GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Hey, I have a 2003 Pontiac Vibe. It is in fairly good condition, but the hood is pretty badly chipped (as in not even any paint) and I want the car to have a hot hatch feel and look. Does anyone have anything they've done to their car that makes it look a bit meaner? Thanks!

You can try http://www.car-part.com/ to search nearby junkyards for a replacement hood.

haven't heard much about them here lately, but there was a time when some were looking at carbon fiber hoods A google search for Pontiac Vibe carbon fiber hood turns up some pictures and some sites that might still be selling them. There are also some aftermarket ram air/hood scoop hoods for Vibes out there, would need to be painted. Non-metal hoods probably need hood pins. Don't imagine weight savings from going to a non-metal hood would affect performance in these cars.

There are also some places that sell cheap plastic tape on fake air scoops, can't imagine anyone getting those.

You could wrap the hood with a carbon fiber looking wrap or any design you can find.

Here is a video with links to other wrapping stuff:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJEtVf8Wyzw

I think a mismatched color hood shows the poor condition of the car and a careless owner. A wrapped or dipped hood makes a rice car though the onwer may have no such intention. I recommend just sand down the hood and use spray cans to give it several layers of color matching base coat and clear coat.

joatmon wrote:You can try http://www.car-part.com/ to search nearby junkyards for a replacement hood.

haven't heard much about them here lately, but there was a time when some were looking at carbon fiber hoods A google search for Pontiac Vibe carbon fiber hood turns up some pictures and some sites that might still be selling them. There are also some aftermarket ram air/hood scoop hoods for Vibes out there, would need to be painted. Non-metal hoods probably need hood pins. Don't imagine weight savings from going to a non-metal hood would affect performance in these cars.

There are also some places that sell cheap plastic tape on fake air scoops, can't imagine anyone getting those.

Going to have to completely disagree on the performance aspects. Our stock hoods are incredibly heavy for what they are. Besides, you should consider weight savings over multiple objects removed or replaced instead of wondering how much little weight removing one cig lighter will save .

Given it's fwd, any weight you can remove from the front end is incredibly important to improving the handling of your vehicle and absolutely noticeable. Remove the hood, relocate a smaller battery to the back, remove a/c equip, etc. It all depends on how much you're willing to do. When I removed my back seats, spare and all the lower compartments (I still have all the plastics in the back and sides, etc.) and added it all up, it was just a smidge over 130lbs. Let me tell you in a car relatively light and with a tiny engine, you do notice when the weight of an entire person has been added or removed. I wish I could recall the weight saving from the hood and battery, but it's surprising. It all quickly adds up and in a torqueless car that's relatively light, it is, once again, absolutely noticeable.

Hell, one day when I no longer need this as a fun daily, the sunroof and all the crap that goes with it along with it, will be gone. Count that rear hatch being sold, too. Adds sooo much weight. And it's all up top, too. Gotta get the CoG down.

....then you may as well knock out all the window glass and replace it with Lexan poly-carbonate. The glass is the heaviest body part on a car. I took it that he was wanting the car to look better when he said,

I want the car to have a hot hatch feel and look.

and money has to come into the picture somewhere as it is a 17 year old car. If he has put window tint on, he may be able to wrap it himself and save money. He could wrap the front fenders too and blend the wrap into the rest of the car, or wrap the whole car for a totally different look.

ImUrOBGYN wrote: Going to have to completely disagree on the performance aspects.

That's good and you're right. There are a lot of things that can be done to gain small improvements, and put together they could be significant. Its a personal choice if the gains are worth the cost.

Thanks, I'm definitely taking stuff out to shave weight. For the exterior I was thinking painting/wrapping the grey parts (cause it has that nasty grey plastic on the bumpers and stuff) white and then painting the fog light recesses black. Anyone ever tried this?

Ugetmyvibe wrote:Thanks, I'm definitely taking stuff out to shave weight. For the exterior I was thinking painting/wrapping the grey parts (cause it has that nasty grey plastic on the bumpers and stuff) white and then painting the fog light recesses black. Anyone ever tried this?

Unless you have access to a shop. That involves a lot of sanding, priming, and spray painting.
I was at one time thinking of restoring the exterior of my Vibe. But let's be realistic. What we have is not a collectible car, it is just a Corolla in disguise. If you want reliability and better paint work, I recommend used Lexus.

Is the plastic discolored to gray but was black when new? Do you want to try and restore the plastic? Check this out:

https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/as ... -tips.html

See posts #5 and #6 but read the whole thing. The autogeekonline.net forum board has so much info about detailing cars. I have used CQuartz DLux Plastic and Wheel Coating on my Kia Sorento and it has worked great. I have used a lot of other plastic restore or protect products but they do not last. CQuarts has been on the KIA for about a year and half now and still looks good. Link to the stuff:

http://www.autogeek.net/cquartz-dlux.html & http://www.detailedimage.com/CarPro-M53 ... /30-ml-S1/

The key to plastic is to get it clean before putting coating on. Somewhere in the autogeeksonline.net forum is a post about cleaning plastic trim where the detailing instructor showed how the use a Cyclo Black Stiff Scrub Brush for carpet in a DA polisher to clean textured plastic car trim. I was hesitant at doing it to my newer Sorento at first but tried it with cleaner and it worked great. After the brushing and cleaner, I wiped it down with alcohol and then applied the CQuarts. It got the plastic back to black, water beads off, dirt does not stick to it, and I have not had to touch it. Going from every 2 months of the plastic getting chalking looking and having to work on it, to lasting over a year and a half is fantastic for me.

If you do a search for Chevy Avalanche Vinyl or any Chevy Avalanche forum, you will find topics about the plastic trim as the Avalanche is loaded with plastic trim and it all discolors. You may find other ideas from Avalanche owners.

I would not paint the plastic trim or wrap it, but use a plastic or vinyl dye to re-color it.

https://www.summitracing.com/search/pro ... -vinyl-dye

https://www.techpowerup.com/articles/modding/46 this is more geared to computer cases and plastic parts but the same info applies.

I don't want to "restore" it. I think it looks ugly, but I'm a auto design student, so I'm picky. I was just looking at Carid (my preferred site) and I saw the spoilers for the matrix are better looking than any for the vibe. So has anyone tried taking off the roof rails? Wouldn't the rear roof spoiler fit just fine since the roof dimensions should be the same.