# Car Hood Bolts/Pins **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 15, 2004, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-hood-bolts-pins/234391 "2004-03-15T06:08:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SteveSteve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SteveSteve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveSteve)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-hood-bolts-pins/234391/1 "2004-03-15T06:08:29Z")
Anyone know what the Bolt/Pin things that stick through the hood of some cars are for? Generally you see them on customized muscle cars. It appears they may be to hold the hood closed, but shouldn’t the car already have the regular hood release? Does this have a purpose or is it a fashion accessory. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-hood-bolts-pins/234391/2 "2004-03-15T08:16:18Z")
[Hood pins](http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=FMS%2DM16700A) I think that they were originally used to secure lightweight fiberglass hoods. On the street, I assume that they’re mostly for looks. ---
**Author:** ![Oregon\_sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/50afbb/32.png) [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-hood-bolts-pins/234391/3 "2004-03-15T13:32:42Z")
I think it’s a race car thing, so that if the driver is incapacitated, others don’t have to rely on him/her to pull a lever in order to get the hood open and extinguish flames. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-hood-bolts-pins/234391/4 "2004-03-15T13:51:48Z")
It’s about lighweight hoods. The lightweight/thin hoods can’t support full latches, and the entire latch mechanism is a hazzard…from the latch at the front to the heavy hinges at the back. So, weight and safety are the answers. On plastic model race cars, these pins hold down the entire body. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-hood-bolts-pins/234391/5 "2004-03-15T16:22:56Z")
Hood latches can and do fail. Having a hood fly open while racing is considered a bad thing. Hood pins were added as a safety feature. In addition fiberglass hoods, realy don’t work well with factory latches. ---
**Author:** ![5cents](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/46a35a/32.png) [@5cents](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5cents)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-hood-bolts-pins/234391/6 "2004-03-15T17:11:41Z")
They make your car faster, just like flame paint jobs, a hood scoop, blackout headlights, rear wing, fuzzy dice and side pipes. A long time ago I saw a Chevette with all the above (minus the flames). Man, that thing must have been as fast as, well, an Escort (or something). ---
**Author:** ![SteveSteve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SteveSteve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveSteve)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-hood-bolts-pins/234391/7 "2004-03-15T20:41:00Z")
Thanks for the info, that explains it, it has a purpose but on the street is mostly for looks. I think I am going to get some for my Subaru station wagon, to make it faster. ---
**Author:** ![D.E.S.K.Top668](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@D.E.S.K.Top668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D.E.S.K.Top668)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-hood-bolts-pins/234391/8 "2004-03-15T21:42:14Z")
It actually will _help_ make your car faster. It’s been a while, but IIRC, every pound you remove from your car is equivelent to adding .75hp. While the stock latch might not weigh that much, the hood pins weigh a lot less and add safety. Peace - DESK ---
**Author:** ![5cents](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/46a35a/32.png) [@5cents](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5cents)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-hood-bolts-pins/234391/9 "2004-03-15T22:56:48Z")
> [@D.E.S.K.Top668](#): > > It actually will _help_ make your car faster. It’s been a while, but IIRC, every pound you remove from your car is equivelent to adding .75hp. While the stock latch might not weigh that much, the hood pins weigh a lot less and add safety. > > Peace - DESK Your math is way off. Think more like .05hp per pound. Otherwise, if you took a little 60 HP 'vette (of the Chevette kind) and replaced me (250 pounds) with a little woman (or a really little man) of 100 pounds, you’d be “adding” 112 HP for a total of 172 HP. At that point, given the weight difference between a little 'vette (about 1800 pounds) and a big 'vette (\>3000 pounds), you might just be able to keep up with the big 'vette, right? At .05hp/pound, your 60hp 'vette would act like it had 67hp, which sounds about right. ---
**Author:** ![D.E.S.K.Top668](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@D.E.S.K.Top668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D.E.S.K.Top668)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-hood-bolts-pins/234391/10 "2004-03-16T03:45:18Z")
Oops. Sorry about that. You are of course correct. Thats what happens when you’re figuring cubic feet and lbs per cubic foot(for work) and Doping at the same time. Peace - DESK ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-hood-bolts-pins/234391/11 "2004-03-16T04:06:12Z")
**D.E.S.K.Top668** You might find these converters very hand for work and for the SDMB [www.1728.com/indexcom.htm](http://www.1728.com/indexcom.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-hood-bolts-pins/234391/12 "2004-03-16T04:52:37Z")
> [@](#): > > It actually will help make your car faster. It’s been a while, but IIRC, every pound you remove from your car is equivelent to adding .75hp. While the stock latch might not weigh that much, the hood pins weigh a lot less and add safety. > > Peace - DESK > [@](#): > > Your math is way off. Think more like .05hp per pound. Otherwise, if you took a little 60 HP 'vette (of the Chevette kind) and replaced me (250 pounds) with a little woman (or a really little man) of 100 pounds, you’d be “adding” 112 HP for a total of 172 HP. At that point, given the weight difference between a little 'vette (about 1800 pounds) and a big 'vette (\>3000 pounds), you might just be able to keep up with the big 'vette, right? > > At .05hp/pound, your 60hp 'vette would act like it had 67hp, which sounds about right. I have heared what **D.E.S.K.Top668** said before. I don’t know if it is true, but it is for weight **REMOVED FROM THE ENGINE** , not the car’s body. More specifically, things like the crankshaft, flywheel, underdrive pulleys, pistons, connection rods, etc. ---
**Author:** ![5cents](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/46a35a/32.png) [@5cents](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5cents)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-hood-bolts-pins/234391/13 "2004-03-16T05:01:49Z")
> [@Dog80](#): > > I have heared what **D.E.S.K.Top668** said before. I don’t know if it is true, but it is for weight **REMOVED FROM THE ENGINE** , not the car’s body. More specifically, things like the crankshaft, flywheel, underdrive pulleys, pistons, connection rods, etc. It takes a lot less power to accelerate a 2000 pound car than it does a 4000 pound car. It doesn’t much matter where the weight is taken off, weight is weight whether it is an A/C compressor or the back seat. Removing weight in rotating parts of the engine can help with throttle reponse but can also give you an unsteady idle. It counts a little more than weight elsewhere, but its not that big of a deal. ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-hood-bolts-pins/234391/14 "2004-03-16T08:08:02Z")
> [@5cents](#): > > It doesn’t much matter where the weight is taken off, weight is weight whether it is an A/C compressor or the back seat. Removing weight in rotating parts of the engine can help with throttle reponse but can also give you an unsteady idle. It counts a little more than weight elsewhere, but its not that big of a deal. On the contrary, I believe that weight reduction from engine parts is extremely important. The AC compressor is removed for the same reason. It is permamently coupled to the crankshaft. Although it is freewheeling when not in use, it is still adding resistance to the engine ---
**Author:** ![5cents](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/46a35a/32.png) [@5cents](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5cents)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-hood-bolts-pins/234391/15 "2004-03-16T13:36:50Z")
> [@Dog80](#): > > On the contrary, I believe that weight reduction from engine parts is extremely important. > > The AC compressor is removed for the same reason. It is permamently coupled to the crankshaft. Although it is freewheeling when not in use, it is still adding resistance to the engine The definition of freewheeling is that there is no significant resistance to turning. If there is, you have a broken compressor. However, if power is your goal, I’d rip out the entire A/C system. Weight reduction of rotating engine parts is more important than rotating non-engine parts (transmission, driveline), which is more important than weight from non-rotating parts (be they cylinder heads or bumpers). However, the difference between rotating and non-rotating weight is in throttle response. ---
**Author:** ![SteveSteve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SteveSteve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveSteve)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-hood-bolts-pins/234391/16 "2004-03-17T17:37:08Z")
SWEET, my post has spawned a Red Headed Step Child Thread (RHSCT) that is 800 times more interesting than my OP. Now if anyone could tell me the HP gain if we put a Corvette engine in a Chevette…