CMST USA clearview carbon fiber hood - anyone have it?

[trojannemo]

Really digging this carbon fiber hood with the clearview window to peak the at the engine. Haven't seen it in person or been able to find anyone who has it that can discuss fitment, quality, durability and more importantly, the more basic things like what hood pins they went with or how they routed the windshield wiper nozzles considering the hood doesn't come prepared to accept them.

Anyone can comment? Thanks.

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[Nagare]

If there's no way to do the wiper fluids, could look into the different alternatives for doing that. There's RainX, ceramic coating, and something I keep seeing on Instagram called Glassparency. Should help it to stay clean so you don't need the fluid at least, wiper blades will still work.

 

[Cardude99]

If you can remove the center part for track driving and put it back on for daily use then it's pretty cool. If not then meh. It is an interesting hood but seems like it's trying to make the mustang into a zr1

 

[Hardmoney07]

I like it considered buying it but I’d like to see it on a car/video or in person first

 

[Powderd Toast]

Didn't that company fold before actually releasing any real product?

 

[Hardmoney07]

I don’t think so you can purchase the hood and there is a YouTube video about their ram air hood

 

[trojannemo]

Didn't that company fold before actually releasing any real product?

I don’t think so you can purchase the hood and there is a YouTube video about their ram air hood

It is most definitely available for purchase on eBay from the original manufacturer for $1300 a piece. I don't know the history with the company, but I know it's still for sale.

 

[KM5.0]

Picked up the hood about a week ago, I'm liking it a lot. Minor blemeshes around the rear edges but nothing I'm concerned of.

 

[trojannemo]

Looks great!

No hood pins? I thought it was somewhat a requirement or the hood might lift up? Are you using hood struts or the regular metal stick to hold up the hood? I've heard that CF hoods shouldn't be used with hood struts. Can you share a pic with the hood up? I'd love to see the underside. Did you pick it up from eBay at $1300 like I've seen it for sale? How long did it take for delivery?

 

[Hardmoney07]

That looks way better than I expected

 

[KM5.0]

Sorry for the late response.

No hood pins, though I may reconsider putting some on.
No struts, mounted on factory hardware.
And yes, I did order this from the ebay Ad and from purchasing on April 17, it took 6 days to arrive (Arizona to California)

I'll get some photos posted this week when I'm back in town.

Edit: The hood comes with four bolts for install with factory mounts and its own hood latch catch. The catch is a bit annoying when closing the hood, but is adjustable so I just need to tweak it.

 

[trojannemo]

Thanks for the update. Looking forward to the pics.

 

[KM5.0]

Got some photos though if there is anything specific you're looking for let me know.

My only complaint with the underside is what they did with the ventalation area, its not really appealing but I bought this hood to avoid having to open up the engine bay at shows/meets and because its the best hood I've seen so I'll live with it. (They came with covers which can be reinstalled again if you choose to do so.)

The hood latch catch isnt the best looking either, but it does its job.

There aren't any holes to attach the wiper fluid hose though there are holes for the nozzles in the back but I rarely use my wiper fluid so I just tucked out of site for a clean look.

Now that I am back in town and can take a close look at everything since I now have time, I've noticed one decent sized crack toward the rear of the hood near the egde of the window which appears to be a manufacturing issue, not shipping as the package was in great conditon when it arrived. It looks bad in the photo, but in person its quite thin and looks to be an easy fix compared to paying to ship the hood back to get one of the other two the seller has. It doesnt appear to be spreading and it is the only corner that has this issue.

I am not too picky with cosmetic aftermarket parts, though for $1300 it could be a little cleaner underneath but for me its not too bad. If you do order it, just make sure you look over every piece.

Overall, I like it and can live with a few ugly/embarassing aspects of it underneath and having to fix that corner since no one else seems to make a hood like this and it really makes the car stand out a bit.

 

[trojannemo]

Thanks for the detailed info and pictures.

Do you think it is actually possible to use the windshield wiper fluid with this hood? Is the window glass or plexiglass?

 

[KM5.0]

You should be able to, though I'm not sure what would be the best solution as this is my first aftermarket hood. Without drilling into the hood, you could get a sheet of adhesive back heatshield and trim around the window to keep it visible and possibly hide the hoses under that.

And for the window material, it appears to be polycarbonate, similar to what Corvette owners used in their hood windows. Though I may be wrong on the exact material. It is slightly flexible as I can see it flex and vibrate while driving.

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