Tighten factory hood.

frankie_b11 said:

Hey Gang,
I am sure this is a repeat but I could not find what I was looking for in the search.
I am looking to tighten my factory hood from the dreaded high speed buffeting. I have tightened the hood stops, is there anything else I can do without hood pins and such.
Thanks

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I believe the stops are the only thing you can do outside of the pins. Within reason of course.

blbrchnk said:

I believe the stops are the only thing you can do outside of the pins. Within reason of course.

Click to expand...

Correct.

frankie_b11 said:

Hey Gang,
I am sure this is a repeat but I could not find what I was looking for in the search.
I am looking to tighten my factory hood from the dreaded high speed buffeting. I have tightened the hood stops, is there anything else I can do without hood pins and such.
Thanks

Click to expand...

What and where are the hood stops???? I have always thought it was because my came hood scoop. U learn something new everyday lol

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Out front along the radiator cover are the rubber stops. You can grab and rotate them upward (they are threaded). Only go far enough to not cause the hood to sit too high when closed and also so that you don't have to slam it to get it closed. That helps with the hood shimmy at high speeds.

I had this problem on the ride home from the dealership with my '09 Bullitt. Adjusting the 4 stops upward worked but, made my hood too high when fully closed. I discovered you can reach through the grille with an extension, loosen the 2 bolts that hold the hood latch assembly in, push the assembly lower (mine moved down about 3/8"), tighten the bolts back up and then re-adjust the stops for a perfect fit. No more vibration over 60 mph. When I did the stops I put a light coat of grease on each one to confirm when they touched the hood and adjusted them up a bit at a time until they all just made contact. That way the hood is still easy to close.

If you can adjust that latch, this is a great idea.

I had the same issue with my car. After about 65 mph, I could see it move/vibrate if I looked at the edges of where the hood and fender meet. It took a lot of playing around with the rubber stops, but I finally got it right. The key is to balance getting the hood level with the lines on the car, and getting it to close securely enough that it doesn't vibrate or move.

I first I turned the rubber stops so that they were higher, which cured the problem, but the hood wasn't level from front to back in relation to the fender. I actually screwed them back down, past where they originally were, and that solved it. I think that a lot of my actual problem was that the four rubber stops weren't adjusted to each other. You can't just screw them all down to the exact same measurement, because there are other factors that somehow change how the hood sits. It's a good starting point though. I started by screwing them all about half way down, then closed the hood to see how it matched up with the fenders. I also tried to wiggle the hood to see if the stops were doing their job and keeping it secure. After making a couple of minor adjustments, I took it out on the hwy and tested it. When driving it, you can see how much it moves and where. I noticed that if it the majority of the hood moved, then all of the rubber stops needed to be higher. When I got that tweaked, it just vibrated slightly on the driver's side. I turned the rubber stop on the driver's side just slightly, and no more problems.

It helps if you have someone sit in the passenger seat so that they can see how that side of the hood is doing. From the driver's seat, you can't see the lines of the car and how the fender and hood match up. I didn't even know that side needed adjusting until I was complaining about fixing the driver's side, and my wife commented that the passenger side did the same thing.

After you guys adjusted the rubber stops do you still get the hood buffeting happening around 90+ mph? I don't get any noticeable buffeting around 60-70 mph that some people seem to get but around 90 mph it becomes pretty noticeable and at 100 mph I start to get scared

If I continue to play around with adjusting the rubber stops do you think I'd be able to get it to go away at 100-110 mph or do you think the particular shape of the hood on S197's just makes it prone to eventual buffeting at some speed regardless of any adjustments to the hood stops?

And I thought those hood pins were cosmetic!

I have never found myself looking at my hood when hauling ass over 90 mph.....I usually am watching the road and wondering if some cop is gonna get me! LOL



patrick

I've been just over 145 with my stock hood. It was still there once I slowed down. I recall getting some floating above 100 or so. Probably enhanced with a head-wind. Just adjust those 4 bump stops. That's pretty much it unless you add hood pins.

I agree...if you're going over 100 you probably shouldn't be watching your hood. 145 scared the hell out of me. I'll never do that again.

I cut a hole in my and installed a CDC shaker, problem solved