Who has these Hood Struts?

[lino]

Where can I buy Bilstein Hood Struts Like this one?


(shown here on an Acura Legend G2)

[Guest]

Check with Bilstein and see if they have a fitment for the 5er. I doubt they do though.

Rich

[C.R. Krieger]

[QUOTE="lino"]Where can I buy Bilstein Hood Struts Like this one?


(shown here on an Acura Legend G2)[/QUOTE]

You call that puny thing a hood strut? This is a hood strut:


If you prefer that 'High Tech' stuff, you can get it in aluminum alloy:

[booker]

C.R.,

How do you connect those things to the car? :p

The original post is about Bilstein hood struts, not props.

[C.R. Krieger]

[QUOTE="booker535"]C.R.,

How do you connect those things to the car? :p

The original post is about Bilstein hood struts, not props.[/QUOTE]

Hell, if you're gonna get all picky about a few little semantic terms, I ain't tellin'! :@

[shifty]

That Acura's hood isn't even opened up very much. What idiot connected the strut that far forward on the hood?

You can make your E28's hood open up more than that just by getting a set of E23 hood shocks.

[RDAvena]

[QUOTE="Shifty"]You can make your E28's hood open up more than that just by getting a set of E23 hood shocks.[/QUOTE]

I thought they were the e24 ones that Icehaus used on his 535i?

[JBort]

Shifty's right; hood shocks from e23...

Might as well get new ones: about $24 a pair on "the bay"--a great modification!!

(The e34 shocks are really short...)

[lino]

So which hood struts are the upgrade for the e28? The e24 or e23? Are they just a simple replacement of the older ones or do they require any modification? How much of an improvement do they make?

Thanks guys.

[shifty]

They are E23. The first-gen 7 Series. Actually, one of the E24 hood shocks is the same as these E23 shocks, but then you'd only have one shock if you bought E24 hood shocks! You want E23 hood shocks.

They're a direct bolt-on upgrade. Remove the old ones and install the new ones. 5 minutes per side for even a beginner. A hood shock swap was one of my very first non-oil-change jobs on my first 528e.

They make a HUGE improvement when you're trying to get at something in the back of the engine bay. Really. The only problem is that, if you have a low ceiling garage, you better watch out!

Here are two comparison pics to show you the difference. As you can see, the E23 hood shocks make the hood nearly straight up.

Kyle in NO's 535iS with stock hood shocks:



Icehaus Dave's 535iS with E23 hood shocks. Wow, I just realized how often I post pics of Dave's gorgeous 5er!

[lino]

Thanks Shifty! So now I must buy some E23 Hood Shocks. Part number I found is 51 23 869 147.

Here is the difference in the specs:

APPLICATION-------BMW 7 SERIES E 23.........APPLICATION-------BMW 7 SERIES E 28
YEAR------------------4.76-8.86..............................YEAR------------------5/81-
OE-NR----------------51.23.1.869.147..................OE-NR----------------51.23.1.927.129
Lift Code-------------1101012................................Lift Code-------------1101041
STABILUS Code---1513BN.................................STABILUS Code---1462BW
USE -------------------Engine Hood.......................USE -------------------Engine Hood
MILE-------------------8mm......................................MILE-------------------8mm
TUBE -----------------18mm...................................TUBE -----------------18mm
EXT.LENGTH-------500mm.................................EXT.LENGTH-------440mm
STROKE-------------206mm.................................STROKE--------------168mm
FORCE---------------230 Newton.........................FORCE---------------380 Newton

--> There is a 60mm difference in Ext. Length.