New Tein hood damper announced at SEMA
 

I've thought it would be cool to add struts that automatically open the hood, and Tein thinks so too -

http://www.tein.com/hooddamp.html

Installation looks ridiculously easy. Click on the FD3S application link for the manual, pics, etc. of the unit. There's 2 struts - one on either side. It attaches to an unused hole on the fender and one of the hood hinge bolts. My only beef would be the damper is Tein's green color, which is a little obnoxious, but at least it's a top-quality product.

Has anyone seen any other hood strut kits for the FD? BTW, list is $145, which is pretty reasonable.

BTW, there was a rumor that Greddy was coming out with a new aluminum oil pan for the FD. Close, but no cigar - they released an upgraded oil pan for the RX-8 (SE3P) -
http://www.trust-power.com/06new/260...anupgrade.html

Ah well.

Dale

The miata guys have had aftermarket hood struts forever

Nice. I don't see the need for one unless you want to add some bling under the hood. Why the hell does the RX-8 need a new oil pan? :confused:

Pretty cool idea. Get it! Let us know how it works!

I think the RX-8 oil pan is twofold - first, to increase capacity, and second, it probably has a built-in drain for a turbo. On Trust Japan's site they mentioned about use with a turbo kit. I know Greddy is working on an RX-8 kit, and this may be a component of the kit.

I'll probably end up getting those Tein hood dampers at some point. The quality of their products is top-notch, and I've gotten spoiled by the hood on my SC300 :).

Dale

Makes sense. Tein's products are top notch, I've got nothing but good things to say about their coilovers.

I know I'm ordering them ASAP! :)

Awesome stuff, I was about to embark on making my own setup as it isnt too hard but given the reasonable cost I see no reason to bother now.

~Kris

I would do it but I honestly can't think of a time when I felt my hood prop was in the way. The only thing that gets irritating at times is having to remove the strut bar to work on stuff I need to work on :p:

Cool, I'll have to order a set.

There are other brands w/ them in past RX-7 Magazines but they were all in the Y30,000 range.

Awesome.

Has anyone else ever tried to close the hood with one hand? :D

I'll be getting a set down the road for sure.

NICE....I'll get one forsure...

I'll buy a pair to open my two storage compartment lids. Life is tuff!

Dang, now all i need is a remote hood pop and i'll be set when I want to fiddle under the hood or vent out hot air after a drive.

I pop my hood constantly, and when i am fixing other peoples cars on a daily basis...would be nice to have some ease after hours tweaking the 7.

How do you guys think they would work with a carbonfiber or fiberglass hood? You think it might want to throw the hood up or make the hood want to fold when trying to close? Any thoughts?

Kinda neat...

what if the struts failed and it fucking killed you. Thats would suck ass. Kinda cool anyway.

ummmm an FD hood doesn't weigh much of anything, I don't forsee that one happening.

I do remember a LONG time ago when the first carbon fiber hoods hit the market, that someone weighed them and the weight was very similar to the stock hood. That said, I think the struts would work well with an aftermarket hood.

Good thing are the struts aren't bobo Taiwan junk - Tein makes VERY top quality products. I doubt these will go out on you any time soon. Even if they do, Tein can likely rebuild them, as they do their shocks.

Dale

Tons of cars already have these, I got hit on the head once. A stupid ford, i didn't notice, but my coworker said it just started to slowly come down a little, then just let go and dropped. I was pretty angery, but not injured.

on a side note, to go with the new releases, GReddy already released an all aluminum radiator for our FD's.

I'm sure the Greddy rad is cheap, too :).

Dale

IIRC from the option mag, it was around 3xx.xx and some change (rough conversion of 119/1). I'll flip thru it when I get off from work and let ya know.

Found the radiator on Trust Japan's website. Doing a quick search revealed a street price of 65,520 yen or about $605 US. Ouch!

Dale

that's a sweet device, make life a lot easier, I just dont like the fact that now you have to push on the hood to close it, you wont be able to just drop it close.