If you think a couple triangles cut out of the stock hood is unique, that's up to you. I would not pay $1300 for that.PartsForSale said:i like the TRD hood, it is the best and unique
Supraman16 said:I like the new Top Secret Hood. I don't think anyone here in the US has one yet, but I've ssen a couple of pics of Japanese Supras with it and it looks sweet...Darshana S...
I don't claim to have an answer ,take it as you please. Most of you may think the ones from Japan are over priced, but there is much more to it. The original purpose for the Japanese body kits is not just for looks, but also function and design. Some think HKS is overpriced....well why can't any other company build unit similar to a VPC? To me an HKS Stainless Steel Turbo Tuned Header is not the same as any other Stainless Steel Turbo Header. When producing power and speed you build tremendous underhood heat and air pressure. If you can't eliminate the excessive pressure under the hood this restricts the airflow from coming in. The stock Supra front bumper has a fairly small opening which was originally designed for an intercooler off to the side, not in front. Putting a large FMIC in front can only restrict and reduce the air-flow cooling capabilities, unless you create a larger opening. This is one of the biggest reasons why racing/custom front bumpers were ever developed. Not to mention brake cooling,aerodynamics, etc...The efficiency of any radiator, stock or not, is only limited to the amount of air flow that passes through. But say that you've opened up the front , now you need to be able to exhaust that air coming in. Kinda like running big turbos through a stock exhaust system. This is where vented hoods play an important role in building power. As Monster suggested, even removing the rear seal can make a big difference. It seems cutting holes in the hood would help, but it's not that simple. Under high speeds the pressure going over the hood actually prevents the air-flow from coming out. On well designed cut-outs there is a leading raised lip which creates a vacum as the air-flow passes over ... this pulls the heat and air out from under the hood. Attached are 2 fine examples of this. BTW I weighed that NEW TopSecret CarbonFiber hood. Would you believe only 7LBS!!!against the stock hood at approx. 27LBS. These hoods also retain use of the stock safety catches and hinges. The Trial uses the factory latching mechanism up front and the TopSecret requires hood pins.what are the best aftermarket hoods out there?