guys...whenever I open my hatch it will inevitably fall down on its own because of the weight of my rear wing. Will replacing the dampners help this? Are the stock dampners not very strong and would aftermarket ones resolve this problem? anyone else have this problem?

 

There is actually a weight in the rear hatch that makes it easier to close. If you add additional weight with a wing, you can remove the stock weight and the hatch should behave as normal.

 

Where's the stock weight? I need to remove that from getting bonked in head due to crappy Nissan dampers..

 

Ya, I think I might need to remove mine also, and I only have the OEM spoiler.

 

subscribing, because I'm installing a wing tomorrow

 

i removed the weight but it didn't help, still falls on my head

 

Here you go: https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....t=hatch+weight


I removed mine last weekend. It's easy.

 

alright thanks gonna try it out - and what is the 3 penny solution the guy was talking about?

 

my car never had a weight so others may not either.

 

Penny Trick

 

I have the extra shocks that came with the OEM wing, along with all the hardware. I'm thinking of selling them, as my hatch still opens and closes properly. Would anyone be interested? I'm thinking $150 + shipping.

 

I sent mine struts to Frank at Strutwise in Canada, he rebuilt them to hold the weight. His website is www.strutwise.com, get his phone number from there and call him for a price quote.

 

i did the penny trick...thanks mr pratt...and now atleast when i hit the switch i can just lift up the hatch without perfect hit the switch and lift timing so thats good. The hatch still falls on my head tho so I guess the only answer is to get the dampners redone?

Hey gringott how much did that cost you with shipping and all that?

 

He is the best way to go , far cheaper then buying shocks

 

If I remember right I paid $90 or a little less, about a year and a half ago.

He might be cheaper now, don't know, once it was done no reason for further contact. Anyway, mine were the first he did, I'm sure that he has it down now. He told me that all the local Nissan dealers have him rebuild thier hatch shocks because the Nissan prices are so high. Cannot verify that, except that this was much cheaper than the "upgrade" shocks Nissan sells for use with a spoiler.

 

This seems like it may be an even CHEAPER alternative...just buying new ones with the appropriate force rating:

http://www.mcmaster.com/nav/enter.asp?pagenum=1097

I'm at work so I don't have time to go out an measure my OEM struts...but definitely something to look into. Also I know the page shows struts with two ball joint ends, but if you go to the next few pages, you can buy different ends and mounting brackets.

 

That method sounds good, but to my knowledge, nobody has tried it.
I bought a set of struts off ebay for a couple of dollars, and when I have time I intend to go to the autoparts store and see if I can match them up with some off the shelf struts. But as mine work since the rebuild, I have no incentive.


I do like the locking strut on McMasters, that would help if you live in a windy area.

 

the ebay ones are probably the cheapest alternative, and come with all the necessary hardware to make it work

 

I bought an OEM wing kit and it came with the stronger struts. It has a red sticker vs. a blue one that my non-spoiler car came with.

I never installed that spoiler or the struts. I still have the struts, never used, if anyone is interested.