Emerald Struts......Auto boot release

[Wino]

Anyone on here had these fitted to the MK4 ? 

https://emeraldstruts.com/products/ford-focus

[Guy Heaton]

Now they look interesting.  Let us know if you do fit them.

[StephenFord]

I was going to get these for my Mk2 but changed my mind at the last minute and just got 'standard' ones, concept looks good though...

[Wino]

27 minutes ago, Guy Heaton said:

Now they look interesting.  Let us know if you do fit them.

Will do

 

Have been ordered but won't be fitting them myself. Will leave that to the Brother in law who runs his own garage so I have someone else to blame other than myself if they don't work as they should. 👍

[MJLee]

I have these fitted to my Mk3.5, they are easy to install and work great although they make closing the boot lid more difficult but you do get used to it after a week or so

[StephenFord]

7 hours ago, MJLee said:

... although they make closing the boot lid more difficult but you do get used to it after a week or so

I think any 'new' strut is difficult to close, but they do calm down after a couple of months use.

[Wino]

Seems as Royal Snail are taking there time. 

We have it tracked and its sat in the depot waiting to be dispatched.

[Frowma]

So are these stronger struts that will open the tailgate when you press the button rather than just pop the tailgate?

[Guy Heaton]

Yes, they sound good.

[Wino]

2 hours ago, Frowma said:

So are these stronger struts that will open the tailgate when you press the button rather than just pop the tailgate?

If you click on the link in my original post there's a video showing the before and after.

[JW1982]

You should think twice before installing these struts.

Similar struts of different brands have been available for Years. When the tailgate is closed the extra springs that are added to the gas struts are (almost) fully compressed. These springs have a rating of approximately 500 N each which means that it will take 50 KG to compress each spring. When the tailgate is closed and the springs are compressed they will put a lot of extra stress at the mounting points, hinges and lock mechanism. The additional force (2 x 50 KG) on top of the force of the gas struts (2 x 38.5 KG) is known to cause problems. For example:

* Closing the tailgate requires a lot of extra force.
* Strut mounting points can easily deform.
* Strut mounting points can even shear off.
* Hinges can deform.
* Excessive wear of hinges.
* Excessive wear of lock mechanism.
* Lock mechanism not releasing properly (the mechanism is not designed to release under tension.

There are even examples on other forums (mostly Fiesta) where the additional force during an extended period resulted in deformation of the tailgate.

Another downside is that a gas strut looses part of its force at low ambient temperatures. As a result of this the tailgate not opening by itself at low ambient temperatures is perfectly normal. Some manufacturers solve this by using stronger gas struts. This however puts even more force at the mounting points, hinges and lock mechanism.

 

If you still want gas struts with an additional spring and the original gas struts are still in good condition it is much cheaper to add springs to the original gas struts. Different spring sizes and ratings are easily available and pretty inexpensive. 
 

[Frowma]

On 1/8/2021 at 8:18 PM, Wino said:

If you click on the link in my original post there's a video showing the before and after.

So there is, I didn't realise they were vids, I thought they were just pictures!

[FordFocus MK3]

I was thinking about getting these for focus MK3 but I am worried about what the likely hood of something braking is? 

[3k4peikos]

 

On 12/28/2020 at 3:00 PM, Wino said:

Anyone on here had these fitted to the MK4 ? 

https://emeraldstruts.com/products/ford-focus

Yes i just fitted them on my 2020 mk4 focus and they perform their function well. 
HOWEVER HUGE DISCLAIMER:
Struts came incomplete without the ball socket end caps. My original end caps had a thread of m6 and the emerald ones had a thread of m8. I asked and called and emailed and wrote emerald struts for a set of the right end caps but ZERO COMMUNICATION from them until this day (two weeks after i received the struts). Dogsh1t customer service. Finally i found the end caps in my city for an extra 14eur (7ea) and fitted the struts. They perform as advertised however closing the boot is now extremely hard and my wife for example isn't even able to close it herself. Too much power in these struts definitely.

Overall don't recommend them if a woman is driving the car because as i said she probably won't be able to close the boot. Will track the progress if any damage is being done to the boot because i can imagine the stress of the ball-end joints that these struts are having while the boot is closed is extreme.

[Wino]

3 hours ago, 3k4peikos said:

 

Yes i just fitted them on my 2020 mk4 focus and they perform their function well. 
HOWEVER HUGE DISCLAIMER:
Struts came incomplete without the ball socket end caps. My original end caps had a thread of m6 and the emerald ones had a thread of m8. I asked and called and emailed and wrote emerald struts for a set of the right end caps but ZERO COMMUNICATION from them until this day (two weeks after i received the struts). Dogsh1t customer service. Finally i found the end caps in my city for an extra 14eur (7ea) and fitted the struts. They perform as advertised however closing the boot is now extremely hard and my wife for example isn't even able to close it herself. Too much power in these struts definitely.

Overall don't recommend them if a woman is driving the car because as i said she probably won't be able to close the boot. Will track the progress if any damage is being done to the boot because i can imagine the stress of the ball-end joints that these struts are having while the boot is closed is extreme.

I did post an update on this but it seems to be missing.....same issues as you posted about incorrect fitments and was strongly advised NOT to fit them.

They was also very obstructive in accepting a return and ended up opening a case against them as thankfully we had used eBay but we still ended up out of pocket due to the postage. 

Personally I'd avoid like the plague infact no, more like a good dose of Ebola.

Edited July 22, 2022 by Wino
Additional information

[TomsFocus]

1 hour ago, Wino said:

Personally I'd avoid like the plague infact no, more like a good dose of Ebola.

Considering recent events, I'm not sure people would avoid the plague this time around.  

[Wino]

2 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Considering recent events, I'm not sure people would avoid the plague this time around.  

That's why I didn't put " avoid like a good dose of Covid" too many people and loved ones have suffered enough but not many do survive a good bout of Ebola.