp if you use the stock hood prop location for extended periods, which is on the driver side.

True, at least i have a "gutted" hood and it warped upward in the prop location, since then i have done the "im a honda" hood mod... no pressure point now...

[!Zar!]

Most all, "carbon fiber" hoods are frp with a layer of cf on top. A complete CF hood will cost a lot more money and most of the time are thinner.

As for durability, cf is about the same as fiberglass. Same with weight. It would be a complete waste of money to spend it on a cf hood.

[jookybanana]

1. good advice BH.

2. thanks for taking snap shots soapgun, the gap on the end when you lifted one side of bumper doesn't look that bad compared to the otherside still hanging. (and you mentioned you have one of the shittier first run frp)

3. jookybanana, your input was probably the most helpful in deciding between cf vs frp, since you actually have the cf version.

btw jookybanana, did you mean the skeleton is frp, but the actual hood/molding on top is entirely cf? or the entire hood is practically frp even the hood portion and a layer or 2 of cf weave on top for looks.

yea, unfortunately thats how it looks like to me, the whole hood is frp, with top layer of cf for looks, because where main vents are its all frp and on the surface its cf

[FRpilot]

yea i know. unless you buy a hood made completely from dry or kevlar carbon like from kognition. wasn't sure if the dmax one was or was not, but i shouldn't have been surprised since they seem to outsource their manufacturing plants to poorer asian countries.

[Silkroad FC]

my car sucks

yes there is crazy sag

yes that is a real d-max hood but its one of the very first run-offs

i even talked to dmax and they said their old plant had very poor quality control and was still shipping out bad hoods

the new frp hoods that shipped out end of september from dmax should be good

my hood has been modified to fit many times and the skeleton still hits the valve cover

i'm just too lazy to make it look better because my car sucks and has no real paint

I gutted my hood as well and it still hits the valve cover, I talked to Dmax and I'm waiting to hear back from the japan hq on what to do next, I did the kazama mounts. My hood bows in the middle to.....


EDIT:Hope it's okay to bump this thread.

[pinkarrowsnow]

Sorry for going a little off topic but does anyone know where i can get the dmax style hood vent i can rivit into my stock hood ive seen plenty of cars with just the vent just have no clue where to buy one.

[Flybert]

I lowered my motor to clear my silvia dmax hood. I use hoodpins and it's still a little high on the driverside. I love the hood though.

[jookybanana]

Sorry for going a little off topic but does anyone know where i can get the dmax style hood vent i can rivit into my stock hood ive seen plenty of cars with just the vent just have no clue where to buy one.

you mean this? type N vent (http://jspec.com/typenvent.html)

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/jspec_2075_156001710

[MrFairlady]

you mean this? type N vent (http://jspec.com/typenvent.html)

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/jspec_2075_156001710
I tried that route and my still have mine if you want it.

I Cut some of the Skeleton but left quite a bit (the "X" that crosses) to keep it rigid.We were then going to Slide The vent between the Skeleton and the Top portion to make a Smooth edge to Flush out,...but then it Was waaaay to Flimsy.

I didn't really want to Rivet it on and just cut little Vents in the hood - I wanted it to be just like It SHOULD have been.But oh well.Dimiyo Hood looks Nice mainly because it dosen't have the Dmax rear vent.

[fatduece]

Sorry for bringing this up from the dead. Just wanted to know if the fitment has been improved? Does the vis fit better? Thanks guys

[GTR-Garage]

We stopped selling both the D-Max roof spoilers and their hoods because of fitment issues. It seems to be more of an issue with the 180SX hoods than the S13. Both hoods have issues hitting the engine if there are aftermarket motor mounts. The fitment issue doesn't seem to be one that has been resolved or even addressed. We had one sent down for one of our local guys in December and the fitment was still poor and it hit the engine as well. In terms of quality the best we have seen is BN-Sports and Wonder.

[fatduece]

That's a shame. Hows the wonder hood look like for s14 kouki?