Hood struts that don't pooch the hood?
06-01-2012, 01:40 AM
#22
Did anyone come up with a solution? I have the Cervnini ram air hood too. I put the UPR Products kit on mine. I had to modify it to keep the hood up. Then it bows in the middle from the strut hitting the fender. The struts actually pop off eventually from driving.
I take them off and the hood fits great.
I was just about to buy the Cervinis kit made for their hood, then I came across this thread.
Was the redline kit the best?
Thanks
I take them off and the hood fits great.
I was just about to buy the Cervinis kit made for their hood, then I came across this thread.
Was the redline kit the best?
Thanks
06-01-2012, 09:38 AM
#23
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: maine
Posts: 7
Every fiberglass hood (even the same brand) is slightly different in the way they are made and some simply don't allow enough room between the underside of the hood and the inner fender. Unless you can find struts of a smaller diameter, the only fix is to take them out and use a prop rod. The Redlines were great struts and I wished I could have made them work, but no amount of modifying would allow them to fit without bulging the hood.
Did anyone come up with a solution? I have the Cervnini ram air hood too. I put the UPR Products kit on mine. I had to modify it to keep the hood up. Then it bows in the middle from the strut hitting the fender. The struts actually pop off eventually from driving.
I take them off and the hood fits great.
I was just about to buy the Cervinis kit made for their hood, then I came across this thread.
Was the redline kit the best?
Thanks
I take them off and the hood fits great.
I was just about to buy the Cervinis kit made for their hood, then I came across this thread.
Was the redline kit the best?
Thanks
06-01-2012, 09:48 AM
#24
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: maine
Posts: 7
Every fiberglass hood (even the same brand) is slightly different in the way they are made and some simply don't allow enough room between the underside of the hood and the inner fender. Unless you can find struts of a smaller diameter, the only fix is to take them out and use a prop rod. The Redlines were great struts and I wished I could have made them work, but no amount of modifying would allow them to fit without bulging the hood.
06-01-2012, 10:54 AM
#25
So after the whole AM hood strut debacle and finally getting the 10-12 brackets that kinda fit better than the 05-09 brackets, for my 09' I may add, I am still unsatisfied.
The hood struts cause the sides of the hood to pooch and hood shake at 75+ is 100% worse to the point where I drove like a granny on the interstate in a mild headwind today.
Using a little bit of thinking, I came to the conclusion that most hood struts would probably cause this as they put pressure on the hood from the shocks and unless they were to angle downwards when the hood closes, they are always gonna have pressure prying the hood upwards.
So, my question is, does anyone know of a hood kit that will not cause my hood to pooch up at the sides and if you do, and have it installed, could you provide some pics? I will try to get some pics up of my pooching predicament but no telling how well it will show up since it's a black car.
The hood struts cause the sides of the hood to pooch and hood shake at 75+ is 100% worse to the point where I drove like a granny on the interstate in a mild headwind today.
Using a little bit of thinking, I came to the conclusion that most hood struts would probably cause this as they put pressure on the hood from the shocks and unless they were to angle downwards when the hood closes, they are always gonna have pressure prying the hood upwards.
So, my question is, does anyone know of a hood kit that will not cause my hood to pooch up at the sides and if you do, and have it installed, could you provide some pics? I will try to get some pics up of my pooching predicament but no telling how well it will show up since it's a black car.
If you wanted to add gas struts to an OEM hood, the upper pivot bracket would need to be long, substantial and have several attaching points to spread out the load in the hood (eliminate a "point" load). Without this load spreading bracket, you will end up with a hood with a hump in it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but it will eventually happen.
When designed properly, the gas strut puts very little load on the hood itself when in the closed position. This is in the geometry of the 3 pivot points (2 strut points + hood hinge pivot).
Some of the aftermarket gas strut designs I have seen keep a constant load on the hood structure in the closed position (due to geometry). This load along with the constant bumps & twisting of normal road conditions will eventually cause a structural failure in the hood. This shows up as a hump in the hood.
If an OEM hood is designed for hood struts I would trust it due to the extensive testing that is done on all parts.
It has been my experience that you are taking a risk with aftermarket products. They look cool and may be an incredible design, but they just cannot afford the product testing like an OEM part has.
Don't get me wrong, I personally would still buy a glass hood for my Mustang, but I would do it knowing the risk as it is. I would also ask the Engineering dept of the manuf if the hood was specifically designed for strut applications (never trust a salesperson with a tech question....).
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