Downforce hood owners?

[EuroBoutique]

I agree with the above poster about TRANSPORT - judging by his location in the midwest, unless you live nearby this won't be an option.

Shipping large delicate items (hoods, trunks, hardtops, etc) requires professional packaging and maybe even crating to protect it from damage. I've tried to ship two s2000 trunklids and both got destroyed by FEDEX so I finally gave up!

P.S. I have a lot of experience packaging and shipping wheels and other difficult items but for extra large items like hoods you really need the proper supplies to pack it well. I could not find any box appropriate for my trunklid so I imagine a hood is even harder

Good news is after reading all this - it has inspired me to contact a local hot rod friend of mine who did some work for me in the past. I'm going to ask him if he wants to attempt the NSX-R hood. Only thing is I need to find a donor 2002+ NSX hood first...hehe

 

[Caustic]

I own a Downforce ducted hood (with the radiator ducting as well) and I have to say the hood was near perfect. Fitment is near perfect too, and if it wasn't, pbassjo masked it well when he installed it. I can't see wanting to take a super rare '02+ hood then doing a custom duct job on it. For OEM fitment? I would bet that another OEM hood on anyone's car would not quite fit the same as the one that came with the car. Besides, the DF-R hood is carbon fiber awesomenessessess.

I am extremely happy with my hood, but it did come with a side effect I never expected. I can actually see the heat from the radiator rising out of the duct while sitting at a stoplight. Odd at first, now I just smile everytime I notice.

 

[Osiris_x11]

'02+ NSX-R hood via Vancehu/BD?

for the record the downforce hood was not made from a nsx-r hood.. (i didn't want to post.. but had to keep this accurate. that is enough said)

i would also add that i have seen several downforce version 2 hoods that fit very nicely (almost perfect) out of the box.

Probably from the Procar hood...........

Finally, for the money i think the downforce hood is the best nsx-r hood for the nsx bar none. as stated before i have seen several that fit almost perfect. The hood stands on it's own and doesn't need false pictures or statements to sell it.

FWIRC... Down Force were loaned BD's genuine OEM '02+ NSX-R hood to mold/duplicate, which he/they later sold to a private party. They repeated this process for their Down Force "second generation" '02+ NSX-R hood.

Reference: http://nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php?t=91520

The read...

Downforce Second generation NA2 NSX-R Hood

I just spend an afternoon at DF working with Peter today. The result was more than satisfying.

About a year ago, we pitched in some money and bought a used 2002 NSX-R hood from Yahoo Auction Japan and produced a “first generation” mold, we weren’t 100 % satisfied with the result. Even though the fitment was comparable to other replicas, but deep down in our heart, we knew there are still room for improvement.

As of yesterday, any one who bought the first “generation” DF NSX-R Hood replica understand that the location/mounting points of the hood made the installation a little tricky, therefore, the proper fitment required some movement of the fender and the bumper.

Originally, we though since the NSXs were hand built, the panel fitment of every car will be slightly different. However, we did some serious pondering and discovered that Honda themselves did some minor tweaking to the JDM OEM hood, which was later confirmed by my good friend from Japan. Therefore, we decided to try again by ordering a new hood - After I convince Peter that the money will be well spend. After six months of waiting and $11k, the real deal arrived – Little over one month ago.

We test fit the new hood and the result was perfect; needless to say, Peter immediately start a new project – To produce the second generation mold.

Today, we test fit the first production replica hood on my car (as well as three other cars; including an 04 and two pre 02 cars with upgrade) and I couldn't believe my eyes... The result was truly amazing. In my opinion, the fitment was actually slightly better than the real deal, and no fiddling with the fender and front bumper was required - On all four cars. We simply screwed it in and drop it down…. The gap between each side of the hood/fender was little closer/tighter and I like it much better.

That does this mean? We now have a NSX-R Hood replica that fits just as good, if not, better than the real deal. Peter is prepping the hood for me right now, and I’ll have some pictures soon.

Anyone who is interested in a NSX-R Hood should consider the DF replica, and you will not be disappointed. I’m a very picky person and my quest of having a hood with perfect fitment really took a toll on me. I thought about installing the real deal but didn't want to chance the fact that if I ever get into an accident, the hood will be a total waste. Therefore, my car will wear the DF hood. I absolutely admired the result. The real deal will be store away in my storage in case a new mold is needed.

Peter, great job and keep up the good work!!!

BTW, Peter is considering making the hood to fit pre 02 spec cars. However, he is concern with the investiment for the new mold vs. potential return. I highly encourage any one who is interested in a NSX-R hood for their pre-02 spec cars to contact him. Some times a little encouragement will do wonders. :smile: After all, you can't find JDM OEM replica cheaper than DF. Don't forget, there are many NSX-R wannabe hoods out there (VIS, Taitec, etc), but domestically, DF is the only manufacture has the product that is a direct copy of the real deal. The air duct is deeper to meet OEM functionality, and the quality of CF is probably the best in the USDM market.

... unless all of that is a bunch of mularky...

 

[socalx]

I have already said more then I wanted

 

[TURBO2GO]

I I can actually see the heat from the radiator rising out of the duct while sitting at a stoplight. Odd at first, now I just smile everytime I notice.

I know, me too! It's bizzare and cool at the same time. And if you have the T off, it will blow some hot air in... I'm amazed of how much heat comes out of an R hood with the DF duct.... I think that may be one reason the factory R duct is not as "sealed".

 

[TURBO2GO]

I have already said more then I wanted

hmmmm..... I don't really care but maybe you know something we don't. I don't care because its a good hood even if it was molded off of whatever

 

[socalx]

Agreed.

 

[Stephen@NCAutoUSA]

hmmmm..... I don't really care but maybe you know something we don't. I don't care because its a good hood even if it was molded off of whatever

I really don't care personally what they molded it off of "have an 02+ Gen 1 hood laying in my garage", but I think it would be more of the fact and principle that they marketed as a direct copy. Or that was my understanding at least...