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Recently, the trunk struts on my 2005 LS430 lost their mojo. Based on info gleaned from this forum, I decided to buy some replacement struts from Figs Engineering. Order was placed Tues Oct 2, at 4:39 PM. Package arrived today, and I just finished installing them. Fit and feel is great, and the trunk has its mojo back.
Note: Start time was the moment the box was opened. End time was when the project was finished (the struts were installed, the tools were back in the tool box, all packaging and old parts were in the recycling bin, hands were washed, hair was combed, and a refreshing adult beverage was in hand). Project also involved cleaning 12+ years of crud that had accumulated in and around the fittings at each end of the struts.
Tools Required:
small screw driver (to remove clips on old struts)
knife/scissors/sharp teeth (to open box and heat sealed poly bag)
Recently, the trunk struts on my 2005 LS430 lost their mojo. Based on info gleaned from this forum, I decided to buy some replacement struts from Figs Engineering. Order was placed Tues Oct 2, at 4:39 PM. Package arrived today, and I just finished installing them. Fit and feel is great, and the trunk has its mojo back.
Note: Start time was the moment the box was opened. End time was when the project was finished (the struts were installed, the tools were back in the tool box, all packaging and old parts were in the recycling bin, hands were washed, hair was combed, and a refreshing adult beverage was in hand). Project also involved cleaning 12+ years of crud that had accumulated in and around the fittings at each end of the struts.
Tools Required:
small screw driver (to remove clips on old struts)
knife/scissors/sharp teeth (to open box and heat sealed poly bag)
Now that I've had Monroes for almost a year, oddly, the right side had grime on the ball stud (I believe these have zero warranty out the door)?
That's why for my wife's SUV, I went with Stabilus. These are rock solid after a year in my BMW, it's like the hood lifts with force. As a matter of fact, they are OEM, and they cost < $20 each. When I lifted the hood of a '17 760Li, what do you think the struts said? Stabilus. I'm trying these next time on the LS....
This is a chance to ask about your trunk lid experience!
The heavy trunk lid has easily been worst the feature of my 04 LS430.
With the OEM struts, and later with no-name struts off ebay, the lid has always required a heavy lift to raise; so much so my wife avoids using the trunk.
Are all LS430 trunks this way?
Do quality aftermarket struts like FIGS etc reduce the effort required?
Interested in your experience here, thanks
Coker
This is a chance to ask about your trunk lid experience!
The heavy trunk lid has easily been worst the feature of my 04 LS430.
With the OEM struts, and later with no-name struts off ebay, the lid has always required a heavy lift to raise; so much so my wife avoids using the trunk.
Are all LS430 trunks this way?
Do quality aftermarket struts like FIGS etc reduce the effort required?
Interested in your experience here, thanks
Coker
I thought my trunk was heavy because of bad trunk struts. I guess they all are heavy.
I have a pair of strongarm 6415 that I got in 2014, and I don't like them. I don't know if they are defective but they take so much force just trying to open the trunk. Do these open easily without alot of force required? Its almost like the struts I have are too long or the wrong size.
This is a chance to ask about your trunk lid experience!
With the OEM struts, and later with no-name struts off ebay, the lid has always required a heavy lift to raise; so much so my wife avoids using the trunk.
Do quality aftermarket struts like FIGS etc reduce the effort required?
Interested in your experience here, thanks
Coker
The FIGS struts ($87.95 shipped) definitely improved my experience.
Trunk lid pops up about 1/2" when released. Just enough. Then, easy to lift to about 20-30 degrees open, at which point the lid gently rises to full open. On close, you pull the black handle with not all that much force, until the lid is about 20 degrees open, at which point a finger touch and it closes securely. With practice, I suppose I will learn how much force is needed from the fully open position to guide it completely closed.
The motion is also much smoother and slower than the OEM struts that were worn out. It is also a little slower than in the 2003 LS430 I just sold. (which had the OEM struts, which worked fine).
The FIGS struts ($87.95 shipped) definitely improved my experience.
Trunk lid pops up about 1/2" when released. Just enough. Then, easy to lift to about 20-30 degrees open, at which point the lid gently rises to full open. On close, you pull the black handle with not all that much force, until the lid is about 20 degrees open, at which point a finger touch and it closes securely. With practice, I suppose I will learn how much force is needed from the fully open position to guide it completely closed.
The motion is also much smoother and slower than the OEM struts that were worn out. It is also a little slower than in the 2003 LS430 I just sold. (which had the OEM struts, which worked fine).
Thank you for the feedback. I guess that is one thing that is overlooked is that we custom spec the force and damping on these to make them more effective than OEM, so they are not an OEM replacement which will just mimic the factory strut. We try our best to improve things when we can.
Mike
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Earlier this month, I installed the Strong Arm E6415, and, well, they aren't so strong. Like e60bmw said, the Strong Arms still require a lot of force to open the trunk. Also, the lid barely pops up at all when you trigger the remote release - you can't really tell it is open. Example: My wife said "pop the trunk", but I had already hit the release, then she started to lift the lid, and it slammed down and re-locked - annoying. Really still too heavy, though they are better than a completely failed lift because the lid will stay up once you get it open.
Today, I just installed the FIGS and they are much better. Lid pops up a little, probably about 1/4 inch, but you can tell it is open, and the lid has much more lift assist to it and is easier to raise. Really glad I switched to the FIGS.
new trunk struts - Figs Engineering
