Rear looks great! Sides look interesting... need more pics. Creative, either way.

But the front... ugh, no.

 

I'd consider painting or wrapping the chrome fog surrounds.

It's a little too busy for my tastes, but it's not my car

 

Haha thanks for the input guys!

Rochester- I think you might like the front in person and it will probably look more cohesive once I do the grille.

Lego- I am definitely giving thought to the fog surrounds as it is in a weird middle ground right now between carbon and chrome. I am definitely wrapping the chrome on the grille in carbon as well as around the side windows and the grille will see a new mesh behind it.

Do you guys have any thoughts on the hood? I think they all look awful, but is there one that looks "less awful?"

 

Maybe. It's also possible that front wrap won't make it to Summer, and you'll be removing it as a creative experiment gone wrong.

So sure... either one.

Anyway, let's see some more pics of your side-sill project.


I've been avoiding commenting on this hood idea you keep talking about. But since you offered your own aesthetic opinion on the project, then I'll agree with you. Don't do it, man.

 

Yeah, sorry 4dr, I know there is a functional benefit....but no.

 

The front wrap is probably the best looking piece in person so maybe the pics are not doing it justice. The side sills are actually really hard to see. I did not realize how much they blend into the pavement. I thought about re-wrapping the entire side sill, but thought that would look tacky.

So I'm not the only one that thought the hoods were awful. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of choice with how hot this engine gets. I thought about maybe just switching the hoods for track days, but it seems like a pain. The other issue is fitment with an aftermarket hood. I thought about naca ducts, but there is just not room between the bracing.

 

What about addressing the cooling issue via a larger radiator?

 

Can you do that with our cars? Would you have to custimize how it mounts to the car? Probably. Hmm.

Along that thinking, wouldn't header wrap be more efficient than the OEM heat shields? I would think so. You could also remove the sound deadening panel.

What if you crafted some kind of panel over cutouts in the wheel well liner exposed in the engine bay? You could have two different panel covers, one solid and the other screened for track days.

I am so not an engineer, LOL. But I'm not proud either, so I'll just brainstorm for the fun of it.

 

Thanks for brainstorming guys. A bigger Mishimoto radiator is first up on my list. I really hope the radiator along with my new grille (that will have better air flow) will be enough. The reality is that one of those vented hoods would be great for cooling the engine bay and helping to draw more air through the radiator. Maybe if I got one of the hoods I could just bolt it up for track days. Hmm... I don't think that would be too difficult.

The headers are ceramic coated so that does help a bit with heat management since the stock heat shields do not fit over them. The problem with header wrap is it usually traps moisture and rusts out the headers prematurely. But I like your idea.

I have thought about fender vents or some sort of venting through the wheel liners, but it seems they would probably only draw a small amount of heat from the wheels/brakes. Right on top of the engine behind the radiator would be the best spot.

But no worries guys. You know me- I'll experiment until I find the right solution.

 

I wonder what that hood would do for aero. I hit some debris on the road and the splash guard under the engine opened up. At 90+ the hood would start billowing. I'm wondering if that hood would make for a little more downforce. But that should definitely get more air flowing.... the underbody seems pretty air tight out of the box

 

If I were you, I would do custom hood vents and just cut into the OEM hood.

The CF options available for the G sedan all look pretty bad IMO and take away from the overall look of the car.

 

Whoa, that's crazy! Good thing I have an aluminum under tray bolted on.

I agree with you on the carbon fiber hood unless I just use it for track days. I am trying to figure a way to just reverse mount some naca ducts in the oem hood, but there is so much bracing underneath and the hood is not flat anywhere so it could get interesting. Painting a fiberglass vented hood is probably the best option for cooling and maintaining a somewhat factory look. Unfortunately, it is also the most expensive option once I get it painted.

 

What about something like TTV36, he added small vents in his hood and tracks his car... could be your solution

 

That's exactly my thought, but flipping the naca ducts around so they pull hot air out of the engine. I have been sending him messages to get the lowdown, but he is without his car right now. So we are on the same page Nico-derm

 

That would look fine. Painted in MW, too.