00:00You know that moment when you pop your hood, and it starts sinking down toward your head like it's
00:04trying to end you? Yeah, that's a dead gas strut, and honestly it's one of the cheapest fixes on
00:10your whole car. So I went digging and pulled together the top 5 hood lift support struts
00:15for bonnets, the ones people are actually buying, actually rating highly, and actually paying almost
00:20nothing for. Let's get into it. Starting off, we've got the front hood lift supports made for
00:26the Mercedes W205, S205, W213, S213, W177, V177, and the C257. Part number 213, 980, 0164,
00:40so it's a direct OE style match, no drilling, no brackets, you just pop the old ones off and click
00:45these in. The gas pressure is calibrated so the hood floats up smoothly instead of flying open,
00:50and it holds rock solid even when it's freezing outside. $19.78 for the pair, and nearly $4,900
00:57sold with a 4.6 rating. If you own a modern Benz, dealer pricing on these is genuinely insulting by
01:04comparison. Next up, the two-pack for the BMW E81, E82, E87, and E88 from 2004 to 2012, part number
01:135123, 711, 8370. This one's the value pick of the whole list at 1433 for both struts. That's less
01:23than a tank of gas to stop propping your bonnet up with a broom handle. They're nitrogen-charged with
01:28a proper sealed piston, so they don't bleed off pressure after a few months, and they've got the
01:33highest rating in this lineup at 4.7 with over 4,800 sold. If you drive a 1-series, honestly,
01:39just buy these and be done with it. Now if you want something a bit beefier for that same BMW
01:451
01:45series, there's this hood lift support rod version, also OE5-123, 711, 8370. Same fitment, E81 through
01:54E88, 2004 to 2012, but this one's built with a thicker shaft and a reinforced spring bar setup,
02:00which matters if you live somewhere cold where struts tend to give up first. It's 2372, so a bit more
02:07than the last one, but you're paying for the heavier internals. 4500 sold, 4.6 stars. Think of
02:15it as the buy-once, forget-about-it option. Then we've got the gas strut kit for the Havel H6
02:214th
02:21gen, and this covers 2024 all the way through 2027 model years. This is the highest-rated product on
02:28the entire list, sitting at a 4.9, which is genuinely rare for auto parts. It's a complete kit,
02:34shock absorbers, prop rods, cylinders, all matched to that specific hood weight.
02:404392, so it's the priciest here, but newer Havels don't even come with struts from the factory on
02:45some trims, you get a manual prop rod. This turns it into a proper one-hand hood. Easy upgrade.
02:53And last, the universal one, and this is the sleeper pick. 200 newtons of force, adjustable from 200 to
03:01500 millimeters, and it'll work on a bonnet, a trunk, a tailgate, a boot lid, even a toolbox or
03:07a camper hatch. 1257 for the pair, which makes it the cheapest thing on this list, and it's still
03:13sitting at a 4.8 with over 4,400 sold. If your car's too old or too obscure to find
03:19exact fit struts,
03:20this is your answer. Just measure your old ones first and match the length.
03:25All five of these are linked down in the description, so grab whichever one fits your
03:29ride. And if this saved you from a hood to the forehead, drop a like and hit subscribe,
03:34I've got more cheap fixes like this coming. Catch you in the next one.
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