Hey everyone,
Just tried to install my new vis drift hood on the fc. Everything seems like it lines up well but it wont latch all the way down. First click is ok but it wont go down and click all the way down to hold the hood secure??? any problems with this before? any info would be greatly appreciated!!
thanks

 

why do you think everyone does hood pins with cf hoods. they dont latch well. at least you say that it lines up well better than alot of hoods i see.

 

No need for pins. I have been 150 mph in my car without pins with a CF hood. The spring on the stock latch is designed for a 50# metal hood. Go to the hardware store and replace the stock spring with a lighter one and it will latch.

 

push down hard on it all my c/f hoods i had to push down for them to latch.

 

I have to do the same on my FC, after I replaced the heavy OEM hood with an OEM aluminum hood.

 

You may just have to adjust the latch itself.
Loosen the two bolts that hold it and raise it up a bit- the mounting holes are slotted for just this purpose.

 

I dont know about the fitment of the hood on the FC, but on my FD the hood did not really fit all that well, with gaps on all sides of about 3/16" and also the leading/front edge was still sticking up slightly versus the rest of the body, mostly in the corners. As a result, even when latched properly the front of the hood would wiggle up and down slightly (air was catching underneath the corners) and so I wasn't really comfortable with it. Also I have heard of the latch on the hood being pulled or broken away from the soft fiberglass that holds it. So I went with hood pins in conjunction with the stock latch, and was able to get the corners of the hood to sit down behind the headlights and look normal. I used them as much for adjustment as I did for safety.

Also, I'd love to see pics of this hood on an FC, especially painted, because I'm considering it for myself.

 

AFAIK they use different hood latch springs for aluminum and steel hoods. put the right spring in and you dont have to push so hard.

 

hey guys.
thanks for the replies.
I've tried pushing that sucka down as hard as I could, to the point where I was afraid of cracking the fibreglass or even worse the clear on the top of the hood. I'm going to raise the latch to se if that works... I didnt even know you could do that! Also Im going to go with hood pins to be on the safe side. Im looking at the flush mount from top secret, of the flush mount from bride that locks. any experience with either of these brands?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Top-S...spagenameZWDVW


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/New-V...spagenameZWDVW

thanks everyone.

Rob

 

The top link is a genuine Aerocatch system, the other is knock off.

Neither of those are from Top Secret or Bride.

The aerocatch system is good - i have a set to install on a Mazdaspeed hood for an FD here and they can be a little bit of a pain to setup. You really need to have some experience with installing pins to know some of the tricks to get these babies working well.

Once they're setup they work excellent.

 

Does anyone listen? Change the spring and the hood will latch.

 

Are you sure about that? Cause i don't remember any play in the latch

 

I heard about different latches for the steel\alum hood; but never confirmed if it was true or not. To be honest, the issue doesn't bother me (enough for me to buy the correct latch); but if I can make it 100% oem like by just replacing the spring

Does mazda sell the srping by itself?

 

hardware stores sell springs.

I got mine there.. in fact I got several for a few dollars and tried them out until I found one that worked best.

 

A little off topic, but has anyone used a LIM actuator to pop up the hood and lock it down? Perhaps a quite a bit excessive, but just trying to think outside the box, but in the hood

 

I'd avoid both of those ebay auctions and get them from a Authorized USA vendor. The one in the first link looks like a legit Aerocatch setup, but you can probably get them cheaper through AutoRnD: https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?t=640989

The second link you posted as classicauto said thats a knock off. Avoid those like the plague.



*On Topic*
The stock aluminum hood has always taken a little effort to latch on my FC. I just give it a short quick slam and it latches. I don't think that would be such a great idea with a FG\CF hood though. I'm gonna have to get that fixed when I install my new hood. I'll be using the latch on my FG hood and a set of Aerocatch hood pins.

Good call. I'll have to try that.

 

What I did was I first moved the latch up, there is some play there. After that didn't work, I went on ebay and found a TII latch. I swapped the springs and it worked perfectly. I then readjusted my latch to it's original position.

As far as hood pins go... USE THEM! If you want to get the flush locking ones, get them from AutoRND.

Take it from personal experience. I had a VIS hood on my other car and the latch broke off the hood. The hood flew up and cracked my windshield, dented the roof and destroyed the hood.

 

I really liked the cheap aluminum pins I used on my FD. The top pin was made into the latch plate and so you never had to worry about keeping up with the pin, because it stayed on the hood. Also you could just walk up to the hood, flip both rings up, pull them forward to pull the pins out, and then pull up on them to raise the hood.

The only thing is that they are more noticeable, but they never bothered me.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Silve...spagenameZWDVW

 

I dodn't understand how changing the springs would help? Even if I go with a softer spring how is that going to change? With the beefy spring in there and me pressing as hard as I can(without cracking the hood) it doesnt latch. Im sure me pressing that hard on the current spring is more than using the softer spring. It sems like the spring would have to be shorter, not softer.

 

Re-read what you just wrote. A softer spring would let you push down on the hood more. Even more so, it will allow you to shut the hood using it's own weight. The reason why you're not able to latch it is because the spring is too strong. Length is not the problem here.

 

Trust me man, I've been there. Just get a softer spring. A shorter spring wouldn't do anything. The spring on your latch right now is rated for a steel hood, and aluminum hood is a lot lighter. Once you change out the springs, all you'd have to do is drop the hood down and it should latch. In the event that the hood still doesn't latch, a slight push should help out.

 

I understand what you guys are saying. I would imagine that me pressing down the hood would more than make up for any weight difference with the new hood. That is why it doesn't make sense to me. Meaning.... Me pressing extremely hard on the harder spring should give more travel than just dropping the hood with a softer spring.

Anyway. You guys have been there and done it so Ill be going out to buy new springs. Thanks everyone. Will post pics when I get it "Sitcheeated"

Rob

 

where can i get this spring and how does it look like and is this a hard job to replace it. I have some issue just like you guys. I have to push really hard down to get the cf hood latch and I really need to change that spring because I don't want to break my cf hood and no one on here that has it would like to hear that. thanks =) in advance

 

is this thread still alive?

 

need some advice thanks.