I have a 2018 XLT Stone Gray. Would like a bit of a tougher look to the truck. So I found a few different hood options, Some being ram air, which is nice. The finished hoods look nice. So I go to my local body shop to get a prep, paint, and install estimate, and he basically tells me to run for the hills away from that idea. Since the fiberglass hoods usually have terrible fitment, and they dont crumple in an accident like the aluminum hoods do.

What have others done to spice up the truck in the hood dept.? I thought about getting a Raptor hood, but in reality there isnt much special about the looks of a Raptor hood, other than some vents. Plus Im not sure if a Raptor hood is a direct bolt on?

 

You have a good body shop.

 

Yeah they have done good work for us in the past, so I value their opinion. Body work is not my forte`

 

You might get better responses if you posted a picture of your truck.

My opinion, id leave the hood and body lines alone, depending on the color, maybe get a vinyl decal for the top? Ive seen a few cowl hoods that look somewhat ok but they were either on lowered and lifted trucks with other mild mods....

 

So much has been done to toughen the look of trucks, yet we are not satisfied. The 13th gen hood looks insanely more tough than even the next to last 12th gen hood, yet we are not satisfied. The baby bottom hoods from a decade and a half back stand no chance against a modern F150, yet we are not satisfied.

When the day comes than an F150 rolls off the assembly line looking like it can run a tough mudder while dispatching insurgents from inside the crest of a Tsunami that's being decimated by irradiated tornados that ran away instead of getting switched by your grandmother that wears Birkenstocks to walk on lava on her way to the corner store every Saturday, we will not be satisfied.

 

You are correct. We are all individuals. I hate every time I see a 2018 Stone gray XLT, it looks just like mine, and it looks bland as HELL. LOL So I want mine to look different/better than other peoples

 

Maybe look at a more aggressive front grill and/or bumper?

 

That is also in the future. Damn those cool bumpers are stupid expensive!!!

 

Raptor hood is not a direct bolt-on to my knowledge. Like the grille, for example. The OEM Raptor Grille is slightly wider and needs a different set of headlight trim pieces.

 

They are, but also to that point your body shop might advise you against them, too. Most of them look funny if you keep your crash bars, and some people have concerns about tying the frame together at the front with a big piece of metal.