aftermarket hood-help

[kgrasso]

I'm looking to replace the hood on my 2000 firebird to a ram air hood to benefit the air induction system. It's not in my budget to by a GM hood and i have not been able to locate a salvaged one. I am looking at one from RAM AIR HOOD.COM. I am looking for any input as to whether this is a good product, or if there are any other options. Any info would help. Thanks.

[thenuge876]

Some of the other guys can post up about it, i was looking into the pricing a new hood out for my car....how much more is it for a GM hood then one from ram air????

[kgrasso]

price comparison

the ram air hood from ram air hood.com is $820.00 delivered to my buddies body shop here in northern wisconsin. that is the hood, grills , and ram air decals. the air box is extra. the price I've seen for gm is anywhere from $1500 to $2000, not including shipping. I bid on one on e-bay that was off a wreck and that sold for $1025 plus $200 for shipping.

[thenuge876]

Thats defiantely a better deal then, as far as quality goes im not sure but some of the other guys can chime in about that. They are fiberglass correct?

[kgrasso]

it's not fiberglass, they call it oem engineered materials. it appears to be the same plastic material used on body panels and such on todays vehicles. they claim it's a better quality than fiberglass so therefore a better fit.

[zer0signal667]

it's not fiberglass, they call it oem engineered materials. it appears to be the same plastic material used on body panels and such on todays vehicles. they claim it's a better quality than fiberglass so therefore a better fit.

The fit is going to be more a product of tooling and the forming process, as long as the material hasn't been grossly mis-selected. I'd find/wait for feedback from people who have actually bought hoods from this manufacturer.

OEM engineered material is probably fancy marketing terminologyfor some specific fiberglass-reinforced resin. The website says:
-Parts Are Made by Resin Injection Molding and Hand Lay-Up (No Chopper Gun)
I can take a guess that the injection molded parts are grilles and such, and the hoods are laid up by hand- in other words, built by hand by applying sheets (of pre-impregnated fiberglass mat) to a mold.

[Black97]

It has been mentioned here several times before. Check with the manufacturer if any crash testing has been done with the hood.

Some aftermarket hoods have been coming through the windshield in a crash and if the driver didn't duck fast enough you know what could happen!

[FourthGenCamaro5]

Just from my experience I bought one of the SLP Ultra-Z Camaro hoods. I bought it because my original hood was dented after a wreck. I really liked the looks of the hood, but it was made out of that 'resin-OEM-materials-stuff.' My hood cracked after about 10 times of closing it. Luckly I was working with SLP and was able to return the hood (without any shipping costs or any other fees). I ended up going with a good ol' OEM hood. So just be careful with the aftermarket hoods. And believe me the OEM ramair hoods are very expensive like you said. I think the SS hood for my car was going to be $1700 from the factory compaired to $600 for the standard Z-28/V6 Camaro hood.

[TraceZ]

Just from my experience I bought one of the SLP Ultra-Z Camaro hoods. I bought it because my original hood was dented after a wreck. I really liked the looks of the hood, but it was made out of that 'resin-OEM-materials-stuff.' My hood cracked after about 10 times of closing it. Luckly I was working with SLP and was able to return the hood (without any shipping costs or any other fees). I ended up going with a good ol' OEM hood. So just be careful with the aftermarket hoods. And believe me the OEM ramair hoods are very expensive like you said. I think the SS hood for my car was going to be $1700 from the factory compaired to $600 for the standard Z-28/V6 Camaro hood.

That is strange. I always thought the SLP hoods were the best available. They did afterall make them for general motors. They are/were a OEM supplier for GM. I know they made all the LT1 SS hoods for GM as well as LT1 WS6 hoods. I have the SLP LT1 Ultra-Z hood on my car. It is the second one I have purchaced from them and I have not had a complaint with either one. Maybe you just got a freak problem hood?

[FourthGenCamaro5]

Yeah I agree with you TraceZ. Thats why I went with the UltraZ hood. I'm thinking I had a weak hood. I've never heard of anyone having problems with any other SLP product. I would definiatly not have a problem trying them again. I just wanted my car back and didn't want to have to deal with another hood.