Spiker Engineering High lift hood struts for the 3rd Gen Tacoma

I used the telescoping paint handle too. Perfect tool for the job

 

I love my Spikers, but I've encountered one problem, which I have rectified with a strap on the edge of the hood for me to be able to reach and pull the hood closed. Others may not put the maximum lift into effect I have. By the way as you can see from this thread the help and communications from the company is superb.

 

So your saying, 1” from the inside of the plastic trim piece?

 

Yes, approximately.

 

Hello, curious and not sure if this has been asked before but is this compatible with the carbon fiber hood from Seibon?

 

We've done carbon fiber hood strut kits, we use struts with less force output.

 

Cool thanks!!

 

Installed your struts in June, 2020. Installation was a breeze and the struts have worked flawlessly. Thanks for a great product!

 

The question may have been asked, but can rivnuts be used instead of rivets?

 

You sure can. M5 rivnuts would work with the existing holes in the brackets.

 

Thanks for the reply. Would it be your recommendation to counterbore the mounting side of the brackets to clear the rivnut head so the bracket can make full contact with the sheet metal?

 

I’m going to ask you to reconsider your acceptance of using Rivet Nuts. Rivet nuts are raised up around the hole and only supply contact in those two small circular areas thus increasing the stress on the hole area and not distributing the stress to a larger area of the fender sheet metal under the brackets. Original design is solid.

I pulled out the holes when I reversed the bracket to face up while attempting to make more room in the engine compartment. I had to rectify the now enlarged holes by placing a nut plate underneath in the wheel well.

Nut plate is two nuts welded to 1/8” material the size of the bracket.

How the bracket wraps around the fender distributes the stress well.

 

Exactly why I asked the question about counterboring the back side of the brackets.

 

I had not read your post about counterboring when I posted.
I had considered adding the counterboring option but that would thin out the bracket a bit and most people do not have the ability beyond a standard countersink bit. That I definitely would not use, but if you have milling capabilities you might get by.

What’s wrong with riveting? For you, that is…

 

I work in a machine shop and I have a Bridgeport mill in my garage. The counterbore would only be 1mm (.04") deep to clear the rivnut head.

I would rather make it a bolt up for a cleaner factory type install and easily removable if I ever trade in. Besides, I'm not a fan of regular aluminum pop rivets.

I do like your idea of a nut plate on the back side. I can make a stainless threaded nut plate as well. Is the back side accessible on the hood and fender for nut plates?

 

So you are capable, good to hear and now makes very good sense where your questions come from.

I myself would not worry about trade in, it probably would not ever be noticed and if so... welcomed. I've not regretted a day I've had the struts. If you removed the struts, you would still have holes where there were none in 4 positions, plus the rivet nuts may just jump out visually if you remove the struts. The pop rivets supplied are not aluminum, but steel! EDIT: No they are not steel, as per the Spiker website, but an Aluminum. But, as you say bolting is better, but VERY much harder to do. The rear inner wheel well and IIRC fender flairs (if you have them) have to be loosened or removed. Not a pleasant place to get to. You will have to figure out an assortment of plastic fasteners, buy some replacements for what you break, etc.. I do not have the truck in front of me, but IIRC do not think the back side of the hood is accessible at all or without a lot of fine tedious work. I bolted on a strap at the front of the hood and that was difficult getting between the layers of sheet metal. The strap is so I can now reach the top of the hood to close it. The only disadvantage of the struts, but I so love the fact I raised it as high as I did.

Where I used the rivets only seems to be holding up well, no difference from where I used the nut plate. Once again, original design is solid.

If you do the counterboring, make yourself feel better by simply adding a large washer on the top side, no problem.

 

Thanks for the information. I will probably use the 5mm rivnuts with flanged screws. Sort of how they would do it at the factory.

 

Just installed Spiker Ultimate single on my truck. Top-notch quality, fantastic directions, and very easy to install. However, I had to decrease the high of the hood riser on the driver's side due to resistance caused by the strut pushing my hood up on the lift side. I'm sure this is completely normal but thought I would share.

 

Good points, and also the reason why we supply our kits with rivets. What I should have said is that some folks have successfully installed the brackets with rivnuts. I would probably recommend countersunk rivnuts, but those are not all that readily available or easy to work with.

Another option, other that counterboring the brackets, is to make thin metal shims to fit under the bracket, with circular cutouts around the protruding rivnut lip.

 

Just installed Spikers on ours.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/accessories-worth-getting.796560/page-6#post-28664174