New Ram Air Hood!!!!!

[LT1 Driven]

I just dropped the Firebird off at the body shop tonite to have my new Predator Ram Air hood installed, I will get it back in about five days. I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep tonite, I can't wait to get it back, they bolted the hood on to the car while I was there and it was pretty close to a perfect fit, Suncoast Creations did pretty good, I will post pictures when I get it back.
Sleepless in PA.

[LoudLT1]

LT1 driven,
i know what your going thru..
i waited about 6 days for prep and paint.
well worth the wait..
enjoy !!!!
eddie

[raroZ28]

sweet man. Is suncoast dot approved?

[LT1 Driven]

I don't know if they are DOT approved or not, they are fiberglass and gelcoat hoods.

[jessica2112]

I have heard many good things about their quality. Congradulations!
Someday I will get a ram air hood............

[redbird94]

its very exciting man. i bought my hood for 300 brand new some guy bought it for an 80's car thinkging it would fit. his loss my gain. i took my hood straight to the paint shop came home unbolted my hood. and then i drove up 2 days later and had them help me install the hood. i love it. i have a tecstar ram air hood it is close to the factory WS6 hood.

[LT1 Driven]

Wow! that was a good deal, I paid alot more than that for mine.

[Joe 1320]

I don't know if they are DOT approved or not, they are fiberglass and gelcoat hoods.

They are not DOT approved. That approval is what makes the SLP hoods so much more expensive. DOT approval means the hood will fracture as part of a crumple zone in the even of a front end impact. Otherwise, the hood may end up breaking off the hinges and heading straight into the passenger compartment. Something like that is rare, but it is possible. Suncoast hoods seem to be a hit and miss gamble as to the fittment. I've done several installs on friend's cars. Some went on pretty easy, others required more work to fit correctly.

[LT1 Driven]

They are not DOT approved. That approval is what makes the SLP hoods so much more expensive. DOT approval means the hood will fracture as part of a crumple zone in the even of a front end impact. Otherwise, the hood may end up breaking off the hinges and heading straight into the passenger compartment. Something like that is rare, but it is possible. Suncoast hoods seem to be a hit and miss gamble as to the fittment. I've done several installs on friend's cars. Some went on pretty easy, others required more work to fit correctly.

Oh Well! Even if my new hood is a death trap it still looks cool and I guess I was one of the lucky ones, my hood was a near perfect fit, maybe they're getting better at them.

[wolfdogs]

I don't know if they are DOT approved or not, they are fiberglass and gelcoat hoods.

no..they never had thier hoods tested in accordance with dot regs. the new car manufac's have to do it, aftermarket does not. the responsible aftermarket folks usually do. nobody wants to get decapitated in a front end collision.

[wolfdogs]

I have heard many good things about their quality. Congradulations!
Someday I will get a ram air hood............

actually, just the opposite.

I hope he has good luck with his.

[toddwirges]

...was a long time ago

Haven't been on the board in a long time, because I was done learning about my '93. But, I just recently picked up a 2000 LS1, so I'm back.

So.. it was a long time ago... but back when I was looking to upgrade the hood on my '93, there were lots of posts about not so much just quality but also the baffling in the Suncoast hoods not being up to par.

It was a long time ago but if I remember right the main issue was whether or not the baffling was sufficiently designed to keep water out of the intake. SLP hoods, you're supposed to be able to drive 100mph in a torrential downpour and be allright. But I'm not sure if this was the case with certain suncoast hoods, and I'm almost certain I remember this as the concern with some of them.

I know it sounds like I am being a major naysayer here but I would do some more research about your hood, just to be safe. You might want to be careful driving in extremely heavy rain, if you do that sort of thing at times.

Peace.