Seibon CF hatch pics + review

[cali yaris]

I got the Seibon CF hatch installed and I have a mixed review for you.

Exterior is VERY nice, glossy, even weave with great lines and fitment. Please NOTE that this only comes in 1 x 1 weave, so it won't match the majority of other CF parts that are available. You'd also have to get the Seibon hood to have the same weave front and back.

Interior is a problem.
1. The interior plastic cover does not fit. It may be possible to locate the trouble and cut some holes, etc. but I think for the price we shouldn't have to. I left it off for now.

2. The shocks don't fit. Because of their placement on the hatch, the lower ball joint hits the frame of the car, making it impossible to close completely. I just too mine off for now until I can come up with a fix (I'm not sure I can).

3. The exterior skin is THIN. If you wiggle the latch handle you can see the skin flexing too easily. I can tell you right now, there will be stress cracks in that area before too long.

So, looks great outside, but there is WORK to do to complete the job.

Here are a couple of quick pics. (yes, I painted the roof!!)

http://www.sciontcx.com/images/Yaris/hatch-1.jpg

http://www.sciontcx.com/images/Yaris/hatch-2.jpg

http://www.sciontcx.com/images/Yaris/roof-1.jpg

[ChinoCharles]

Wow! Sad to hear Seibon botched that expensive-ass hatch. I don't care what they say about fitment, that is bullshit. Either way, it would look really f'n nice if you could make it work!

[ROCKLAND TOYOTA]

hatch looks great on your car but sucks that early development pieces have problems. hey cali how come you decided to paint your roof?? i was debating on having it done in black vinyl(like sema yaris)....

[cali yaris]

black vinyl is a great idea, you could un-do it later if you wanted to!

I just wanted to "connect" the front to the back and we have a couple of shows coming up, so I thought it would look cool for now. I will probably wrap the roof in CF before I'm done.

The roof is Black Sand Pearl -- a tC color :smile:

[eTiMaGo]

:drool:

I think I better take off my "Drives: World's sexiest Yaris", as it may not be true anymore :laugh:

[ChinoCharles]

Bah, cali needs to get EDFC. Then we'll talk. :laugh:

[yrsdrgn]

dang that looks really nice but for those issues it might not be worth the price just yet.

[jdium]

Looks good, but I think that is would be much better on a dark colored car. As for the black roof...not my thing. That's just making it even hotter inside when sitting in the sun...

[blueskana]

Looks great, too bad about the quality issues. Black roof/cf on the ends is sharp.

[Shijima]

If you havent already I would contact seibon about the lack of quality in this product. I doubt anyone will be buying it now.

[RShatchback]

First of all the car is looking good - thumbs up on that.

That sucks considering the hatch is pretty expensive - you think that it would be smooth sailing as far as the fit/finish and quality. I hope they remedy that problem.

[cali yaris]

Etimago, you're in no danger, your car rocks completely. :bow:

[Kaotic Lazagna]

looks very nice, but i wouldn't get that with all those issues.

[Shijima]

I was looking for a carbon hatch, but now Seibon has proven to me, they dont want my money.

[barebonedvitz]

good stuff man! i was just about to get the CF hatch!... just had my top blacked on my red LB a month ago too... hehe.. oh well.. ima just have to wait for a better hatch to come along...

[ROCKLAND TOYOTA]

^ you paint it or something else???

[pp.sweet]

Not bad...looks good to me on the white body..

ppsweet

[Jerkratt]

im disapointed in seibon.... lol thought they would do better but i guess there where not to many ppl who bought it yet... so i can understand hope it gets fixed soon cause im interested in one

[Yaris Omega]

that looks freaken great

[CarbonLTD]

Sounds like some expectation are way to high for a $500 carbon fiber piece.

If you guys want high quality carbon, that wont flex, have holes pre-drilled for interior panels, etc you'll need to spend atleast $1000 on a dry carbon fiber piece or atleast vaccum bagged.

Seibon make great products for the price. That hatch runs for $525 including shipping, what more could you expect?

[Jerkratt]

seibon is sopost to make good products... as far as ive heard none of my friends had any problems with them its just weird

[cali yaris]

I expect the piece to FIT, period. My $325 CF hood that I produce fits great, but I don't use the argument that "it doesn't have to fit because it's inexpensive".

More on this subject. For an upcoming show I got the Seibon hood to match, because I want the weave to match front and back. Guess what, the hood has issues too.

The bolt holes and bolts that come with it are smaller than stock -- I have NEVER seen that on an after market hood. They are so small, they slip through the holes on the hinge bracket. So I had to figure out some new bolts and washers etc. to install it. Next, the hood prop hole is too small, so I will have to Dremel that just to prop the hood.

At the very least, vendors should openly tell what mods will need to be done to make their product work or fit, and buyers can then decide before they spend their money if it's worth it. I post a lot of pics of my products and I try them on MY car first.

[Black Yaris]

sounds like a piece ofhttp://www.toledotuners.com/phpBB3/images/smilies/dancingpoop.gifI would contact the vendor you got it though, so they can bitch to seibon...

[yrsdrgn]

I expect the piece to FIT, period. My $325 CF hood that I produce fits great, but I don't use the argument that "it doesn't have to fit because it's inexpensive".

More on this subject. For an upcoming show I got the Seibon hood to match, because I want the weave to match front and back. Guess what, the hood has issues too.

The bolt holes and bolts that come with it are smaller than stock -- I have NEVER seen that on an after market hood. They are so small, they slip through the holes on the hinge bracket. So I had to figure out some new bolts and washers etc. to install it. Next, the hood prop hole is too small, so I will have to Dremel that just to prop the hood.

At the very least, vendors should openly tell what mods will need to be done to make their product work or fit, and buyers can then decide before they spend their money if it's worth it. I post a lot of pics of my products and I try them on MY car first.


You serious?!?!?! man....im waitin for mine to come in this friday >< can you post the sizes of the new bolts?

[cali yaris]

You can use the bolts that hold the wood pieces (to protect the hood corners during shipping) to the hood. I added a couple of washers so they wouldn't pull through the bracket.

The look and finish are really nice.

[barebonedvitz]

^ you paint it or something else???

painted :biggrin:

[churp]

Have you weighed the hood and hatch, CF and stock, for a comparison? (with the interior pieces attached)

[churp]

No answer on weight savings yet, so can I assume that this is cosmetic, non functional modification?

[yrsdrgn]

here's what he got from his carbon fiber hood (not seibon)

I installed this with a friend in about 5 minutes. I did weigh both hoods:
Stock Hood: 12 lbs. 10 oz.
CF Hood: 7 lbs. 14 oz., saving almost 5 pounds.

[CarbonLTD]

I expect the piece to FIT, period. My $325 CF hood that I produce fits great, but I don't use the argument that "it doesn't have to fit because it's inexpensive".

More on this subject. For an upcoming show I got the Seibon hood to match, because I want the weave to match front and back. Guess what, the hood has issues too.

The bolt holes and bolts that come with it are smaller than stock -- I have NEVER seen that on an after market hood. They are so small, they slip through the holes on the hinge bracket. So I had to figure out some new bolts and washers etc. to install it. Next, the hood prop hole is too small, so I will have to Dremel that just to prop the hood.

At the very least, vendors should openly tell what mods will need to be done to make their product work or fit, and buyers can then decide before they spend their money if it's worth it. I post a lot of pics of my products and I try them on MY car first.


I've been in the carbon fiber business for 9 years now. I have distributed everything from Vis, Seibon, carbon creations, to Mugen, spoon, Nismo, etc. Unless you plan to spend $1000+ for the high end pieces, dont expect highend quality.

The hood/hatch will fit with adjustments. God for bid you take a dremel and make a couple holes, or make a hole large, or adjust a latch catch. This is why "PROFESSIONAL INSTALLATION IS REQUIRED" is printed over every aftermarket body company out there. You can't take an aftermarket hood and expect it to just bolt right up as if they made the mold directly off YOUR car.

I see your selling Seibon carbon fiber products, so you of all people should known the adjustments of modifications needed to get them to fit. I installed a Yaris Seibon VS2 hood at our shop last week and it took me 30 minutes. Had an even 1/8" gap all around. All I had to adjust the latch catch and dremel the hinge holes maybe 1/18" an inch bigger to make a "perfect" fit. Again, this goes back to the basics of body repair and installation.

[cali yaris]

Did the hatch you installed come with the proper sized bolt holes?
That is not something you can fix after the fact.

I don't sell Seibon carbon fiber products, you are mistaken.

[cali yaris]

Oh, and welcome to the Y/W community, I see these are your first two posts. :smile:

[CarbonLTD]

Oh, and welcome to the Y/W community, I see these are your first two posts. :smile:

And your trying to say, this thread has nothing to do with the fact your running a group buy on "other" carbon fiber hoods?:bellyroll:

You claim "excellent" fitment but yet there is atleast a 1/2" gap from the front of the hood to the bumper, more so on the right side then the left. How about the gap on the left fender? Thats atleast 1/4" if not 1/3" and the corner of the hood doesn't align with the top of the fender. These are jsut like the Seibon issues and can be fixed with proper installation, not a "5 minute job" that you did.

If your going to give an "honest" review on a product atleast give it unbias.

All of the things you mentioned are common adjustments needed for ANY aftermarket hood.

[CarbonLTD]

Did the hatch you installed come with the proper sized bolt holes?
That is not something you can fix after the fact.

I don't sell Seibon carbon fiber products, you are mistaken.

correct size bolt holes? get some different bolts they cost like $.75 at your local store. Luckily, I have a million bolts laying around so I dont have to worry about driving down the street to a local hardware store.

Again, I've installed hundreds and hundreds of hoods from all different manufactures and +95% need adjustments or modifactions to fit "perfect"

[cali yaris]

The gap on the Seibon is exactly the same. I did not point that out (why point it out of if the two hoods I've seen both have the same gaps?), but I did post pictures showing the gap on mine, nothing hidden there!

I don't understand your defensiveness, unless maybe you work for Seibon? :wink:

[churp]

here's what he got from his carbon fiber hood (not seibon)

I installed this with a friend in about 5 minutes. I did weigh both hoods:
Stock Hood: 12 lbs. 10 oz.
CF Hood: 7 lbs. 14 oz., saving almost 5 pounds.

Good weight savings....much better than I thought!:headbang:

[yrsdrgn]

Good weight savings....much better than I thought!:headbang:

well you might want to ask cali if he's still doing that GB for cf hoods because until Seibon makes their cf hoods a bit better I'm not too sure how many YW ppl will be buying them (aside from cali and myself who purchased them already)

[churp]

well you might want to ask cali if he's still doing that GB for cf hoods because until Seibon makes their cf hoods a bit better I'm not too sure how many YW ppl will be buying them (aside from cali and myself who purchased them already)

I'm not buying, just commenting that it was better than I thought!!:wink: I wouldn't pay that much for a 5 lb savings, I'm not dedicated to racing....I'd just take a crap instead!

[yrsdrgn]

I'm not buying, just commenting that it was better than I thought!!:wink: I wouldn't pay that much for a 5 lb savings, I'm not dedicated to racing....I'd just take a crap instead!

icic. i just bought the cf cuz im going to try making this into an amature show car hehe.

[churp]

icic. i just bought the cf cuz im going to try making this into an amature show car hehe.

I like the looks, especially on the white.....some of us (at least me) have lost the nerve and reflexes required to do the twisties like you do!!!!:headbang:

[yrsdrgn]

I like the looks, especially on the white.....some of us (at least me) have lost the nerve and reflexes required to do the twisties like you do!!!!:headbang:

haha I don't even have the nerves to go through the twisties that many of the others do after i had my flipping incident with my tc.......i take corners but not hard lol maybe 40mph at the end of a street corner but that's about it lol

[Shijima]

The gap on the Seibon is exactly the same. I did not point that out (why point it out of if the two hoods I've seen both have the same gaps?), but I did post pictures showing the gap on mine, nothing hidden there!

I don't understand your defensiveness, unless maybe you work for Seibon? :wink:

Either that or hes trying to flex his e-muscle. All hail CarbonLTD, god of carbon products and anything to do with them.

[CarbonLTD]

Either that or hes trying to flex his e-muscle. All hail CarbonLTD, god of carbon products and anything to do with them.

It's called business ethics. It's a shame seeing these new "shops" pop up out of their basement. Giving a poor review to boost your own sales is POOR business ethics, period.


and yes, all hail me :rolleyes:

I do know ALOT about carbon fiber. Anyone with fitment issues can PM me for help, I actually have experience installing them.

[RShatchback]

I saw nothing wrong with his review - and in no way thought that he was trying to boost his own sales. I found the review straightforward and honest with pictures as well. Cali yaris isnt force feeding his product on anyone by down playing anyone elses carbon fiber products - just the opposite, he explained the details of his own hoods honestly and professionally and said if you want to spend the money than by all means buy a siebon hood...attacking his credibility or his business practices is just uncalled for, period.

[redduck]

Carbonltd... do you even own a yaris?