Yeup... yet another hood vent post!

So, I've done my reading about the variety of different hood vent options and installs etc.
All the write-ups and tech articles place the vents to avoid cutting into the under hood support braces. Even the template HyLine provides for their hood vents accounts for the braces. Makes sense, because I'm sure cutting into the supports will be more difficult etc.
Anyway, in all the write-ups, in fact, I've never seen anyone who has actually tried cutting the supports... with success... or failure.

I wanted to do something different than the standard LeBaron vents, and I found a pair of 280zx hood vents at the Junkyard (see attached).
The smaller vent takes up a little less than area than a LeBaron vent, but the larger one would obviously require me to cut into the hood support on that side.
I haven't done all the measuring yet, but best case scenario I would probably have to "notch" the hood support by cutting at least half way into it... worst case scenario, I'd have to cut through the entire support on the driver's side.
I'm no fab guru, but looking at the supports, there appears to be gobs of materiel in areas, which I'm assuming are the welds that hold the braces to the lid... e.g. there's not a solid bead around the supports.

So, if I could manage to position the vent so that I wouldn't be cutting into a weld, and only partly cutting into the support, how badly would that affect the integrity of the hood?
Or, if I did cut through the support entirely on one side, would the hood really go wet noodle on me?
Do I even care?
I mean, other than being a little flimsy when you try to lift it, are there any actual DANGERS to having a hood with less rigidity?

 

Supports running East/West are not "that" important. Supports running North/South ARE very important.
You could remove the springs that hold the hood up, and probably get by. But that would require another way to hold the hood up, or a hard hat.

Ron

 

As i didn't have to cut the bracing on mt jeep, i have on other vehicles and if you are not cutting through both sides it wont be a huge deal,it will defiantly weaken the hood but not to the point that it will break in half on you.
Love to see that your going outside the norm.

 

Well the only support in the way is the diagonal one... so I guess since it runs NW to SE, it's only mildly important. Essentially, just imagine slapping a triangle on top of the right hole in the photo, and that is where I would need to cut the support, so the outer and center North/South braces will still be intact.

Well, I don't know anything about springs... my hood has a prop on the passenger side, so I imagine that would still function, but maybe the driver's side would droop a little, which might stress the hood.
Maybe I could add a prop to that side, or just use a hydraulic lift setup so that both both sides would be propped.

 

what springs that hold your hood up are you talking about??? XJ's obviously use a prop rod......

i didn't do the vents in my hood but if you leave the main supports intact, (as mine are) you wont have any problems with rigidity

 

Uhhhh... you confused me a bit there... telling me that I won't have any problems with rigidity if I DON'T cut into the supports... seems like you're stating the obvious?

Maybe I'm misreading, but my question was what would happen if I did.
Maybe I need to clarify.
My hood, just like those pictured, has a basically 3 support structures:
1) A rib running front-to-rear down the center of the hood, (your vents are on either side of it)
2) There is also an "outer" brace running around the entire perimeter of the underside of the hood.
3) The left, right, and front of the "outer" brace is connected with a angled "^" shaped strut.

My vents would sit on either side of the center rib, and won't be positioned over the outer perimeter of the hood. So those supports will be fine... I'll just be cutting through one leg of the "^" shape.