I have pins for two reasons. For one, the hole for the bolt that holds the secondary latch to the underside of the hood is stripped out, so I have no safety latch. Also I think they look very racey and hardcore.
One day I was going down the highway and looked at my hood and thought "the hood seems to be bouncing around a little more than usual". I pulled over and checked it and sure enough, the main latch had come loose and the only thing holding the hood down was the pins. Man, was I thankful that I had installed them.
I've heard many horror stories about hoods flying up and the most common damage is the hood, the windshield, the A-pillars, the roof, and the cowl panel that the plastic cowl grill mounts to. Not to mention the risk of crashing your car. That cowl panel is a real project to replace too. You have to remove the windshield, fenders, and many of the engine components that are attached to the firewall... then the old one has to be cut out and a new one has to be welded in. It's a HUGE task. Not to mention that noone makes a replacement for that piece, so you pretty much have to go junk-yarding and hope to get lucky and find a good one.
For aftermarket (fiberglass) hoods, I give pins a
