CT928

Frustrating Problem,
My car's rear hatch support struts were not holding the hatch open. So I took them off, match them to some Lift-O-Mat struts in a car acessory shop, saved a bit of money over the Porsche ones (Or so I thought) and fitted them. Open Hatch, Let go, Hatch falls shut, but slightly slower.
Damn.
Never mind, the front hood ones had gone as well and they are the same size, so I put them on the front. Hood opens on it's own. result.
Decided to bite the bullet and buy OE Porsche ones. Quite expensive, but maybe there is something different with the genuine part. ( uh huh)
came back from the dealer, compared them to the ones I had previously bought (they are identical, but must be different because these are the correct part) Fitted them, lift hatch, let go. Hatch closes.
$hit.

Any thoughts? Or is my hatch just made of lead?

Mike LaBranche

I believe the hatch struts are rated at 100 lbs and the hood are 40 lbs. Could you have hood struts on the hatch? Recommend you don't put hatch struts on the hood.

HTH

CT928

How can you tell the difference in the load rating?

(Apart from when the hatch falls shut on your head )

The struts I bought aren't Porsche ones what harm will they do to the hood? Could they Actually bend it?
It's kinda cool having a bonnet which lifts it's self up

aaron3

The hood and hatch struts are definitely different. Different part #'s too. There should be some type of number indicating compression force on the strut itself. I can't remember off the top of my head but the compression strength of the hatch strut is LOTS more than the hood struts. I wouldn't put the hatch struts on the hood for fear of bending that beautiful aluminum hood (the hatch struts have tremendous force). You can probably pick the right part number off of the 928 Int webpage.

elemental

Have you got them the right way up? I just fitted new Porsche hatch struts from 928 intl yesterday and they work great. Thick end up.
HTH

Mike LaBranche

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by CT928:
<strong>How can you tell the difference in the load rating?

(Apart from when the hatch falls shut on your head )

The struts I bought aren't Porsche ones what harm will they do to the hood? Could they Actually bend it?
It's kinda cool having a bonnet which lifts it's self up</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Their load rating should be printed on them. My 928Intl shocks (8 of 'em total) all have white markings with lbs. You'll mangle the hood eventually with 100 lb struts on it.

CT928

The ones which I bought today from the dealer, P/N 928 512 331 05 according to the receipt are definatly not strong enough to bend the hood. If you lean on them they will comress quite easily.
I think I will go back tommorow and pose the obvious question. Maybe they gave me the wrong ones, there is no part number on the strut it's self.

Are both front and back identical except for their strength. Length etc is same?

BTW the same dealer is offering me a set of 17" 996/boxster wheels with new Pirreli tyres for Dhs 1500 (circa 400US) the workshop foreman says they will need to be spaced out but this seems too good a deal to pass up. Any thoughts?

dr bob

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by CT928:
<strong>&lt;&lt;...&gt;&gt;

BTW the same dealer is offering me a set of 17" 996/boxster wheels with new Pirreli tyres for Dhs 1500 (circa 400US) the workshop foreman says they will need to be spaced out but this seems too good a deal to pass up. Any thoughts?</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Your dealer is a little spaced out...

The 996/Boxster takeoff wheels are often fitted to 928's without using any spacers. The offset is already too far out by 7mm in front, though not a problem with rubbing the fender while those 205-section tires are fitted.

If there was such a thing as a negative spacer, that's what you'd be looking for.

I fitted a set of 996 C4 wheels (8 & 9 inch) to my S4 and they look great, but the fronts use an awful lot of the wheelwell. I plan to use 225 or maybe 235 section fronts when the fitted 205's go away, but it will only be a with a lot of carefull measuring and fitting.

Good luck!

WallyP

Good golly, man! We sell the aftermarket hood and hatch shocks for $9.99 each, plus shipping, and I promise you that they are the right strength to properly support the hood without bending it, and the hatch won't fall on your head!

If you must have the Genuine Porsche versions, they cost a little less than $25 each ...

Call Jeannie at (828) 766-9280 to get them.

Old & New

I don't mean to be a stick in the mud, but the aftermarket version (U.S. manufacture) has lasted me about four years (twice).

The original ones seemed to last at least twice as long. YMMV

Depending upon your angle, you may wish to go with OEM...

CT928

I'm going to take the Porsche one's I bought back to the dealer and hit him with them until he gives me the right ones.

My problem with buying parts from the US and Europe is that I have to send the moeny by Wesern Union, then pay for fedex/UPS and then pay customs duty when they arrive here.
By the time this is done I'm usually paying dealer prices. Plus I have a good relationship with my OPC and they give me 25% discount on any 928 parts they have in Dead Stock, which is quite a bit.

CT928

I went back and got the right once today. And now the hatch opens nicely.

The struts I have on the bonnet are no where near as strong as those on the hatch so I can't see any danger in leaving them on.
Thanks for all your help guys

Also Dr Bob, My wheel post was a little vague, he said but spacers at the back. He didn't mention the front. I'm looking a Boxster wheels, are they the same as 996's?

dr bob

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by CT928:
<strong>&lt;&lt;...&gt;&gt;

Also Dr Bob, My wheel post was a little vague, he said but spacers at the back. He didn't mention the front. I'm looking a Boxster wheels, are they the same as 996's?</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Same ones, except that the Boxster wheels are only 7" wide in front. This limits you to 225/50 tire size if you were thinking of upsizing tires in the future.

Spacers in the rear might be nice if you want to try and fill the reaer wheelhouse a little more, but they aren't necessary. Offset on the Boxster wheel is 55, actually a little "better" than the
factory 7's that cam on your car. Plus your replacements will be 8", so they will be about 5/8" further out than the originals even without spacers. You probaly want to do a trial fitment to see if you want or need additional spacers.

Which Boxster wheels are you looking at? The techno-twist wheels are going for US$800 to maybe $1200 in the US on E-bay, so your buy sounds pretty darn good. At US$400, that's less than a couple new rear tires I believe.

TAREK

CT928,

How much exactly did you save over the right ones from Porsche suppliers? Big3 are selling them for $14.00. That's cheaper than ANYTHING pep boys or other local stores carry for ANY car.....and ebay has them too !!!! Please tell us how you figured you'd be saving money by doing what you did

I can't believe people still don't include the big3 as part of their price research!!!
These stories are getting old...hood struts to water pumps !!!

TAREK

correction on the price...$ 9.99.even cheaper than I thought