iCarbon Quality Issues?

[TPLSM3]

Originally Posted by thez99

Is that a double sided or single? Cant believe it would lift that much on the corners just dicking around on a track..

Single sided CF, there's a couple things that come into play with that pic as well. First off, it was pretty windy that day, getting the wind gust just at the right angle lifts it. Secondly by the time that pic was taken, the hood was slightly out of adjustment already because I drove an hour on the highway with it lifting pretty much the whole time. At certain points I got up to 90mph+ and it got a bit sketchy. The drivers side of the hood is actually tight because the factory hood latch is located closer to that side. The passenger side is where most of the lift is. BMW should have used a double latch system. I did not run hood pins on my CF hood for my E36 M3 as it had the factory latches on each side of the hood. Never had any issues with lift on the E36 M3 due to the factory latch system. Oh well, I'm waiting for my aerocatches to come in so I can get this all setup properly.

[mineo77]

looks good! the latches work well

[thez99]

Originally Posted by TPLSM3

Single sided CF, there's a couple things that come into play with that pic as well. First off, it was pretty windy that day, getting the wind gust just at the right angle lifts it. Secondly by the time that pic was taken, the hood was slightly out of adjustment already because I drove an hour on the highway with it lifting pretty much the whole time. At certain points I got up to 90mph+ and it got a bit sketchy. The drivers side of the hood is actually tight because the factory hood latch is located closer to that side. The passenger side is where most of the lift is. BMW should have used a double latch system. I did not run hood pins on my CF hood for my E36 M3 as it had the factory latches on each side of the hood. Never had any issues with lift on the E36 M3 due to the factory latch system. Oh well, I'm waiting for my aerocatches to come in so I can get this all setup properly.

Just another added testimony as to why ICarbon should have hoodpins as an INSTALLED option. The damn things obviously require the pins, why the hell not just have them installed to save us the trouble and time...

[Kcyrusm]

yeah, there are maybe 5 people now, including me with the corner lifted... mine is only on the passenger side. I'm also getting my hoodpins installed, which I think is tacky for a BMW. I'm surprised you are giving it a 9.5 and saying there are no fitment issues. All in all, its a quality piece I guess... I've also started to notice white marks/scratches around the vents as well. They are on the creases so I know its a manufacturing defect. I'll probably attribute it to their poor coating. My hood has no haziness either, just the trunk.

Can you wet sand the foggy hazy parts without having to re-do the clear coat? And while I'm asking, can anyone confirm that it is actually clear coated and not just gell coated? That would explain the crappy hazy spots.

[Simon_135i]

I know a few of you have PM-ed in the past about the pins and honestly, its not that bad. It really doesnt take away the overall aesthetics. I'm sure those who installed it would agree that seeing the lift bother you even more than seeing the hood pins installed, then again I am only speaking for myself.

From an overall fitment, I say 7-8 sound about right. anything 9-10 is almost perfection and that only thing that fits perfect on my vehicle is the BMW performance bumper and side skirts.

[thez99]

Ok, so does anyone know of a CF hood that is of better overall more consistent fitment? Perhaps one that doesnt need pins?

[Aries932]

Originally Posted by thez99

Ok, so does anyone know of a CF hood that is of better overall more consistent fitment? Perhaps one that doesnt need pins?

+1....can we get Vorsteiner to start production again on their hoods...their fitment is always great.

[mineo77]

Originally Posted by thez99

Just another added testimony as to why ICarbon should have hoodpins as an INSTALLED option. The damn things obviously require the pins, why the hell not just have them installed to save us the trouble and time...

classic...should iCarbon pay your car payment too?

[onefastman]

I hope they keep producing products for these cars even if it is only hoods, trunks, diffusers, lips, etc.

They make a dam fine product

[thez99]

Originally Posted by mineo77

classic...should iCarbon pay your car payment too?

Is it that hard to get my point?

If EVERYONE who buys the damn things is basically forced to buy pins for em by the hood naturally flexing and rising on its own during any kind of fast driving, that makes the pins basically an essential part of the hood then. So you, sir...

Obviously the customer would pay extra for ICarbon to do this, but then rather than worry about drilling thru the hood you just spent well over a grand for, you just pay them, they have a reputable shop install the pins and then warrant the quality under the same warranty as the hood itself, therefore leaving the customer blameless if anything should appear wrong with the pins installation afterwards, which is as it should be for such a fine product you're buying anyways...

In my eyes its the same as having a shop install suspension mods on your car for you rather than you spending the loads of time, sweat n tears doing it yourself. Its a CHOICE but one Id definately make. ICarbon could just make it a purchasable option on their site or on whoever's site theyre being distributed from, i.e. orig. price for hood + so n so amount of money for pins installed = end price, or just end price without the pins if you prefer not to have them
It would make buying one of these hoods from them ALOT more appealing to me. Then I get the hood, pins are already installed, ICarbon sends simple instruction as to where to drill the holes for the pins, easy peasy, install is done then I am free to think about painting, etc. It just removes one more step from the process.

[thez99]

Btw. I was just cleaning my engine up a bit and i noticed, not really for the first time i guess, that the latch system for the hood on our cars is of two part. The large hook latches below and the square hook latches below next to it, its not just a single hook latch system...so where is this huge flexing problem coming from??

Honestly I could see it happening if its a dbl sided hood because full complete carbon fiber is of course less stiff than the regular make so yea it could happen. But a single sided hood, theres still the whole inside part of the hood made of fiberglass which is stiffer and should keep the hood from moving or flexing at all (unless your going like 130+mph) So wheres the problem coming from really

[mineo77]

Originally Posted by thez99

Is it that hard to get my point?

If EVERYONE who buys the damn things is basically forced to buy pins for em by the hood naturally flexing and rising on its own during any kind of fast driving, that makes the pins basically an essential part of the hood then. So you, sir...

Obviously the customer would pay extra for ICarbon to do this, but then rather than worry about drilling thru the hood you just spent well over a grand for, you just pay them, they have a reputable shop install the pins and then warrant the quality under the same warranty as the hood itself, therefore leaving the customer blameless if anything should appear wrong with the pins installation afterwards, which is as it should be for such a fine product you're buying anyways...

In my eyes its the same as having a shop install suspension mods on your car for you rather than you spending the loads of time, sweat n tears doing it yourself. Its a CHOICE but one Id definately make. ICarbon could just make it a purchasable option on their site or on whoever's site theyre being distributed from, i.e. orig. price for hood + so n so amount of money for pins installed = end price, or just end price without the pins if you prefer not to have them
It would make buying one of these hoods from them ALOT more appealing to me. Then I get the hood, pins are already installed, ICarbon sends simple instruction as to where to drill the holes for the pins, easy peasy, install is done then I am free to think about painting, etc. It just removes one more step from the process.

i see your point, however hood pin install isnt that straight forward. You really need to do the install while the hood is actually on the car, esp for pin placement etc. there is some tweaking and lots of adjustment to make the hood pins fit correctly. Unfortunately I dont know an easier way of doing this and I am lucky to have ordered mine through HPF who installed the hood and hood pins when it arrived. They told me they never have heard of a hood coming pre-drilled for pins and wouldnt suggest it cause of the tweaking involved, esp since any aftermarket body mod will need some tweaking to get alignment and fitment correct.

I am just saying this should not be a reason to not get the hood.

[thez99]

How much tweaking could be necessary?? I mean, you cut through the hood and install the pins..

For our cars specifically..the 1 series. I cant believe theres a whole crap load of different areas of places to install two hood pins. All it would take is for ICarbon to have a hood installed on a 1er by this shop they are using, have the shop mark where exactly the pins need to be located on the hood to fit the 1 series correctly and then make a copy of this somehow. Mark the location for the pins on a printed sheet or something, so anytime they get a new hood to do, they just look at the sheet, measure to the location and bang.

Its for the same hood, for the same car, I just dont see why there could be alot of messing around needed. And if so, let their shop do it and have it taken care of. Itd only take one installation to measure and locate the proper area to install, then after its marked on a paper copy, all they do is measure the new hoods like i said before, as opposed to every single shop that needs to install them having to take the extra time and money to do so. Seems more time efficient and economic for everyone in my eyes.

Tbh thou, im sure ICarbon would just simply say its not financially worth it to them to offer this, even though im pretty damn sure it would sell them another hood (to me) if they did so I wouldnt really buy that excuse. I dunno, guess just wishful thinking. Rather than pay $1150 shipped for a single side CF hood and then load another couple hundred atleast into it for pins and installation and then even more for painting and have a stock hood sitting oddly in my garage..guess ill just stick with the one i gots

[TPLSM3]

thez99,
I think you're missing the point that there are variances between vehicles even though they can be the same year, model, etc. Because of the tight tolerances that placement of hoodpins require, the hood really needs to be on YOUR car & positioned correctly to be able to have hood pins installed correctly. Any good bodyshop should be able to tackle installing hood pins or aerocatches properly. Not sure what the big deal is with having a good bodyshop do the install properly. I don't see a flaw with the design of the iCarbon hood. If anything, I'm suprised BMW did not use a dual latch system like on some of their other vehicles (ie. my E36 M3 had dual latches and a safety catch). The 1ers have the single latch with a safety catch in the center. There's no CF hood out there that I would run on this vehicle without hoodpins or aerocatches. The single latch is not enough for any lightweight hood. I just received my aerocatches today, so once I get everything painted & installed, I'll post up some pics. Aerocatches are the way to go if you want it to look as sleek as possible. Bottom line....I'm extremely happy of the fitment and quality of the hood. The customer service is a different story....

[thez99]

Well..how long am i gonna have to wait on a hood from ICarbon?

[Simon_135i]

Originally Posted by thez99

Well..how long am i gonna have to wait on a hood from ICarbon?

Dtm.... Is your answer...

[mineo77]

Originally Posted by thez99

Well..how long am i gonna have to wait on a hood from ICarbon?

DTM, HPautowerks, or HPF should be able to get you one no problem

[onefastman]

Get one asap though.

I am afraid icarbon might not step back into the 1er market and if thats the case this could be all that is left.

I hope its not the case tho...

[Kcyrusm]

iCarbon can't even drill the holes right on their hoods and trunks for install. That would just add to their things they can screw up.

[Yvette]

you aren't buying the cf hood because it wasn't pre-drilled for pins and dont want to spend extra $ for paint and the way your stock hood sit in the corner inside your garage.....
well, you shouldn't mod your car then. Actually I am quite happy there is a company that produce high quality stuff and not only that also affordable for us. Waiting was bitching tho

[thez99]

Originally Posted by e90sexion

you aren't buying the cf hood because it wasn't pre-drilled for pins and dont want to spend extra $ for paint and the way your stock hood sit in the corner inside your garage.....
well, you shouldn't mod your car then. Actually I am quite happy there is a company that produce high quality stuff and not only that also affordable for us. Waiting was bitching tho

Theres a huge difference between buying mods that are bolt on with the stock parts being smaller and easy to store or sell, and buying a huge hood thats expensive and then requires additional money and time spent on it after just to make it usable and store a huge stock piece in my garage..

It would make a difference to have them pre-install the pins.

[Liub]

Happy to report that I have received my grills... About 6 months from when I paid to receiving them. Not all iCarbon's fault I guess, 50%.