VIS Racing® - Hatch

The packing job is top notch. It arrived unharmed and within 2 weeks of ordering. It comes FOB right from VIS Racing in CA. The look of the hatch is beautiful. No flaws in the coating. It's not a true carbon fiber hatch though. It's a fiberglass hatch with an overlay of carbon fiber to make it look good. The top side which is in view has the beautiful glossy carbon fiber look while the underside is just flat black. This is why it's in the ballpark of $700 and not $3k. For what it is, it's a decent piece. VIS is the only manufacturer of an aftermarket hatch for the 3G Eclipse, so it's this or OE. It's definitely light. Picking it up you notice a drastic difference there. Fitment was a bit wonky but I solved the issue by opening up the bolt holes on the hatch hinges to .5 inch. This allowed some adjustment of the hatch fit onto the car. I also adjusted the catch latch down a few millimeters to close the hatch farther. It does have the mounting screw holes for the rear wiper motor if you were interested, but seeing as I bought the hatch to lighten up the car I thought it was funny that someone would buy a light latch and then stick the wiper motor back in it. There is no hole on the top side of the hatch for the wiper arm so you'd have to make your own. I would suggest going wiper-less if you get this hatch. When comparing this hatch to your OE hatch you'll notice that there are not holes to fit the rubber accordion sections to the hatch that house brake light wiring, etc. You have to dremel in two holes if you want to route your stock wiring the way it was originally. The threaded holes in the hatch aren't perfect and don't line up perfectly with the hatch guides, but I made it work with a bit of finagling. There are provisions in the hatch for lift struts but I sure am not installing them. In my opinion, they put too much force on the hatch. Now that I know the tips and tricks to installing it, I would definitely buy another one if needed. Take it to professional installer if you don't have the patience to take the time needed for fitment. You're going to have to have the OE window switched from your OE hatch into this one anyways so a body shop might be a good idea. I'm using Lexan instead of the OE window for further weight reduction. What it comes down to is the fact that it's a medium tier performance part and sacrifices are always made for performance. Does it fit perfectly like your OE hatch? No. Is it ultra rigid like the OE hatch? No. But it's pretty and light as hell and that's why we buy it.

It looks really nice on my White 05 Scion TC, would recommend to anyone who's looking for real carbon fiber.