Hood struts are an easy way for anyone to tack on a mod that both looks good and improves on OEM functionality. The Grimmspeed struts were pretty straightforward for me to install myself. The only real "gotcha" was that I really like to tighten bolts to factory spec, and the instructions don't include that**. Otherwise, you only have to open the hood a bit by hand and these struts do the rest; on the way down you do need to maintain control as it will drop entirely as it gets a bit more than halfway shut.
**To solve for the bolt torque question, I took my torque wrench and slowly ratcheted up the torque until I was able to turn the existing bolts in order to figure out what the factory spec was. So in my car at least, the torque values I ended up using were:
- Bolts that connect to the car: 15 ftlbs
- Nuts that connect to the hood: 27.5 ftlbs
Oh, and in case you're wondering about weight (which is not listed anywhere!):
- Hood strengthening bars: 355g (each)
- Hood struts: 281g (each)
- Total added weight: 1.27kg (2.8lbs)
One last thing that I wish Subimods (or Grimmspeed) sold as an add-on option is aftermarket dress-up bolts. So I ended up buying a "Titanium Hardware Hood Kit" from Dressupbolts for the hood nuts and (qty 2) m6x1 20mm titanium screws for the bits that go into the car. It added on to the cost a bit, but I like the outcome.