MPD Hood Quality & Durability

Well, after looking at the various aftermarket hoods available, I have pretty much settled on the MPD "GTO Scorpio" hood as being the most aesthetic, at least to my eyes. So I would like to ask any of you who have had installed one for your opinions about it, for example:

(1) Is it strong enough so that you can treat it just like the stock hood for opening & closing, or is it a delicate item that you have to "baby"?

(2) Any rattling, fluttering, squeaking, getting out of alignment, warping ... at speed, in high temperature situations, etc.?

(3) It's fiberglass. Did that present any problems with color/finish matching at your bodyshop?

(4) I am not planning to get the "functional ram airbox" for it - just want the hood for its looks. With the airbox noninstalled, is the MPD hood a "sealed" unit that will not let dust, rain, etc. down through the scoops?

(5) Any other comments or advice (would be most welcome) ...

Thanks in advance! :)

Michael Aquino

I have it installed, and I have absolutely no complaints. Very sturdy, the color match is perfect (although I think this has more to do with your body shop than the hood itself). The hood doesn't come sealed, even if you don't get the air box, the hood lets air through from the top to just above where your air filter is. An added benifit of the hood is it feels lighter than the stock hood (haven't put it on a scale but lifting both, you can definately feel the difference). You can see pictures of mine here:
http://www.newagegto.com/forum/inde...&CODE=12&CID=17
That shows the bottom of the hood also and the fiberglass heat shield I made myself to make it more functional.

Also, no rattling or warping that I have seen at any speed.

Well, I don't own a GTO nor have I seen this hood in person, but I own a 2002 Trans Am WS.6 so maybe I can help a little with a couple of your questions.

4) When getting a new part/panel which is unpainted, it's the prep work that's critical. i would think you'd have no problems in this area because new parts/panels usually don't require as much prep work as a refurbished part/panel. Of course it will need some prep, but again this is entirely dependent on the quality of work done at the body shop.

5) On the WS.6 Ram Air hood, there are 2 sets of baffles just inside, behind the inlets.
PRO: They greatly reduce the amount of rain and dust entering the air box.
CON: They rob some performance from the benefits of direct air.

I have a question regarding this hood: Are the front scoops real, as well as the cowl induction on the back of the hood?

If the front scoops are real and seeing (from pics only) how this ram air hood works, I would assume that you'd have less need for baffles, because it isn't a direct shot into the air box. However, I wonder if water and dust could get trapped in there somehow.
If the front scoops are not real and the back one facing the windshield is the only real opening in the hood, it is technically a cowl induction, not ram air. So you wouldn't have to worry about it nearly as much, but Ram Air provides greater performance gain than Cowl Induction.

The front and rear scoops are real and I believe there is a small drain in one corner of the hood to let the rain run out before it gets to the filter, but the way it is shaped I don't think this will be much of a problem anyway because I don't think you would take in any more rain than from the stock hole by the wheel well. The rear hole just lets heat out of the engine compartment, it doesn't actually route any air to the air box.