A&Q about 350Z
Q:
Did it meet your expectations? Any regrets? Do you like it?
A:
well I of course have no experience with it, but ive seen some people with it and it works as described but i cant really justify the need. I mean unless you're showing the car constantly, is it really worth the money? I mean i do basic maintenance on my car and unless you're a retard the hood prop doesnt get in the way
---------------------
03 CS Touring
VIN #189
A:
It is awsome! I installed them on my 03 Redline as soon as they were available. I have to say that I wish the bracket was longer since the hood is aluminum and it needs to be longer at the top. But, other than that it is cool. You do not need to take the hood loose since there is only one bolt per side on the hood. The other hole goes around the bolt and washer. Installs in under an hour. Best part is no more cheap prop rod... When I think of a prop rod I think of my moms old Pinto wagon.
A:
ZPirate & I were just talking about this item on the other thread titled...Z33 owners..help??. I like it lot & especially if you show your Z.
My SB ZR still feels like HEAVEN....what a wild ride!
A:
First of all it is a great mod if you show your car. I do. It also makes it real easy to get under the hood without having to worry about knocking the hood prop out.
I just installed the CTD hood dampers from Courtesy Nissan that you have linked to. They are very nice. The best kit I have seen for the 350Z. I am not sure what Vonssudderith is talking about, but the kit that Courtesy sells requires you to take off both nuts from each side of the hood to install the hood bracket. That is one reason I like the CTD setup. It uses factory mounting points and has a braket for the hood and the car that the shocks attach to.
The kit took me about an hour to install. The directions that you can print from Courtesy's site help and they include pictures. The biggest problem with the directions is that they do not tell you what tools you need. As I told SluggoZ you need a small flat head screwdriver, a 10 mm socket to get the lower bolt out and an Allen wrench to install the replacement bolt on the bottom bracket (I can't remember what size but you can try it with the supplied bolt until you find the right size). You also need a 8mm and 7mm open end wrenches to attach the shock to the upper and lower brackets. You will need the 8mm to turn the nut and the 7mm to hold the back side in place so it won't turn (be careful not to over tighten the shocks). Finally you need a 12mm socket to remove the hood nuts and reinstall them.
The other problem is that you have to trim the plastic around the bolt where the lower bracket attaches. You will see how the place you need to trim is raised so it is easy to know how far to trim. I trimmed all the way to the raised edge. I used my Dremel tool to trim the plastic after I started the cut with some hand shears. The best way to get the trimming done is to remove the plastic brake or battery cover, then remove the plastic trim around them. To remove the plastic trim take out the five plastic tabs and then lift it out. You also have to slide the rubber gasket attached to the plastic trim near the center of the car out of the piece it is attached to. Don't forget to slide the gasket back on when you reinstall the piece. The tabs come out easy if you use a small flat head screwdriver to slide gently under each tab and pop it up. The tabs will then lift right out. When you reinstall them pull the top of the tab up and push the bottom piece in the hole and then the top of the tab down to make it lock back in place. It is much easier to trim the plastic with it out of the car so it is worth the extra effort to remove it.
I did the job completely by myself, but it would be nice to have someone hold the hood when you intall the hood brackets. Also I did the job slightly out of sequence from the instructions since I was doing it myself. I installed the lower bracket, then the hood brackets and the shocks last. The instructions say install the lower bracket, then the shock to the lower bracket, then the hood bracket and finally attach the shock to the hood bracket. My way made more sense to me.
I actually cut and pasted most of the above info from a PM I sent to SluggoZ about a week ago.
03 Daytona Blue MT
Injen CAI
Borla TD Exhaust
Crawford Plenum, Cats, Headers and Strut Bar
Nismo Suspension, LMGT4 wheels, clutch and flywheel and cams
StopTech BBK, 332mm front and 328mm rear
Technosquare ECU Reflash
3.9 FD
Emerald City Z Club
Post Edited (Oct 17, 11:24am)