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Thread: Stabilus hood supports

  1. #1
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    Stabilus hood supports

    Does the Stabilus brand have a 'soft open' feature? That brand of deck lid cartridges does, but that doesn't mean the hood has to be the same.

    I'd prefer NOT having the lid bang when full open, but if the Stabilus brand does NOT have the 'soft' feature, there isn't any reason to spend 5X a less expensive option.

    Thanks!

  2. #2
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    Could you explain?

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by nmlss2006 View Post
    Could you explain?

    Stabilus (an OEM mfg) deck/trunk struts slow the opening of the lid as the action reaches the end of movement/total extension. It's not full-speed open to hard-bang-stop. Not all brands of struts work like that according to others that have bought a different brand.

    I am asking if the Stabilus brand of hood lift supports act the same way.

    I have replaced the hood supports with a less expensive brand (Boxi). They do not have a soft open feature. They are full-speed open to a bang-stop end. That's not the best way to treat a hinge. Sure, one can manually slow the opening motion to prevent the hard stop, but that should not be necessary.

    Stabilus brand struts cost five times what the Boxi struts did. If they work no differently, why buy them? If they DO work differently, I would consider them worth the extra expense.

  4. #4
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    They do.

    I too bought cheapies THREE TIMES with same results. Stabilus are what you want =)

    || 1995 740i || M60B40 || DUDMD || ̶o̶r̶i̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶b̶l̶u̶e̶ Mercedes Brilliant Blue Metallic || Style 168 Wheels 1" Spacers ||



  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jamos View Post
    They do.

    I too bought cheapies THREE TIMES with same results. Stabilus are what you want =)

    Thanks for the input! That is exactly what I was hoping to find out!

  6. #6
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    Sorry broke my back I'm sure of it, and was standing trying to type that haha.

    Point is, I bought cheapos from eBay when I first go the car and they worked OKAY, but were too short. They broke quickly and I replaced them with cheapos from somewhere else, and they just BANGED the trunk open. As you said, like they wanted to break the hinge! Felt bad for the paint. They eventually shattered themselves. Replaced THEM with cheapos and they were too LONG and again too strong - hard to close the darn trunk!

    FINALLY bought OEM Stabilus ones from FCP or RM or somewhere, and they're perfect. The trunk no longer weighs 500lbs, and opens easily but slows to a stop if you let it go. It *IS* harder to pull shut than I want, but.. better than blowing closed on my head.

    Cheapos ranged anywhere from $18 to $45 for two. I think I actually only paid $20-25 each for the Stabilus though!

    || 1995 740i || M60B40 || DUDMD || ̶o̶r̶i̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶b̶l̶u̶e̶ Mercedes Brilliant Blue Metallic || Style 168 Wheels 1" Spacers ||



  7. #7
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    You refer to 'trunk' supports.

    I am specifically interested in hood supports. Bonnet...where the engine is? I don't know that Stabilus act the same way in that application.

  8. #8
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    Oh WOW hah, back pain = pain meds = can't read! :|

    Well I did the hood struts too with OEM BECAUSE of how the trunk was. The hood weighs 1,000,000lbs though and although the stabilus struts work great, I wish the overall DESIGN of the hood hinge aided in lifting the first 2-3 feet. I have muscular issues so I can't bend forward to lift the hood, derp.

    || 1995 740i || M60B40 || DUDMD || ̶o̶r̶i̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶b̶l̶u̶e̶ Mercedes Brilliant Blue Metallic || Style 168 Wheels 1" Spacers ||



  9. #9
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    I bought cheap ones for the trunk, of course they do not fit correctly. The diameter of the hole is far larger than the mounting shaft on the car. UGH. The strut itself works nice, just that detail. Guess they are going in the trash bin.
    2001 | DINAN 7 Sport | S62 Swapped 6-Speed
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  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jamos View Post
    Oh WOW hah, back pain = pain meds = can't read! :|

    Well I did the hood struts too with OEM BECAUSE of how the trunk was. The hood weighs 1,000,000lbs though and although the stabilus struts work great, I wish the overall DESIGN of the hood hinge aided in lifting the first 2-3 feet. I have muscular issues so I can't bend forward to lift the hood, derp.
    So.....the Stabilus hood struts DO have the 'soft-open' feature as do their trunk lid struts? They slow the hood down the last bit of travel to full-open?

    Yeah...a bit of lift to the hood at the beginning of the movement would be nice.

  11. #11
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    I cannot recall my experience with hood struts; I think I replaced them as part of my 5+ year build.

    However, for the Trunk struts, I have 3 significant posts/threads on bimmerboard from a dozen years ago and as recently as 5 years ago; where I examine Stabilus vs URO and even Stabilus OEM.

    My conclusion was that it was important to get the stabilus struts from BMW with the bmw logo. They are different than what you get from a stabilus generic.

    Now this depends on how anal you are.........and I am. I described the UROs as a severe uppercut someone would experience and I described the generic stabilus (called OEM by sellers, minus logo) as catapults enabling me to storm a castle.

    So my recommendation is trunk struts from BMW with BMW logo...the real deal.

    Knowing that experience, if I did, or need to replace, the hood struts I would replace them with BMW logo originals as well.

    this probably doesn't help, but I like to type.... lol

    For grins here is a trunk strut replacement procedure I wrote over 12 years ago. bam, time flies...

    http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/169311
    1997 740iL; 5/96 build. Purchased 12/04. Off the road build project 2013 - 2021. back on road 3/2021. Became daily driver (only vehicle) 6/12/2021. Still not completed. Stay tuned as the adventure continues.

  12. #12
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    I did aftermarket on the hood and trunk. It was a waste of money. If the hood stays open and the trunk stays open save you money for gas or track fee's.

  13. #13
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    I think I used Boxi for the hood and trunk and they work fine. One had the mount shear off after maybe a year and the seller promptly sent me a free pair. (I'm not sure of the significant of the extra one but I have a spare).

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