Just get an OEM CF hood and you can put whatever style vents you want on it. Plus they are pretty cheap compared to the alternatives, I got mine for $600~ shipped.

 

Who makes an "OEM" CF hood for a sedan that fits well? Most of the aftermarket hoods fit like garbage. I decided to get the $1,100 refund for the Autokits X hood since I really wanted it for a few last track days this year, but they ran into production issues and I just couldn't get it to look right in my head.

The other reason is that I think I may just do 2 more track days (where the hood is not as necessary) next year at different tracks to set a baseline to compare to my next car. Who knows? Depending on which type of front tires I get next Spring I may just get the new Yokohama Advan Apex V601 instead of my super sticky Bridgestone RE71R to get a smoother, quieter ride with longer life while still having more than enough grip for the street and just keep the car for street use while I continue the search for an ample replacement.

Since I am having no luck finding a loaded ATS-V sedan 6spd. with PDK I may just wait a few years for an M2 Competition to come down a bit in price on the used market and my daughter to grow up a bit so she can climb in the back seat by herself. Decisions, decisions...

 

My fitment is not 100% perfect, but for the price I paid I'm happy with it. It's really only the gap between the front bumper and the hood. Was only $600 shipped.

 

So it is definitely not an OEM hood then if there is a gap between the front of the hood and the bumper. That is exactly what I am trying to avoid on the track. At 140 mph + that gap will shake the hood like crazy and could cause it to brake free and smash my windshield. Hard pass.

 

The other day I reshaped, sanded down, and repainted the jack points under my car. Not terribly exciting, but necessary in WI where it seems like we use a metric ton of salt/foot in the winter. I did this just over a year ago. I think this means that I will try to keep the car off the lift and do oil changes at home in an effort to try to save the chassis from unnecessary rust.

 

This is a problem with almost every CF hood on the market (and I don't know why). There are ways to combat it though. A) you could just get the clips (I have some haven't installed them yet) to hold the hood down, and or B)

Plenty of people doing high speeds with no modifications and no hoods flying up. I'm with you though, I plan on doing 1 of those 2 if not both.

 

The Autokits X hood was the only one on the market that I could find that was actually an OEM fit without the gap. The guy in the video created a gap himself with his heavy chin spoiler and grille that took out a support. I would much rather have a part that fits correctly right out of the box, especially a hood that can be an issue at speed. Good luck with your mods! Let me know how it goes with the hood.

 

Spare OEM hood + good body guy to add vents?

 

I was originally planning to just add vents to my hood, but I talked to my body shop guys and they all recommended not doing that because the hood gets all wavy and is really tough to work with. The bigger problem was having to remove structural supports under the hood.

 

How about a series of small vents in the accessible areas between the structural support?

 

That's what I was thinking. The first track-only FD3S I ever saw had the OEM hood vented with the kind of louvers that you cut in a press-brake. Since they deform the original metal and work harden it, but don't actually remove any metal, the vented metal is as structurally strong as the original hood, or close enough to not make a difference. He had the louvers everywhere a brace wasn't for the first 1/3 of the hood.

 

I appreciate the effort guys. This is of course a 370Z hood, but if you pull out the insulation on your hood it looks very similar underneath. The issue I run into is that there is very little room without bracing for any decently sized vents that would not look really strange on the outside of the hood. The other issue is that where you really need the vents (behind the radiator and above the headers) there is a ton of bracing.

 

Doesn't Rochester have a pic of the naked underside of a G hood? IIRC there were more areas for venting than on the smaller 370 hood.

here we go:

 

Just what he was hoping for... a pic of my car in his thread. LOL

Good find, though. So there are 10 areas where it looks like there's nothing but outer skin. (2) and (4) are really tiny, so those are out. But the other sections are worth thinking about. Imaging a 1x12" vent running down sections (9) and (10) each, which would look like an inverted V on the topside: / \

 

You know, I first found that pic (and still search for it) by putting "G37 Sedan Hood Blanket" in google. Took me a while to connect the website to your username.

From the pic and looking at my own car, the areas of the inner skin that are flat and parallel to the hood skin are not really structural. If those were Z-edged and bonded to the hood skin you would get quite a bit more room. Remember a very real function of the hood on a luxury car is to damp out engine and wind noise, hence the extra mass. I would thing triangular or trapezoidal vents in areas 2,3 and 4 would help cooling, and 6/9 or 8/10 areas too for pulling heat off the headers. Then stick GTR naca ducts in 1 and 5 to feed the intakes if you have short rams or just want more snoutiness.