Tricks of installing the DF hood?

Come on, baynsac. I paid cash for every mod I've ever done to my NSX. I didn't take out a loan, I didn't re-fi my house, I didn't make payments to afford it. Don't be so thoughtless to assume that and don't be so careless as to think those who bought parts other than what you did are foolish. CTSC instead of turbo for my own reasons. DF rear wing instead of Taitec for my own reasons. Procar hood instead of DF for my own reasons. Comptech headers instead of Cantrell for my own reasons. I could have saved with each of my mods I listed but decided not to FOR MY OWN REASONS. Some of your reasons for buying your hood were your own reasons. Don't bash those who paid more (which means you're bashing me) for making the decisions they did.

And nothing on this car is an "investment". If anyone is investing in a car, they're going to lose every time (unless that investment is into making it 100% stock for the purpose of selling to a collector).

J
 
I am not bashing DF hood, I was going to buy one a few weeks ago. I just don't like others bashing VIS hood and saying you are cheap if you buy one.(I have one, which means you are talking to me)
I am not cheap at all and I buy things if I like it, no matter how much it costs. Above the guy says if I put a VIS hood on my car, I am putting civic parts on my nsx or that I should buy a 350z instead so I can afford good parts,Come on....

He talking all kind of stuff about the people who own VIS hood for no reason. I don't care about any brand name but don't call everyone else cheap just because you like to spend 3 times as much on your hood and thats all I was saying. Thats bull just because I paid less than you my hood is cheap, peice of crap??? According to the gentleman above(vancehu) Everyone with VIS hood is cheap with a civic budget and its for crappy high mileaged nsx or better yet you should sell your nsx and get a 350z. When thats far from the truth. As DF,VIS, all hoods not from factory, don't fit like factory fit PERIOD. They all need some extra work.

He(Vacehu) is calling everyone cheap, when he is using his home equity to buy his extra expensive parts and thats why I said it was a bad investments. I very well know that any car is a bad invesment, especially parts you put in to a car. Thats why you buy what you like for your car because you like it not for any other reasons.
Read post #51. I am only responding not calling anyone out or trying to argue one way or the other. Just don't call other owners cheap just because they bought a less expensive hood. You can say how good DF is without bashing VIS right? Why not stick to that..

Let me add. There's nothing wrong with spending your money the way you want, but if others don't spend as much as you there is no reason to look down on them or talk down on them. We all love nsx and just want to have fun with it. Lets stick to doing that. Happy motoring....





02#154 said:
Come on, baynsac. I paid cash for every mod I've ever done to my NSX. I didn't take out a loan, I didn't re-fi my house, I didn't make payments to afford it. Don't be so thoughtless to assume that and don't be so careless as to think those who bought parts other than what you did are foolish. CTSC instead of turbo for my own reasons. DF rear wing instead of Taitec for my own reasons. Procar hood instead of DF for my own reasons. Comptech headers instead of Cantrell for my own reasons. I could have saved with each of my mods I listed but decided not to FOR MY OWN REASONS. Some of your reasons for buying your hood were your own reasons. Don't bash those who paid more (which means you're bashing me) for making the decisions they did.

And nothing on this car is an "investment". If anyone is investing in a car, they're going to lose every time (unless that investment is into making it 100% stock for the purpose of selling to a collector).

J
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baynsac said:
I am not bashing DF hood, I was going to buy one a few weeks ago. I just don't like others bashing VIS hood and saying you are cheap if you buy one.(I have one, which means you are talking to me)
I am not cheap at all and I buy things if I like it, no matter how much it costs. Above the guy says if I put a VIS hood on my car, I am putting civic parts on my nsx or that I should buy a 350z instead so I can afford good parts,Come on....

He talking all kind of stuff about the people who own VIS hood for no reason. I don't care about any brand name but don't call everyone else cheap just because you like to spend 3 times as much on your hood and thats all I was saying. Thats bull just because I paid less than you my hood is cheap, peice of crap??? According to the gentleman above(vancehu) Everyone with VIS hood is cheap with a civic budget and its for crappy high mileaged nsx or better yet you should sell your nsx and get a 350z. When thats far from the truth. As DF,VIS, all hoods not from factory, don't fit like factory fit PERIOD. They all need some extra work.

He is calling everyone cheap, when he is using his home equity to buy his extra expensive parts and thats why I said it was a bad investments. I very well know that any car is a bad invesment, especially parts you put in to a car. Thats why you buy what you like for your car because you like it not for any other reasons.

Read post #51. I am only responding not calling anyone out or trying to argue one way or the other. Just don't call other owners cheap just because they bought a less expensive hood. You can say how good DF is without bashing VIS right? Why not stick to that..

Let me add. There's nothing wrong with spending your money the way you want, but if others don't spend as much as you there is no reason to look down on them or talk down on them. We all love nsx and just want to have fun with it. Lets stick to doing that. Happy motoring....
Click to expand...

The subject of fitment on different hoods have been beaten to death. You just didn't do enough research to find them. As for bashing, I'm not bashing VIS other than telling those who couldn't see the value of Procar/DF hoods, and bashing them for being "too expensive" because they simply don't understand why they exist. As Tom mentioned, the real deal is over $10k, are you going to bash him for spending money on OEM piece?

As I have indicated, it is matter of perception of value. As for quality control, I have full faith with DF because I'm there quite often and I witness how the parts are made. I can't say the same about Procar, VIS, or any other maker simply because I never seen the manufacture process BUT have seen the finish products. Some turn out great, some not. Why do you think Procar made a second mold (NSXRR hood)? Perhaps they has some problems with the first one? This is a perception some people have, I have seen gen 1 Procar hood with great fitment, but I have also seen some that don't flush too well. I came to the conclusion that different car fits differently.

As for the problem with drtrong, I think it will be best just to contact DF direct and see if they can send him a different hood. If both hood don't fit, the problem is the car!!!

An advise to those who can't break out of the Civic mode (yes, that was indicated again, with sarcasm), find some one with the Type R suspension, or a complete Type R aero conversion, or have a pair of Type R seat, etc, check them out. If you still don't get it... Sorry...



Three years ago, a local guy ask me for a NSX purchase advise. He wanted a later NA2 but like the look of the pop up. I told him to get a 02 plus simply because it was the freshest offer, the ended up buying a 2001 for almost the same price as an 02. Guess what? He spend $15K not too long ago to do the 02 conversion.

Some people like to take their time and work their way up to the system. You may not understand it now, but perhaps later. NSX is not some thing you treated it lightly. they certainly don't do that in Europe or Japan. Some how, the current generation of NSX owners jump into their car for the cool factor, but don't stay long because they fail to understand what it is about.

baynsac said:
Buying a Real deal NSX-r hood $10,000
Buying a good copy that fits well (Procar)-3500
Buying a Copy of a Copy that claims it fits well(DF) 1500
Getting the same fitting hood (VIS)as DF for 1/3 of the price..Priceless:biggrin:
Click to expand...

That's pertty cute, did you come up with that on your own?

Spending thousands on different aftermarket NSX-R replica hoods: Over $10 grand
Spending hundreds at a shop get each one to fit right: Over $1grand
Spending time by offering personal experience to people who seek them: Free
Spending time on an Internet forum reading posts by a new member who had zero experience with these hoods, but making arguments with bunch of people: Priceless.
 
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Let's get back to the topic. When I put the hood on the car without the latch and screws, it looks fine but not perfect (except the inconsistent gap on the passenger and elevation of the corner of the windshield as you can see the pix). Once the screws are tightened up, a major difference can be noticed. My conclusion is the hinges are the major problem; off course, there are also the factory defects on the gaps and the corner of the windshield that can not be corrected with or without screws.

The question that I want to know: Do all OEM hinges have the same alignments of all NSX's, especially the screw holes so you don't have bend them left or right to put the screws in? For example, if I take the original OEM hood out and put a different OEM (not an aftermarket hood) hood on, would I still get the pefect fitment?

pbassjo can chime in since you had installed a lot of hoods.
 
Again, the key question is, through out the history of your car, to the best of your knowledge, has the car every had body panel removed/fixed?

You mentioned earlier that the vin sticker is still there, but that does not tell us that if other near by parts of the car been fiddle with.

If the answer is no, 100% no, yes, call DF and tell them you either want a different hood or a refund. They're good about that.

One last thing, if there is another NSX near by, you should try the hood on that car, if the result is the same, you know what to do.
 
Vancehu said:
Again, the key question is, through out the history of your car, to the best of your knowledge, has the car every had body panel removed/fixed?

You mentioned earlier that the vin sticker is still there, but that does not tell us that if other near by parts of the car been fiddle with.

If the answer is no, 100% no, yes, call DF and tell them you either want a different hood or a refund. They're good about that.

One last thing, if there is another NSX near by, you should try the hood on that car, if the result is the same, you know what to do.
Click to expand...

From the best of my knowledge, the car was not tampered- paint shield on the screws are intact, no chip or evidence of the screws were removed. Sam is very professional and very nice and he will replace the hood. I am very afraid that the 2nd one that he will make might be another problem; might not be the same problem.

Unfornately, I don't see anyone here where I live drive NSX at least I don't see one on the road nor on Prime.
 
pbassjo said:
Assuming you are installing the hood correctly, if the OEM hood is un-altered and fits perfectly and the A/M does not, it's not your car, regardless if the car had panels replaced/repaired or not.

I know DownForce to be sincere, good folks who try to please their customers and I am not surprised they doing a swap with you. IMO their NSX-R reproduction hood is about as good as it gets and in terms of overall quality inside and out, it is an excellent value.

IMO it is unlikely you will have new fitments problems but I am willing to bet that your new hood height at the driver's side hinge will not be perfect. At the least it will be acceptable but a touch high. At worst it will be the same.

A good collision repair shop should be able to get it to fit and look good if you can not.

I asked before and you did not respond. Are you painting the outside of the hood?
Click to expand...

Thank you, Joe. I did respond on the thread #59. I think you would have the body shop to paint it after the adjustment. Am i correct?

The main concern is that I don't want them to alter the body to fit the hood. It would not be worth it and I would have problem when I decide to switch it back to the OEM hood.
 
This just came to my mind. Probably some thing you guys don't want to see since every one expected a perfect fitment hood, but as I have indicated, each NSX can be slightly different from one another.

I had a NSX-R replica hood little over two years ago before DF came out with their version, and I had a problem similar to Enssex with the passenger side not flush with the fender. I was a little creative and solve the problem.

This may be confusing, but it is not hard to understand once you see the illustration. I had to draw it out so it doesn’t look good, but you will get the point.

What I did was bored out the hood latch (instead of circles, I bored it out to oval shape) about 2 to 3 mm to give me some wiggle room. I bolted the latch slightly towards the high side of the hood, and it forced/pushed the higher side of the fender down. Took me few tries to get the right height.

Make sense?

See picture.
 

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Makes sense Vancehu.... I know some have suggested this to the hinges for wiggleroom...but that is not cool...hopefully the second hood will be a better fit...It is interesting you say you have saw a Procar that was not perfect either... i think I just got a dud and the next one will be fine.. I hope





Vancehu said:
This just came to my mind. Probably some thing you guys don't want to see since every one expected a perfect fitment hood, but as I have indicated, each NSX can be slightly different from one another.

I had a NSX-R replica hood little over two years ago before DF came out with their version, and I had a problem similar to Enssex with the passenger side not flush with the fender. I was a little creative and solve the problem.

This may be confusing, but it is not hard to understand once you see the illustration. I had to draw it out so it doesn’t look good, but you will get the point.

What I did was bored out the hood latch (instead of circles, I bored it out to oval shape) about 2 to 3 mm to give me some wiggle room. I bolted the latch slightly towards the high side of the hood, and it forced/pushed the higher side of the fender down. Took me few tries to get the right height.

Make sense?

See picture.
Click to expand...
 
I will try it if the next one does not fit. Hopefully I don't have to do it. I know you guys would have the solutions. Thank you, Vance and Joe!:smile:

Vancehu said:
This just came to my mind. Probably some thing you guys don't want to see since every one expected a perfect fitment hood, but as I have indicated, each NSX can be slightly different from one another.

I had a NSX-R replica hood little over two years ago before DF came out with their version, and I had a problem similar to Enssex with the passenger side not flush with the fender. I was a little creative and solve the problem.

This may be confusing, but it is not hard to understand once you see the illustration. I had to draw it out so it doesn’t look good, but you will get the point.

What I did was bored out the hood latch (instead of circles, I bored it out to oval shape) about 2 to 3 mm to give me some wiggle room. I bolted the latch slightly towards the high side of the hood, and it forced/pushed the higher side of the fender down. Took me few tries to get the right height.

Make sense?

See picture.
Click to expand...
 
Just to make you guys feel a little better. I have seen a NSX-R OEM hood sits slightly higher on the passenger side. Not as drastic but a little. you have to put your fingers on it to feel it.

Also, because the replica hood is not dry carbon/autoclave, the flush with fender issue could happen under cold temperature. the resin will shrink/tighten up a little.

Just out of curiosity, I took my NSX out today for the first time in a month and took a good look at the fender flush issues you guys are having, and I noticed my was up slightly by about 1mm. It wasn't an issue during summer time when I drove my car almost daily. I guess the hot weather will soften the resin and the side of the hood will sit lower.
 
I forgot to mention that I moved the latch lock, not hood latch, to the passenger side to compensate the high point of the hood on the passenger side. However, It did not make the difference. So moving hood latch would be more affective than latch lock?
 
before moving anything I would push down in the latch area towards the side like mine (passenger) to see if it was sucked in any more would it make a difference?... it made no change on mine as the issue is the hood countour are OFF...


Putting the oem back on it sits lower therefore I have to adjust the bump stops up to give the perfect height






drtruong said:
I forgot to mention that I moved the latch lock, not hood latch, to the passenger side to compensate the high point of the hood on the passenger side. However, It did not make the difference. So moving hood latch would be more affective than latch lock?
Click to expand...
 
pbassjo said:
The only one I don't agree with is the suggestion that the Southern California cold makes the hood shrink and arc up. No way. If that's the case the NE hoods would look like potato chips in the winter.:biggrin:
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If the low 40's or high 30's temp in S. Cal cause my hood to go up 1mm, just imagine how much it will go up for those who live in Canada during mid December:biggrin:

Do you guys know DF test fit every one of their hood before shipping? They have over 10 NSXs at their shop almost daily for them to play with.
 
pbassjo said:
Let's get on the same page with our terms to better help you.

The "latch" is the part on the radiator support.

The "striker" is the part on the hood.

Which did you move Doc?
Click to expand...

I am sorry. I don't know the mechanic terminolgy, but the "thing" ( I guess it is the latch) that sit in front of the radiator. I moved that one to the driver side as far as it allows. I have not created the oval shape that Vance suggested yet. From the picture of Vance, he suggested to the striker (on the hood), but not the latch( in front of the radiator). Is that correct?
 
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baynsac said:
Why don't you start another thread to ask these questions and not hijack the OP thread who is trying to solve the problems he is having:rolleyes:?
Click to expand...


This is where I should have bowed out of this thread. See ya!:biggrin:
 
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here is my .02

i have installed a mugen dry carbon hood on my s2000's .. bolt it on in 10 minutes .. done.

I have installed on my na2 pop up headlight nsx, a 2002 stock honda hood, and b) a honda nsx-r hood. they all just bolted on.. not adjusting except maybe moving the latch slightly up or down.

i have seen downforce version 2 hoods installed on nsxs and asked the owner what was required to get good fitment and they said they just bolted it on.

if my aftermarket hood didn't fit i would ask an owner of another nsx it if could test it on their car, and or temporarily try their hood on mine, if i wasn't sure of the history of my car and to validate that my car isn't the issue. pryor to buying an aftermarket hood i would make sure the vendor stands behind it , if there are issues with fitment not cuased by me.

I would not ever start to modify my nsx (fenders adjustment etc) to fit a mal fiitting hood.

when i restored a 1968 camaro convertible and other gm cars that were drawn on drafting tables you did have to shim every part of the front end etc in order to get everything to line up. however this is an nsx that was designed on a cray super computer and if your aftermarket panel doesnt fit, it is either becuase your car has been damaged or the part is bad.. end of story.

thanks and best of luck and happy holidays

tom
 
pbassjo said:
This is where I should have bowed out of this thread. See ya!:biggrin:
Click to expand...

I'll join ya.

Good luck guys. I know it is a tough thing to work with, but spend some extra time and efforts and you will prevail.
 

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