Honda Ridgeline Owners Club Forums banner

RL Hood Gas Strut Kit

10K views 21 replies 14 participants last post by  DK-NY 
#1 ·
Darn $50,000 vehicle has a Lada hood prop! Want a real gas strut style? Keep reading.

The people at Figs Engineering have a gas strut kit however only for the Gen1. See here HONDA RIDGELINE HOOD PROP KIT G2

I contacted them to see if they had plans for the Gen2 however their response was the only had 2 requests in the last several months so if any of you are interested please contact them to say so as this will push them to fabricate the kit for the Gen2. Email them here if you are interested. contact@figsengineering.com
 
#2 ·
The aluminum hood on the G2 is so light, there's really not much benefit to struts or springs. On the other extreme, the hood on my brother's new '16 Tacoma is so heavy I thought it was stuck on something the first time I opened it! :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Border411
#3 ·
LOL, never seen a too heavy hood and really has nothing to do with it. More so the PITA of pulling the rod and inserting it so the hood stays up and then needing to lift the hood to disengage the rod and clipping it back in place before lowering the hood. Heck, might as well just supply a short 2x4 to hold the hood open! Archaic if you ask me.
 
#4 ·
But the prop has another advantage, as I posted elsewhere yesterday or the day before: there are two positions for the prop to be placed. One of them is the extra wide open position which really gives you access to this jammed-in engine bay. For me it's no contest: aluminum hood +2 prop positions is better than added weight and gas suspension.

I'm glad there's potential of an aftermarket solution for those who don't see it my way.
 
#6 ·
The other advantage of the prop rod is that it is more reliable than struts. Struts will give out eventually. It may be ten years and 150k or so before they give out, but will there be replacements readily available then? Probably not a big deal as long as you still have the rod in place.

As with audio volume controls, would be nice to have redundancy on a vehicle in this price range. So nice to have first world problems :)
 
#8 ·
College Hills tried to do fabricate something for the 4 cyl accords (which have a prop) to make them like the V6 (struts). Turns out the V6 hood is structurally different. Don't know what it means for the RL but it is a light hood and may need some sort of reinforcement to accept struts.
 
#10 ·
Well I had the Gas Struts at both end of Honda Vehicles my 94 Accord had them on the trunk. If I recall they were replaced under warranty had rear factory spoiler on car but they were changed when new to accommodate that.
2000 Acura 3.2 TL has gas hood struts car was about 12years old when they went out. I had them replaced car will be 17yrs old in Dec. The 2 position with the hood prop is good for mechanic access to raise the hood much higher than normal position is great. My old 1980 Prelude had the hood open the other way with hood tilting toward the front of vehicle and use of hood prop. The 1989 Buick LeSabre hood open the same way but that big heavy monster did not use a little stick hood prop it would have broke.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Does the Pilot use the same prop rod setup or does it have gas struts?

EDIT: Nevermind, the Pilot also has the prop rod. Just watched a review.

I'm torn on whether I'd like the gas struts vs the prop rod. On the one hand, I feel the prop rod is cheap compared to struts, but on the other hand, the simplicity and reliability, and the two hood height options are both very good.
 
#13 ·
One might should ask themselves, "Self, do I really open the hood frequently enough to justify the added weight and complexity of struts?" and "How does the two extra seconds of time required to operate a prop rod a few times a year compare to the hours of time I waste each day on other things?"

There are two times when a hood typically gets the most use: 1) During test drives at the dealership before the vehicle is sold and 2) when it gets worn out and requires repairs. Few people open their hoods in between those two times. :)
 
#14 ·
Older post I realize, but did want to mention our eBay store RIDGELINE-MODS now has a custom engineered Hood Strut Kit for bot G1s and G2s. The G-2 kit requires no drilling and drew high praise at our local Honda dealership from the service department for professional design and OEM quality fitment and functionality.

Regarding the hood prop, it is not only archaic but on the G2 sticks out like a sore thumb. Our Strut Kit is designed with quick release ball fittings to allow the hood prop to still be used in the "shop" position which is almost vertical, for access to the firewall side of the engine. Also we felt the hood was rather low and did not allow much daylight in so the struts are designed to give approximately 20 degrees more hood opening, and the hood opens and raises with one finger. The kit also provides a velcro strap to relocate the old hood prop under the bracket and nearly invisible, and more securely then the cheap plastic clip provided by Honda.

Also available to compliment the Hood Strut Kit are the Engine Compartment LED lighting kit with automatic switch and the rear Trunk Lid Strut kit, as well as many other products custom engineered for Ridgelines in our eBay store at http://stores.ebay.com/Ridgeline-Mods

Thank you for your interest in our products.
 

Attachments

#15 ·
The gas struts on my Nissan Titan gave out when i was doing a oil change one day. Without notice the hood slammed shut with my hand very close to getting crushed. Be glade the ridgeline has a prop hood. The gas struts are nice, but when they fail ... watch out. That hood will close on you without warning very fast!
 
#16 ·
That me be your experience but I do not agree with the principal at all. Gas struts leak over time, compressed Nitrogen is not easy to keep sealed up indefinitely. The average life of industry standard high quality gas hood struts is 3 to 5 years, and we are now working with a major automotive distributor to upgrade our top quality struts to a lifetime warranty product. As the gas pressure is gradually decreasing over time the struts may slowly leak down imperceptibly until at some point years down the road and the hood may not quite stay up on it's own, but it should never "slam" down. It will gradually lower itself, as the pressure in the struts should never go from 40 pounds to zero instantly.

Our struts our mounted inverted, with the cylinder up and the rod down, to keep the seals in oil and minimize the gas leaking over time due to dried out seals.

In addition our geometry is specifically designed for the Ridgelines to use lower gas pressure struts of a longer length, which leak far less then extreme high pressure struts such as 145 lb struts on heavy American full sized trucks.

I do recognize your concerns, but again do not agree with your observations whatsoever. If struts posed a serious safety liability they would not be so prevalent on such a significant majority of all modern vehicles manufactured today, with the Ridge being one of the most notable exceptions.

If you ever had a problem with my struts in the manner you described I will publicly apologize to you and pay your medical bills. I use these identical products on both of Ridgeline work trucks, and would never do so if there was any concern for the safety of my employees. However I am sorry that you had a bad experience and your input may certainly be of value to others. I personally feel not quite catching the clumsy prop stick securely in the hole under a dark hood [which is why we also offer our LED Engine Compartment Lighting Kit] is generally far more dangerous then any high quality gas struts could ever be, and far more likely to allow your hood to come crashing down then our hands free automatic industry proven method.

Best regards, Danny K.
 
#17 · (Edited)
#18 ·
The new G-2 2017 Hood Strut Kits are now on our eBay RIDGELINE-MODS store at RIDGELINE 2017 G2 custom Hood Strut Kit | eBay

By tomorrow I should have the G-2 Engine Compartment LED Lighting kit also listed, and a combination of both items to save on shipping cost. For any offers I have posted here to ROC members just email me through the store and we will take care of that. Any questions or problems just PM me here.

Thanks, Danny

http://stores.ebay.com/Ridgeline-Mods
 

Attachments

#19 ·
I agree alot of vehicles manufactured today come with hood struts and are perfectly safe. (hell why would they put them on vehicles today if they didn't) and i'm sure your product is great!. (sorry i wasn't trying to make accusations against your product and wish you good luck. I love mods like this, its great to see!!)


I was just stating my personal experience i have on my Titan.. that's all. You would think the gas struts on my truck would gradually lower the hood and not slam down, unfortunately this not the case. They hold the hood up for maybe 10-15secs then let go. (its kinda ironic and yes i need to change them).
Now on the other hand, Ive owned alot of cars in my day. Both my mazda 3 and my honda integra did as you describe. They rear hatch for the trunk would come down slowly. (not crash down) ... why my titan hood slams without warning. well that is a mystery to me as well.
 
#20 ·
It's possible [and likely] the Titan hood is much heavier, and maybe that was part of the issue. The Ridge hoods, especially the G-2, are quite light. Thanks for your courtesy, I always found this to be a very classy group of Ridgeline owners on this forum and you are certainly no exception. We all have things we can learn from each other, right ?

Best regards, Danny.
 
#21 ·
Interesting post. On my two Ridges there are quite a few things I would like to be in touch with more then twice a year: Oil, Transmission fluid, brake fluid, power steering fluid, radiator, windshield washer fluid, two fuse blocks, air filter, headlight bulbs, to name a few. Maybe I open my hood more often then most because checking these key components seems important to me. I could not stand the antiquated hood prop in my '06 RT, and it was the first thing I designed for my '13 RTL just purchased in December.
 
#22 ·
Hi guys, regarding the two position hood prop on the G-2s, which is 3 postion on the G-1s, which is called the "shop" position often used for work on Bank1 cats, pulling engines, etc., our new G1 and G2 kits allow for continued use of those alternate positions. We use quick release strut ends which pop right off in seconds with no tools with a small cam, allowing the hood to open all the way to the shop position and engage the prop stick. I will be posting new installation videos on our eBay store within the next few days at http://stores.ebay.com/Ridgeline-Mods where you can see all this in action. Also our struts open the hood about 15 degrees further then the normal lower prop stick position, allowing much more room and natural light in the engine compartment then the stick.

Someone mentioned a weight issue, our struts weigh less then 1 lb apiece. With brackets and hardware tops about 4.5 lbs, I dont think that will affect your gas mileage much : )

Thanks for your interest,

Danny K.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top