Hidden hood pins for CF/lightened hoods?

[Matticus91]

On the move with my repairs and I ordered a new CF hood. However I see post after post about needing hood pins due to the shake the lighter hoods get on these cars without pins.

I've ordered a set of Aerocatch flush mount latches but would really prefer not to have anything showing.

Does anyone know of an alternative? Something that is internal only and won't require visible latches on the top of the car?

Comparison...

With hood latches I ordered:


Without hood latches (much cleaner look imo):

[Stewy_604]

The Aerocatch ones are one of the best out there. I've yet to see anything that is hidden. It always makes me cry to see a brand new CF hood get cut and/or drilled for pins/latches. Pins are definitely cheap insurance, but not always required. I ran a CF hood on my SiR back in the day for years, and didn't run pins. It all comes down to the structure of the hood and how 'beefy' the mount/latch locations are.

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by Stewy_604

The Aerocatch ones are one of the best out there. I've yet to see anything that is hidden. It always makes me cry to see a brand new CF hood get cut and/or drilled for pins/latches. Pins are definitely cheap insurance, but not always required. I ran a CF hood on my SiR back in the day for years, and didn't run pins. It all comes down to the structure of the hood and how 'beefy' the mount/latch locations are.

Yeah it looks like I'll be going with the AeroCatch system. I'm going to try to install it myself, which is effing terrifying.

[Stewy_604]

Just remember..."measure twice, cut once"

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by Stewy_604

Just remember..."measure twice, cut once"

It's going to be measure 5 times, cut a little, measure again, cut some more, repeat lol

[kirill1221]

get the latches professionally painted to match hood color before installing them?

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by kirill1221

get the latches professionally painted to match hood color before installing them?

Yes this is actually what i'm thinking now. I'm going to just install them myself and have them paint it all at once I think, this way it will match perfectly and have the same protective finish.

[ilikebmxbikes]

what carbon hood did you go with? a Seibon is a thicker and heavier CF hood and may not require latches at all. Revozport and some of the lighter ones absolutely require latches.

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by ilikebmxbikes

what carbon hood did you go with? a Seibon is a thicker and heavier CF hood and may not require latches at all. Revozport and some of the lighter ones absolutely require latches.

Yeah it's the Seibon which is heavier but there's a few 1M and 135i folks who have used it and still had hood shake at higher speeds without pins. Actually the hood in the pic of the 1M above is a Seibon and the guy ended up getting some cracks in his paint from hood flex in the triple digits.

I'd rather be safe than sorry and I frequently do long drives where I'm averaging pretty high numbers. Plus if i get it painted and then discover i need some solution that involves drilling i'm really risking damage to the paint.