MRT Hood Struts?

Has anyone installed MRT hood struts yet? Since the hood on my EB needs to be dropped from about a foot above the car to close, I'm curious if the MRT struts will allow that so the hood closes with out a hand on top of the hood slamming it shut. Aluminium dents VERY easily!

Thanks!

Jim

jholtz said:

Has anyone installed MRT hood struts yet? Since the hood on my EB needs to be dropped from about a foot above the car to close, I'm curious if the MRT struts will allow that so the hood closes with out a hand on top of the hood slamming it shut. Aluminium dents VERY easily!

Thanks!

Jim

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have you tried to get your dealer to adjust the hoot supports and latch? Other members have reported that solved their issues.

Chris

cbrookre said:

have you tried to get your dealer to adjust the hoot supports and latch? Other members have reported that solved their issues.

Chris

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I just got the car a couple weeks ago so I've not taken the time to get into it much other than drive and enjoy it. I'm an old car guy with mechanic/dealership in my past so I'll probably adjust them myself. However, the hood bumpers seem the right height since the hood fits flush. Actually, all of the panels fit very nicely. It must have been built on a good day.

The hold down latch might need a very slight adjustment to let it grab the hood quicker. I'll check it out one of these days.

Thanks for the thoughts.

Jim

Are you guys brothers? You look alike. :lol::lol::lol:

Rickycardo said:

Are you guys brothers? You look alike. :lol::lol::lol:

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Close relatives. :lol:

ColoradoGT said:

Jim...I have Red Line struts...always used them...on my '14 GT...and it's hard to shut....but, these struts allow some "room" after it comes down....which allows me some "free space" that is not controlled by the struts to have room to take my palm and close the hood to latch. But, adjusting the latch to it's "best spot" in your case may be the only way to go. I've done mine and the stops too, as much as I can, without throwing off the alignment. Been working out OK. I plan on buying the Red Lines for my '15 after it gets to me....some day! LOL.....

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The thing I like about the MRT kit is they are bolt on with out drilling. Red Lines look nice too but you have to drill the battery cover to mount the passenger side strut. That's a show stopper for me.

Jim

^^^^^^ Yup, same here.
My CO MRT kit arrived today - installation tomorrow!

Rig Dawg said:

^^^^^^ Yup, same here.
My CO MRT kit arrived today - installation tomorrow!

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I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts about the struts and installation. Thanks for sharing!

Jim

Still waiting for mine to ship out hope to see them soon

cbrookre said:

have you tried to get your dealer to adjust the hoot supports and latch? Other members have reported that solved their issues.

Chris

Click to expand...

What height drop distance would be good for a properly adjusted hood to ask dealer to adjust too? I don't know eight of hood, but would 6" do it?
Even with MRT hood struts?

I installed the struts yesterday but removed them after hood alignment became almost impossible with the pressure-charged struts in place.
Installation was pretty easy but I wasn't prepared for the hood alignment issue.
Removed the struts by carefully prying off the retaining clip on the strut, then put the struts aside for another day. Once they were off I successfully adjusted hood alignment.
I plan to get my Ford body shop to assist with the hood adjustment on my next attempt at installation. This will be in 3-4 weeks given my current schedule.

Hey Jim,

I installed my MRT hood struts last weekend. Totally straight-forward; but I did employ the help of another Mustang friend to help tighten the hood nuts while I aligned the hood/hinge plate to the marks I made on the hood prior to installation. Everything lined back up to my satisfaction, but do know that the addition of the strut brackets on the hinge plates does cause the rear of the hood to be raised up very slightly from the fender. I'll edit this post shortly with pictures. It really is nominal though, and even with the additional height is still better than some of the Job 1 cars were aligned. LOL

I'll gladly deal with the add'l +/- 1mm gap in order to not have a ridiculous prop rod on a $40k car. :frusty:

I've not had any issues with closing the hood after installation of the struts, but my hood closure was really good to begin with, so YMMV.

~Matt

EDIT: Also, I'm not going to get into the subjective issue of 'how much force is required to close the hood' without a force gauge, but I can tell you this: I just checked, and my hood starts to fall on its own 16" above the front bumper [EDIT: top of front clip/hood latch]. Static (stays in place) at 17"-19", and when released at 20", it will rise on its own. TMI, I know, but if anyone was wondering....



Alignment marks w/ fine-point Sharpie




Rise after install. Note that with the flash and close-up, the gap looks much larger than in real life.

Matt,
I'm curious of your reasons for choosing the MRT over Redline. I am one of those OCD TMI guys, your thoughts appreciated here. DO you get a sense the larger MRT brkt has any real world benefit? I'm still 7 weeks out for my car. :(

Dave,

1) Past experience (I have MRT struts on my 03 GT).
2) For whatever reason, I prefer the 'forward-leaning' struts visually. I think the Redline struts mount in the opposite orientation, iirc (bottom-forward)? Maybe I'm thinking of another brand.
3) I have a friend who is friends with Scott Hoag @ MRT.

Yes, the MRT brackets are exceptionally long, and I do notice a very slight amount of flex between the front of said bracket and the hood upon the initial closing action. It isn't enough to concern me (yet), but if I ever think that it is going to be a problem - which will probably be about 10 seconds after something bad happens, lol - I have no problem switching to another vendor.

-Matt