08 Hood FORM or FUNCTION?

[Shandon]

Ok so Im thinking about buying a 2008 hood... But I am curious if the hood was changed more because of heat or more because of looks? Plus the new Roe Supercharger for the GenIII fits under it Ohh Yea!
Anyway Im mostly interested in what you all know on the true functionality of the hood in dissapating heat? The vents seem to far forward to help the headers but are ideal for venting from the fan (maybe im wrong)? Thoughts or opinions from 08 drivers or those who have changed hoods?

 

[Lee00blacksilverGTS]

SRT Engineers have stated the redesign was for function to exhaust heat better. And as an owner of an 06 and now an 08 I can tell you it works. They even stated they lost the battle to the design staff when the 03-6 models were made. The 08 location is where the engineers wanted the vents all along, the designers wanted it the other way.

 

[Malu59RT]

I love how the 08 Vents give the car the appearance of a snake, with "scales" on the hood.

 

[ViperTony]

According to the Winter 2008 issue of Viper Mag, page 31, "The new 2008 Viper Hood was designed with the ACR in mind. The hood louvers were moved forward and opened up to create a forward aerodynamic balance shift." There's a cool pic of on that page showing how air moves through the front grill and up/out of the hood vents.

 

[Shandon]

I remmeber that issue and the heat/air flow rendering of that, now that you mention it. I will look at that edition again.

 

[1BADGTS]

Once my 08 heats up you can readily see the heat vapors pouring out of the hood .No where near as noticeable on my 06

 

[JonB]

Our customers with 08 hoods in earlier cars say they are NOTICEABLY cooler underhood and in the footbox. At stopsigns, the heat vapors look like Death Valley!

The earliest buyers of 08 hoods did not have hood grills available. These grill-less cars are the coolest of all! Some few buyers never even ADDED the grills, preferring the coolness and seeing the motor.

 

[mike & juli]

Definitely functional hood, Shandon!~! The '05 hood was NOT as functional in dissipating the heat.
Being that the louvres are more pronounced, more air can get thru...we love the car and the hood! (What ViperTony said!)
~juli

 

[Nader]

the functionality of the 08 hood is not a question. For me, I am just partial to the 03-06 hood. The hard lines of the 08 hood are a big contrast to the curves of the Viper. Nonetheless, I wouldnt be surprised if there is one in my future due to its functionality. Also the Roe blower thing makes it even more interesting.

Ok so Im thinking about buying a 2008 hood... But I am curious if the hood was changed more because of heat or more because of looks? Plus the new Roe Supercharger for the GenIII fits under it Ohh Yea!
Anyway Im mostly interested in what you all know on the true functionality of the hood in dissapating heat? The vents seem to far forward to help the headers but are ideal for venting from the fan (maybe im wrong)? Thoughts or opinions from 08 drivers or those who have changed hoods?

 

[Shandon]

Does the higher hood allow better air flow or just the vents?

 

[rcl4668]

Ditto on the above posts: My understanding is that more pronounced and forward-positioned vents were done to improve venting of underhood heat and to create slightly higher frontal downforce.

/Rich

 

[RavenFan_94]

Whats an 08 hood going for these days?

 

[Newport Viper]

How does washing/rain water effect the motor on this hood? Are there baffels like the 03-06 hoods?

 

[ILLSMOQ]

I bought it just for the looks...but I can see how the extra large vents would let out more heat than the smaller GEN III vents.

...water gets in the vents....so it's probably a good idea to put a towl under the vents beofre washing the car. If you put a GEN IV hood on your GEN III there is a rain baffle you would also need to purchase so the air filter does not get wet...if you have a paxton the air fliter will get wet if you don't cover it beofre washing the car.

 

[rcl4668]

How does washing/rain water effect the motor on this hood? Are there baffels like the 03-06 hoods?

No baffles like on the 2003-2006s; water gets in there pretty well but so far the engine does not seem worse for wear. I just use the water in the engine bay as an excuse to wipe down all the surfaces which has kept the engine bay looking a lot cleaner than my other cars.

/Rich

 

[ILLSMOQ]

the baffle

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not so effective with a paxton but works well with the stock filters

 

[Newport Viper]

ILLSMOQ,

Who did you order from and who painted it the right match silver?

 

[ILLSMOQ]

my hood came from parts rack...I might be mistaken but I think John B can send you a pre painted hood for an added cost....some one bought this one for me so I'm not sure....but I think the unpainted hood with the vent inserts and shipping was about $1,800.00

 

[HI-NOS-Viper]

Also keep in mind there are three different versions of the 08 Hood. Jeff's Hood, the Vipair, and the Mopar. I got the Vipair. I like it for the looks and would of gotten it anyway whether it added functionality or not. Its just an added bonus that it did add fuctionality. You can get the Vipair version with vents for about $1400(non-painted). Talk with Dan at DC Performance.

Picture with the vents

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Without the vents

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Front View

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[wallbanger]

That vipair hood looks a lot higher in the middle, beautiful paint job

 

[HI-NOS-Viper]

That vipair hood looks a lot higher in the middle, beautiful paint job

The Vipair Hood does have a bigger scoop than the Mopar or Jeff's version. Much more aggressive looking which is why I chose it. Dan did a great job with painting it. Thanks for the nice comment Dan Cragin does awesome work.

 

[Nader]

I have an 04 hood and run without the baffle. just stick a towel in the scoop when washing so the filters dont get wet. I never had a problem in the rain.

 

[rcl4668]

the baffle

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not so effective with a paxton but works well with the stock filters

Yes, the 2008s have the same baffle for the intake scoop. I though the previouys post was asking about baffles around the hood vents. The 2003-2006s had a system of channels around the hood vents which would prevent some of the water from spilling onto the engine. The 2008s do not have this system.

/Rich

 

[redtanrt10]

[quote=Shandon;2571627]Ok so Im thinking about buying a 2008 hood... But I am curious if the hood was changed more because of heat or more because of looks? [/quote]

Both, the new hood is more agressive, with both a larger air intake and air extractors.

Functionally, if you stand next to the car at idle, it pumps out air at the extractors vs. hot air seeping out of the older version.

 

[Newport Viper]

Yes, the 2008s have the same baffle for the intake scoop. I though the previouys post was asking about baffles around the hood vents. The 2003-2006s had a system of channels around the hood vents which would prevent some of the water from spilling onto the engine. The 2008s do not have this system.

/Rich

You are correct I was asking about the six vents in the hood if they had a water baffel like the 03-06. ?

 

[ILLSMOQ]

....didn't realize there were water baffles in those vents....water got all over the place just the same when I washed the car

I always put a towel under the vents.

 

[rcl4668]

....didn't realize there were water baffles in those vents....water got all over the place just the same when I washed the car

I always put a towel under the vents.

Agreed; unless you kept the hose a fairly low trickle those 2003-2006 vent baffles would not really keep the water out. My guess is that they were designed more for driving in the rain than car washing.

 

[Venomiss]

This might be a really good question for Herb Helbig on the Grail Trail.

 

[Nader]

What is wrong with getting the engine wet? I wash it and spray it down regularly without a problem.

Agreed; unless you kept the hose a fairly low trickle those 2003-2006 vent baffles would not really keep the water out. My guess is that they were designed more for driving in the rain than car washing.

 

[Shandon]

OMG get water on your engine? Like doesn't everyone pull off to the side of the road when they hit a *** hole with water to dry off the underside of the engine? These are big block V-10's and just the slightest amount of water can cause some serious performance issues. I think I have read that more than 2oz of standing water inside the engine bay (under hood) will cause a loss of over 7RWHP! Keep it dry Folks!!