Bonnet struts fitted.

[macd2401]

OK, I was spoiled with my last 2 cars having gas struts under the bonnet, so I decided to fit some to the ZS.

AliExpress seemed to be a fairly decent price (under £30 if memory serves) for generic ZS struts, so I ponied up the cash, and sat back for a few weeks until they turned up.

Out of the box, there's 2 struts, mounting hardware, and a metal strap with 2 nuts attached. Total time is around 10-15 mins.

The bottom brackets mount on top of part of the headlight assembly. There's plenty of length in the original bolt to hold it down.



The bonnet mounted screws need the 2 corner plastic plugs removed. You then need to thread the strap with the corresponding nut in through the large hole just in front of the mounting point, and catch it with the mounting pin.



In case I want to remove them, I decided to cut the strap, and leave it sticking out. I originally put gaffer tape on it, but I'll be covering it with some shrink wrap once I get a chance.

Top of the strut is a push fit.



Bottom joint has a small pin that needs removed and refitted.




Final install.



Issues.

Replace the passenger side first. If you do the driver side first and make an arse of knocking the original strut out of place, you get an instant headache. Ask me how I know

The lower mounting brackets want to twist. Some form of locking washer may be a good idea, otherwise they may move out of place and damage the metalwork underneath... again, ask me how I know

It doesn't specify which bracket should go on which side. I mounted them pin forward, but they could be swapped for pin back. They work fine either way.

Now the bonnet lifts well with minimal effort to start it, holds well in the wind, and drops down with a firm push. Definitely worth the effort, and probably the 2nd cheapest mod so far.

 

[bloggsy]

Very nice! I won't ask the 2 points you've highlighted (I was very tempted! ).

Any chance you can post links to the struts you bought, please? I think I might do this as well.

Cheers

Bloggsy

 

[macd2401]

I bought these.

The pic on the ad shows the struts mounted at the hinge end of the bonnet and the front of the bay, but the instructions that came with them show them mounted as I fitted them

 

[ARealHuman]

Nice and thanks for sharing. Some people have had problems with these I think, on this very forum. Might be worth a search...

 

[macd2401]

In fairness, my outlook was that they weren't massively expensive, so if they didn't work, at least I wasn't hawking a kidney to pay for them

 

[ARealHuman]

Sorry I didn't want to come across as negative, just trying to prevent you having any issues. It looks as though your are different to these so hopefully a good result for you

 

[macd2401]

No worries

I'll have another check of everything for any issues. From the way it works, I don't think hinge lift should be an issue, they're nowhere near the hinges. If anything, I think it's more likely to show on the bonnet skin, so I'll keep an eye on that

 

[Elec Car Aust]

Nice job! Thanks for sharing with the community.

 

[BarryH]

Interesting project. And I don't want to come over negative because gas struts seem a really great idea, but having read the concerns about "modifications affecting insurance under some of the other recent streams on this forum I wonder if fitting struts would be considered a modification to the performance of the bonnet crumple zone in the event of a front impact and since with the bonnet down and struts compressed the might be launched into the car through the windscreen .

 

[Sparkycard]

Looks good and no cutting of the panel for the damper as others have shown. Can you post the details.

 

[PremierscfcEV]

I have fitted the gas struts I bought over a year ago (only had the car a week) and it will definitely help me when I need the bonnet up to top-up screen wash.
The hardest part for me was removing the two bonnet dampener clips.