HOOD STRUT CHALLENGE!!!

[au176]

ym0bc1, attached is a pic of the printing on my struts if that helps you identify the model number. Rival sells the kit through ExtremeTerrain for $69.00. Rival number 2A.ST.2702.1.

Wish Rival had been supplying them with Stabilus when I bought them in 21. Those are great struts!

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[au176]

No it's cool, I'm going to upgrade to a $40 one from China this upcoming summer.

If a $20 one from China is equal to or slightly better than @Redline Tuning $100 strut, then a $40 one from China should be worth its weight and gold!

In reality I'm probably going to get it from Alibaba instead of AliExpress, so that way I can communicate with the manufacturer directly and get a significantly better one and make sure it works for what I need.

If that fails, I'll probably just go with Rival, I haven't seen a bad review of them yet!


Why would you replace something that clearly has an issue with quality control with the same product that has the same issue? Makes a whole lot more sense to buy a better quality product and not have to deal with this in the future.

Buy once, cry once. And I love the Rivals. Really nice brackets, and strong struts, though it seems like they change strut suppliers here and there.

I'll second what's been said here. Country of origin doesn't necessarily equal quality. I've bought US-made crap, and I've bought cutting-edge tech from China, the most common example being the iPhone. That being said, all else being equal I try to buy US made.

 

[au176]

Can someone point me to where Stabilus struts are made in America? I've seen a couple people present that information, but I can't find it anywhere on their website, and the photo of stabilus struts earlier in this thread said Made In Germany.

Every Stabilus strut I've ever seen was Made In Germany. And I've seen a LOT of them!

***EDIT*** Apparently, Stabilus has globalized their manufacturing locations. I wasn't aware, based on my past experience, but have learned something today!

 

[vetygud]

We used Stabilus on our machines at work, and they were opened and closed multiple (like 20-30) times a day. Generally lasted 18-24 months, but when you consider how much they got used, I consider them to be the benchmark for quality.

I've got the Rival 4x4 Hood Lift Kit from Quadratech.

https://www.quadratec.com/p/rival-4x4/hood-lift-kit-wrangler-jl-gladiator-jt-2A-ST-2702-1

I don't remember the brand name of the struts- NOT Stabilus, but I've had them on the Jeep for just over 4 years, opening the hood a couple times a month on average. They try to push the hood up from the moment I release the latches. I actually have to hold the hood down to release the latches and secondary release. (I'd post a vid, but the Jeep is buried in the back corner of the garage right now.)

In the link above referring to the Rival hood struts listed through Quadratec the description lists them as “high-quality made in Germany Stablilus gas struts”. I bought the same Rival hood strut kit through ExtremeTerrain and it had the same description and they are German made Stablilus struts.

 

[yokramer]

Buy once, cry once. And I love the Rivals. Really nice brackets, and strong struts, though it seems like they change strut suppliers here and there.

I'll second what's been said here. Country of origin doesn't necessarily equal quality. I've bought US-made crap, and I've bought cutting-edge tech from China, the most common example being the iPhone. That being said, all else being equal I try to buy US made.

The thing with that iphone is it is a US designed, and based company. Much like redline which started the whole thing. There is buying Chinese products, and then theres buying blatant copies for cheaper in the name of saving a buck.

 

[au176]

In the link above referring to the Rival hood struts listed through Quadratec the description lists them as “high-quality made in Germany Stablilus gas struts”. I bought the same Rival hood strut kit through ExtremeTerrain and it had the same description and they are German made Stablilus struts.

Not sure why mine weren't, but having worked with Stabilus products at work, I remember being disappointed that they weren't the strut supplier for my Rival Kit. I'm pretty sure that wasn't in the description when I bought them in 2021. I think I would have remembered that as well... Oh well. If/when these fail, I'll order the Stabilus P/N's that you posted. Thanks for that!

 

[au176]

The thing with that iphone is it is a US designed, and based company. Much like redline which started the whole thing. There is buying Chinese products, and then theres buying blatant copies for cheaper in the name of saving a buck.

I agree with your statement. My point was not all Chinese-made stuff is crap.

 

[yokramer]

I agree with your statement. My point was not all Chinese-made stuff is crap.

Yep you get what you pay for just like anywhere else for sure.

 

[Megawatt]

I have redlines installed since 2022. Mine acted just like yours in the video last month. It took me a second to realize one end of one rod would detach from the hood joint, so the hood was using only one strut. Jump on their website and $8 buys two end caps (the side with the spring). Got them in 4 days.

Your video doesn’t show both struts actually installed. Not trying to say your deceiving anyone but why make a night time video if you want to show something doesn’t work.

I am not any manufactures fanboy. I want my money to go far and all products to work. I like saving money.

 

[au176]

You don't want to know how much we sell Pappy Van Winkle to the stores people buy them from for... I'll tell you this, it ain't $15,000, It's not even half of that.

Ah, Pappy. Good stuff, but not even worth $1000 per bottle in my eyes, though I did pay $80 for a shot of the 20-year at a bar recently, simply because I've never had it. Good stuff. We are going to be at the distillery in Frankfort this summer, so I'll see if I can get one reasonably cheap, but I'm NOT holding my breath! I have a REAL hard time paying over $100 for a bottle of anything, but I will for certain things. RARELY.

I do like that distillery's basic Buffalo Trace, but for my money, Four Roses Small Batch Select is an incredible bargain at $50 for a 750 ml. That's my current go-to.

OK, back to the regularly-scheduled "Jeep Talk"!

 

[ym0bc1]

Please don’t make ASSumptions about a business you have no idea about.

As with most companies, we do not manufacture components, but design them in house, create drawings and then rely on suppliers who are experts in their field to manufacture them to our drawings/specifications.

We do not manufacture our gas springs in house, rather we have a Gas Spring supplier in New York state. Our mounting hardware (brackets) are manufactured for us locally here in Michigan, the backing plate insert for our hood brackets is stamped in Illinois, our vinyl sleeves that we ship our gas springs in are manufactured in Massachusetts and the shipping tubes that we ship our product in are made in Wisconsin. So YES, our products are ACTUALLY made in the USA. We bring these components to our location in Ann Arbor, assemble everything and package them up to ship out to our customer. We have been in business for over 23 years have designed and developed our Hood QuickLIFT systems for over 350 different vehicles. We are the global leader in Hood lift designs and are proud to support other USA businesses in the manufacturing of our products. 80% of the Jeep Hood lift systems you see out there from other companies are direct copies of our design. So it is rather annoying to see yet ANOTHER company blatantly copy our design, manufacture it in China and sell it for less.

The benefits of our products:

• 100% Made in the USA
• 4 or 5 year warranty PLUS vs. ELITE
• Our Mounting hardware is zinc plated and then powder coated so even if you scratch the powder coating, they will not rust.
• The bolts we use for our hood brackets are Stainless Steel and then black oxide coated to match the Black brackets. Again, they will not rust.
• US customer support, If you ever have an issue and you call you actually talk to a person in the United States.

At the end of the day customers can buy whatever product they want, we only want to inform consumers why our product is better.

Nice! Thanks for the clarity and transparency!
I'm curious - for the design, is it not patentable or something else? Why not apply for a patent so that you can protect your design?

 

[yokramer]

Nice! Thanks for the clarity and transparency!
I'm curious - for the design, is it not patentable or something else? Why not apply for a patent so that you can protect your design?

How exactly is that going to stop the Chinese manufacturers and Chinese based companies? If GM wasnt able to do anything what do you expect Redline to do?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chery#Controversies

 

[yokramer]

Here is and another example of a Chinese company ripping off someone elses work and selling "the exact same" product for much cheaper. LTT (a Canadian company) spent 4 years working on getting this to market and within months copies were on alibaba and aliexpress. Is it the same screwdriver? Hell no its a cheap copy that isnt anywhere near the quality of the original. But someone will look at it and go well its only $27 and its the same thing why not? or "Im not spending $70 on a screwdriver thats just greedy and over priced" while they have no idea what a quality tool actually costs.

Do you have every right to buy the cheaper one? Sure but know its not the same thing as the original, and dont get pissy when people call you out on trying to claim they are the same.

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/subject_1600934595642.html

https://www.lttstore.com/products/screwdriver

 

[ym0bc1]

ym0bc1, attached is a pic of the printing on my struts if that helps you identify the model number. Rival sells the kit through ExtremeTerrain for $69.00. Rival number 2A.ST.2702.1.

Thanks for the info. I thought the force would be more but seems 250N works.
I measured mine in the Jeep, so extended length is around 18-19", and compressed length should be less than 11".
By looking at stabilus parts, i see this one would work perfectly. Guess how much? $10 each!

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=14956533&cc=0&pt=1001339&jsn=461

I purchased something similar recently to replace my rear window strut. They are made in USA.

 

[yokramer]

Thanks for the info. I thought the force would be more but seems 250N works.
I measured mine in the Jeep, so extended length is around 18-19", and compressed length should be less than 11".
By looking at stabilus parts, i see this one would work perfectly. Guess how much? $10 each!

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=14956533&cc=0&pt=1001339&jsn=461

I purchased something similar recently to replace my rear window strut. They are made in USA.

You keep harping on just the strut costs. So you are at $20 in struts plus shipping lets be generous and call it $10 so now its $30 just in struts and shipping. These also dont have the quick disconnect ends on them but we will over look this for now.

Now come up with the brackets shipped for <$70 for the full cost of the Redline ones, not to mention you can regularly get them for $70ish all in with sales.

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