Guilty Pleasure: Fake Hood Vents

For as long as I can remember, I have been a fan of hood scoops (and vents) on vehicles. I think that started with the 1978 Camaro Z28, which had a cool hood scoop.  That carried on until 1980, when the Z28 received a larger functional hood scoop.  It just looked cool to me, which is why I just added two hood vents to my new Ford Ranger.

Related article:  What’s The Scoop?

Are Fake Ones OK?

The new Ranger hood has two subtle rises that are tasteful, but not very interesting.  The extreme off-road version, the Raptor, has a small hood vent on each of the hood rises.  It’s not overwhelming, but does compliment the fender vents found on all Ranger models.

Those Raptor hood vents are supposedly functional, helping to evacuate heat from under the hood.  The vents I bought are identical to the Raptor ones, but are not functional.  In fact, they attach to the hood with two-sided emblem tape.  No cutting was required, which makes this modification 100% reversible.  

Sources For Parts

Between Amazon and eBay, you can find a nice variety of hood scoops, vents and other goodies.  Some are better quality than others, so be sure to read the instructions carefully.  I found mine on eBay for $60.  

You can buy less expensive versions in the $30-40 range, but they looked cheap. Overall, these knock-off hood scoops and vents are so much better than the ones offered by JC Whitney decades ago.  In fact, it is pretty hard to tell the difference between the fake ones and the OEM versions.

Final Thoughts

Is it silly to add fake hood vents to a truck?  Normally I would not do it, but the Raptor vents are small and go nicely with the fender vents.  From the driver’s seat, it adds some interest to the hood. For now, I’m sticking with them!

The beauty of a modification like this is that they are reversible. Since the vents are attached using 3M Emblem tape, a little heat from a hair dryer or heat gun allows quick removal.

Curious what makes me tick?  Check out Meet the Vehicle Nanny .