Burned the midnight oil to install a carbon fiber hood, and a light bar on a hardcore, rockrawlling jeep.

Manufacture: Seibon
Weight: 20ish lbs.
hood pins: quick-latch
Installation: easy
Fitment: A plus

So yeah, not everyone likes CF hoods but im a 90's kid and i like rice, so there you go. Also did a cool little mod on my buddy's jeep.

The seibon hood is well made. It comes with removable rain guards for the vents and hood scoop, and its light enough that my headlights kinda sorta need to be adjusted. Fitment is spot on, and it was packaged extremely well from Seibon. No waves in the CF layer, it is perfect.

Fiberglass skeleton is very thick, and you probably don't need to run hood pins. I choose to run hood pins anyways because I'm a safety sally. Time will tell how long the gel coat lasts. They used a stock hood as the mold, but heavily reinforced the latch area. The latch is steel. All the edges are rounded.

Hoodpins is from quick-latch and are very expensive but they are well made. If you want to save some cash, you can buy knock offs but hey, its your safety, not mine. I used existing holes in the radiator support for the pins, and cutting holes into the CF hood wasn't too bad if you followed instructions. ALot simpler to install than Aero-catch hood pins.

Installation wasn't too bad. I got the fitment on the money on the first try. The windshield nozzle was a HUGE PITA, and then running the hose required drilling out some holes to install some hose clips. Other than that, installation went pretty smooth. ALot of the time spent was adjusting the hood pins and sealing the edges of the holes with silicon, and running my ditch light wiring through the hood and reinstalling my alarm hood pin. Stupid little optional things that end up taking up alot of time.

anyways here are the pics:

Attached Images

     

Looks nice on your MGM. I think this would look good on most colors, but possibly not as good on black as the contrast would be lighter. IMO. Now you need a supercharger. Make use of those vents and help your 5500+ Runner get around better.

Lol no supercharger. I thought about it but I can’t get myself to use premium gas and compromise on reliability.

Yeah I’m thinking about putting the slow runner on a diet. I’m thinking about doing a rear seat delete and lighter front n passenger seats, and replacing some of the steel armor with aluminum. We’ll see.

I think cf hoods look right at home on black

Seibon had a decent rep back when I was in the S2000 scene. Looks good on the 4Runner.

Do yourself a favor and get a set of 4.88 gears installed. You will be amazed with the difference in drive-ability. Those 34inch tires with stock 3.73 gears...Yeah...slow runner is right!
A complete set with install should be about $2500.00 and no need to spend $$$ on aluminum skid plates!
AMLOR

i totally agree on the 4.88

I have to agree with AMLOR regarding the skids. I run a full set of steel C4 skids from the TRD Pro integration plate to a rear diff skid. I would save about 68 pounds by switching to aluminum. That’s not enough to making any impactful difference. Also, steel, as you already know, are stronger and easier to fix. Besides you live in Southern California and don’t have to worry about corrosion. I can see removing the rear seats if you don’t carry anyone back there. The convenience factor of sleeping and loading up the back would be worth it. Don’t get a roof top tent. Just my opinions.
As I recall, Mrblah has 4:56 gears.

lol, i already have 4.88.

I have that Kaizen mentality of always improving, so always throwing ideas out.

Carbon fiber hood looks awesome. You got a gun rack installed yet in case some ****ers try and jack your hood?

Cool mod, especially on MGM. Makes me wonder how one would look on my army green .

Anyone know the weight savings on this over the stock hood? $1650 is expensive, but definitely a unique modification you will not see out there much.

weight saving is probably 20 to 30lbs.


Im a sucker for CF, so i think they look good on everything lol.

Here's a link to other's who have done the same.

Feature Friday: Carbon Fiber Hoods Setups For 5th Gen 4Runner

Great write up. I actually love how they point out that it'd likely be a similar cost or even cheaper replacement for a damaged hood. Probably one of the best opportunities one could have for doing one of these.

A few questions;

1. Will the CF eventually fade or get discoloured over time?

2. Do you think it will be safe to run without hood pins? (considering regular city/highway driving)

3. I have the factory insulator. Are there holes to re-use this?

Thanks!

1. yes. You have to 3m or PPF or ceramic coat it if you know your vehicle will see alot of UV. My vehicle is garaged at home and at work, so i am leaving it alone for now. The gel coat can be refinished after it looks raggedy. I'll portably get it 3m'd also, although i'm not in a hurry.

2. Maybe. There is always a small chance that the hood will fail, no matter how well the hood is built because that steel latch is Laminated/bonded into the fiberglass skeleton. The quick latch is the most low profile and easiest to install hood pins. I think th odds are pretty low for a failure, but its not 100% risk free. The seibon hood skeleton is VERY THICK, making it very rigid.

3. Maybe. If you choose to go with the hood without the side vents, you can probably reinstall the factory insulator, by drilling out some holes that are already marked since Seibon used the factory hood as a mold. You probably wont be able to do it with the vented hood, because the side vent covers will be in the way. I didn't bother trying since it was approaching 2 am, and still had other pressing issues to work on.