MK 4 Hydraulic bonnet struts fitted

[Frowma]

I was very surprised upon taking delivery of my car that it still had the old fashioned manual bonnet strut. We had a late 90's Merc 190 with hydraulic struts and I can't believe a new Ford doesn't come with them. 

Anyways, I did some searching and found there were a fair few kits online, incliding aliexpress and dhgate. I eventually got mine from NB Styling through eBay, a little more expensive than other kits but the quality looked better.

I am really impressed with them, they were easy to fit (took about 20 mins tops) and make opening the bonnet much less faff.

Here is a link to a little vid on my google drive, it says it is still processing so it might not be viewable yet.

I've not been paid or asked to promote these struts I just thought I'd share as I'm impressed, they are expensive but it shows in the fit and quality of the brackets.

Link to ebay ad

[F0CUE]

Looks great should be more stable in wind too. I have been wanting this mod since having a mk2 just never got around to it. Next the electric boot 😂 

[StephenFord]

Gosh, that takes me back! I put struts on my 1995 GT4, one of the most useful mods I ever did! However, on pricing them for my Mk2, they just aren't worth the expense!

[TomsFocus]

Blimey...it was bad enough the MK3's didn't get a gas strut....but the Mk4 doesn't either!? 😮

Ford definitely underestimate the amount of times you'll be lifting the bonnet!

 

[Frowma]

It really does seem strange. I bet gas struts would add about a tenner to the overall cost if they added them to every car!

 

[StephenFord]

9 minutes ago, Frowma said:

It really does seem strange. I bet gas struts would add about a tenner to the overall cost if they added them to every car!

 

Indeed, and that would translate to an extra £100 to charge the customer! LOL

[Ennvoqation]

I've fitted these to my Mk 3.5 Focus, nothing worse than knocking the strut bar loose and it gives you more freedom to move around the bay. 

[Guest]

Are these classed as a modification for insurance purposes?

[StephenFord]

1 hour ago, Nard said:

Are these classed as a modification for insurance purposes?

Any right minded person would say, 'no', in over a decade of ownership on my own modded car, I never declared it. If you are not the first owner, take the stance that it came with them and you thought 'they all had them'. Of course, if you're the kinda guy that takes out an extended warranty on a £10 supermarket toaster, yes, I'd phone your insurance company immediately! 🤣

[Frowma]

Pfft, I'm not informing my insurance company about some bonnet struts. It hasn't affected the car from a financial or performance perspective. I'm not going to inform them about the wind deflectors on the front door or the waterproof boot liner either!

[TomsFocus]

Technically anything that's not standard counts as a modification for insurance purposes.  If your gas strut becomes partially detatched in the event of an accident and spears a pedestrian the insurers might not be too pleased!  

On a serious note though, for anyone that's 17 and on a black box, it is worth informing them of literally everything - I've seen people have insurance cancelled because of painted callipers and window stickers!  On normal insurance after about 21, it's less likely to be an issue.  

[fiestaecoboostman]

24 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Technically anything that's not standard counts as a modification for insurance purposes.  If your gas strut becomes partially detatched in the event of an accident and spears a pedestrian the insurers might not be too pleased!  

On a serious note though, for anyone that's 17 and on a black box, it is worth informing them of literally everything - I've seen people have insurance cancelled because of painted callipers and window stickers!  On normal insurance after about 21, it's less likely to be an issue.  

An accident bad enough to do that and the car would just be a lump of scrap, so unlikely its 1 in a million. I'd agree about the young drivers though. Tints and minor mods all used to cancel policies. The dreaded question on renewal ... Have you EVER had a policy cancelled or special conditions imposed?

[TomsFocus]

12 minutes ago, fiestaecoboostman said:

An accident bad enough to do that and the car would just be a lump of scrap, so unlikely its 1 in a million. 

True!  Alternatively, you could hit a pedestrian head on which breaks the bonnet catch...poor pedestrian gets catapulted 3 streets away by the bonnet flying open!  

[Guy Heaton]

Declaring items on the insurance does mean you can claim for their loss on top of the basic car claim.

Probably not worth it for 60 quid though.