I was sick of the hatch hitting my head, so I decided to get new shocks. I ordered the ones from 350zhatchshocksandmore.com. They are $115 shipped.

There are four strength levels available. I chose level 3. I don't have a spoiler now. These shocks raise the hatch (without human assistance) after you lift it maybe 2 or 3 inches. It takes some effort to close, but it has a solid feel. Granted, it's cold today (maybe 30 degrees F), so effort may increase when it warms up.

I am very happy with my purchase. The owner of the site, Jason, will assist you and give advice if you need it. He also got me a tracking number very shortly after ordering and even recommended I go with level 3 instead of 2.

I do have some tips for the install that are slightly different than those on the 350zhatchshocksandmore.com website:

1. Having a second person to help will make this job MUCH easier. You won't need them for much, but there are a times when you will need someone to hold up the hatch or hand you a tool.
2. Removing the spring poppers first gives you a lot more room to work and only takes a few seconds.
3. Even with a high quality 12mm wrench (Craftsman), you may strip the top mounts. This happened to me even after removing the popper and having the wrench perfectly straight on the mount.
4. I don't really think a Dremel will work for this job. I would actually recommend that you have an air cut off tool ($7 from harbor freight, maybe $20 at home depot). This is because when you strip the top mount you can do the following:
5. If you strip the top mount, don't worry. Just cut through the piston where it goes from silver to black. This will allow you fully rotate the ball stud mount and cut it off. I would recommend cutting through the piston anyway as it only takes a minute with an air cutter and takes all the pressure off the top mount. This gives you the best chance of NOT stripping it. While cutting through the piston, make sure your helper is pushing the hatch up as much as possible or the piston may pinch and break the cutting disk.
6. Make sure to use a 6 point deep socket when reinstalling the top mount. A 12 point socket might strip it since it is a very soft metal.

 

thanks for the info. how long have you had them for? I believe the true key piece of information is how long they shocks will last under normal use with a spoiler on installed.

 

Good point. Anyway I got this and Ioowqs tired of getting hit as well as using my head to keep the hatch up. Lol

 

As I've stated before, the hatch shocks I got at www.350zhatchshocksandmore.com, are simply amazing. I ordered them over 4 years ago, and they are still strong as ever. I ordered the Stage 3 shocks, which help lift the hatch, and doesn't require two hands.

Anyone is crazy to still use the "penny trick" when they could be done with their weak hatch shocks once and for all.