So I can't find those metal whiskers, I'll leave it for another time. I tried a set of brand new aftermarket hood support struts (strong arm brand) and they work, but tend to 'bulge' the hoold up a bit when it is all the way closed. I'm going to swap them out for the used Toyota ones on Tara's white car, since they only *barely* hold up the factory hood, and should be perfect.
I'm guessing the best bet would be a set of junkyard supports, since the Toyota ones seem to wear out to a point and then stay pretty constant from there (barely able to hold up the weight of the metal hood)
Good information! I know there must be other aftermarket hood supports available of varying gas pressure, maybe someone can source a good one. I know my son's Subaru has an aluminum hood, very light for a stock hood, and he bought aftermarket struts for the hood.
Either that or raid the pick n pulls for all the old supra/celica pneumatic strut supports!
Any input on weather or not to use the metal rear 'whiskers'? I can't find mine or the screws that hold them.. Dunno if it is worth it to source a set with fasteners.
Might be a good source for new/rebuilt struts with a small load rating, to keep from bowing the hood. I'm going to contact them this summer and send them a pair of worn out Toyota struts to see what they can do. They can go as low as 13 lbs per strut.
I'm going to use a scale to see how much force is required on each side where the gas struts attach to the hood, to keep it open and go from there.
Has everyone got their hoods ?? Hey George, did you get your shipment finally? David H. any resolution yet on the shipping damage claim?
I've run a few autoxs with my CF hood, no worries about it staying on for that, but at freeway speeds (70-75 mph), I think it would be best to have additional hood latches. I definitely can see the CF hood vibrating a bit at freeway speeds, especially the rear edge of the hood, close to the windshield.
I'm running a turbo blanket now, but the days I drove the car around with the turbo blanket the CF hood seemed to tolerate the turbo heat ok, no signs of damage. Still, I felt better either with a turbo blanket or making a heat shield of some sort between the turbo and the hood. Easier to just buy the turbo blanket (DEI, titanium).
Updating this thread. Advan finally came through with another hood. I never got much detail on what took so long but I think they were trying to pin the shipping company(who was responsible for the damage) for the charges.
Anyway, quality is great and I'm blown away at the fitment. I never even took my other hood out of the bubble wrap or put it on the car in case I had to send it back.
That's great news David! Now maybe you can sell the damaged hood to some racer that only cares about light weight, and get some funds for your trouble.
Anyway, sorry it was such an ordeal, enjoy the hood!
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