How to Install Hood Struts on your ND MX-5 Miata!

[@richardtravers8772]

From Australia. My 2020 ND RF GT has explosive bonnet bolts right where you fitted your mount, that's what the hole under the plate is for. I suspect all Europena ND's will be the same, it's to prevent a pedestrian from slamming their head into the motor when you manage to clean them up jay walking.

[@ErictheRedCantona]

Same in UK so can’t fit these struts

[@alphahotelecho]

Thanks for the tip. Bought from your link and installed in my '17 FIAT 124 Spider perfectly! No more prop rod getting in the way and when raised, the hood sits a bit higher as well. Nice quick and easy mod for the ND Miata and/or FIAT 124 Spider.

[@just_another_car_show]

Love that he had different color schemes, may have to buy a set for the NA!

[@kelseyblanton9419]

My comment is that you are very pretty! Also the hood struts are nice!

[@AlexisGitarre]

LEGALITY PROBLEM HERE: Beware that this mod is not legal in EUROPE, if you have an accident your insurance company will step out immediately because it deactivates the pedestrian safety function of the hood. So ONLY USE OUTSIDE EUROPE! Same thing with the sticky dashboard mats that cover the passenger airbag and can cause Malefunction. Beside that, stay save and keep on tuning 🤘

[@mrspeeddemon727]

That's a cool ass mod! What's the resistance like putting the hood back down? Thanks for sharing.

[@DriveMX5]

Thank you! It's very minimal until you get about 8" or so from it closing. At that point, the damper contacts the rubber weatherstripping on the windshield cowl but I don't think that's an issue. It feels like an appropriate amount of force when opening and closing the hood.

[@GunKata]

Dude, were the bolts in the hood itself hard to get out ? Mine won’t budge at all, it’s crazy.

[@DriveMX5]

They were right but I had no problem getting mine out.

[@Moriggia]

Are you going to put also an oil catch can?

[@DriveMX5]

Haven’t decided yet. It’s expensive to do it properly and my car is showing no signs of blow by or oil burning so it’s not my top priority

[@Storm88000]

Pointless unless you go all out with mods really

[@Moriggia]

@@Storm88000 why? It is for reliablity

[@jgalt99]

@@DriveMX5 Have you put a bore scope in the manifold to look at your valves? The amount of oil involved is miniscule, not enough to notice on the dipstick between changes, but it can coke up the back of your valves and cause misfires and rob you of some power long before that because the ECU will compensate by reducing timing. I had to have my ecoboost truck walnut blasted at 40k miles because it was starting to misfire. Installed a catch can and went to 3k mi oil change intervals and my valves are clean at 75k miles now, (the OCI thing is almost certainly overkill, but walnut blasting costs 30x a diy oil change and it makes me feel good). I also haven't put a catch can on my miata, though. You hardly ever hear people talking about it on the various miata forums, but most of those people don't actually seem like performance-oriented types, so I wonder if they are just dealing with a car that is adjusting itself to an increasingly bad intake situation.

[@DriveMX5]

@@jgalt99 I never looked inside the intake manifold. Probably would have at some point if I kept the car longer, but I also never noticed any performance issues like misfiring or reduced power.

[@jdogi1]

Ounces are pounds. Pounds are pain ;-) It does look sweet, though, and it's a nice luxury.

[@Moriggia]

There I have those things that bend the hood if you hit a pedestrian.

[@NZLion]

Same here. The USA either doesn't really have pedestrians or doesn't care about them, so they don't have the explosives fitted ;) Those of us in the rest of the world have a much tougher time finding compatible/legal struts.

[@ludosys4903]

Aside from additional (granted, limited…) weight I don’t see any additional added value when it comes to maintenance or cleaning / detailing. Spraying the black standard Mazda rod in a matching orange of your car would have been way cooler.

[@junlee7763]

Well, with a due respect, what is wrong with the rod??? It never gets in the way, it gets job done flawlessly 🤣🤣🤣

[@DriveMX5]

I mean you're not wrong, I just like the look, sound, and function of these struts. One less step to take when opening and closing the hood since I don't have to put the rod up and down. Plus scene points, can't forget those lol