Struts That Make Trunk and Frunk Pop Open

[JSWE]

Has anyone replaced the OEM struts in the M3 with those struts that cause the Trunk and Frunk to open all the way? Any feedback? A friend of mine bought me a set for the front and back, but I'm not certain how I feel about this modification. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Fernand]

I did both and they're great. There was a case of the plastic
ball socket on the rear trunk strut wearing to the point of the
strut coming loose and chipping the glass. To be really safe,
I replaced the plastic ball sockets with metal ones, for $14
more. It's a very inexpensive easy high value modification.
Both front and rear trunk open smoothly from screen or app.
Manual open on the trunk is also nicer than having to lift it.

 

[JSWE]

I did both and they're great. There was a case of the plastic
ball socket on the rear trunk strut wearing to the point of the
strut coming loose and chipping the glass. To be really safe,
I replaced the plastic ball sockets with metal ones, for $14
more. It's a very inexpensive easy high value modification.
Both front and rear trunk open smoothly from screen or app.
Manual open on the trunk is also nicer than having to lift it.

Thank you - where do you get metal ball sockets to use instead of the plastic ones on the struts?

 

[Visionary]

+1 on the metal sockets

 

[Fernand]

These work well:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BFU9P82/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You unscrew the top "end fitting" on the trunk struts and screw these
on instead. They aren't going to wear down like the plastic might over
a long time, and they have an additional retainer bar. They grip the ball
a little harder, so it's important to keep it lubed, especially in a cold climate.
You need to pay attention to the lube issue that so it never "hesitates".
But the trunk opens more gently with them, so it's a win all around.

There's an additional mod to swap one of the springs in the latch so you
can close the frunk with your fingers instead of the whole palm. I have
these springs ordered, haven't tried it yet. There's a whole discussion
about the ideal spring strength, with and without the replacement struts.

And there are people who are spending big bucks to get a motorized
third party open AND close system, but that's hundreds on the trunk
alone, and hundreds more to install it - or a lot of work. Not for me.

But I've had both frunk and trunk opening mods for months, and it's
been a great convenience and entirely trouble-free, for under $80.

 

[cucubits]

These struts you guys are talking about here, are they the ones from that youtube video where a guy replaced them and added some extra springs to pop the trunk/frunk open, or some other struts without springs?

 

[JSWE]

These work well:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BFU9P82/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You unscrew the top "end fitting" on the trunk struts and screw these
on instead. They aren't going to wear down like the plastic might over
a long time, and they have an additional retainer bar. They grip the ball
a little harder, so it's important to keep it lubed, especially in a cold climate.
You need to pay attention to the lube issue that so it never "hesitates".
But the trunk opens more gently with them, so it's a win all around.

There's an additional mod to swap one of the springs in the latch so you
can close the frunk with your fingers instead of the whole palm. I have
these springs ordered, haven't tried it yet. There's a whole discussion
about the ideal spring strength, with and without the replacement struts.

And there are people who are spending big bucks to get a motorized
third party open AND close system, but that's hundreds on the trunk
alone, and hundreds more to install it - or a lot of work. Not for me.

But I've had both frunk and trunk opening mods for months, and it's
been a great convenience and entirely trouble-free, for under $80.

Thank you!!!!!

 

[GalaxySurfer]

I actually just talked to a guy who had done this to his model 3, he gave a warning to be extremly careful during removal and install due to a "few" people breaking/cracking there rear window in corner next to the struts.

 

[Fernand]

Yes, specific struts that @i1Tesla recommends are best.
Some substitutions have worked for a "few", in my case
I used a different brand on the frunk OK, but best try to
find the ones that he tested. As to the red springs, yes
they are necessary. I like how they match the Tesla red.

Model 3 Power Liftgate?

You have to be mechanically very inept to not realize
that things don't always go according to expectations.
For instance, if you yank on a strut socket to pull it off the
ball you have to 1) first loosen the clip, 2) consider that
you can slip or the ball socket can release abruptly, so
put e.g. a folded rag on the car body/glass at the possible
point of impact, just in case.

 

[focher]

I actually just talked to a guy who had done this to his model 3, he gave a warning to be extremly careful during removal and install due to a "few" people breaking/cracking there rear window in corner next to the struts.

Ha. I did that exact thing. Ironically someone hit the back of my car shortly after so the rear window was replaced as part of that overall repair. I highly recommend putting some foam padding to protect the glass when removing the standard struts.

 

[Rothgarr]

I did this. They work great.

Keep in mind, though, they are harder to close -- especially the trunk where you really have to use force to pull the trunk down and latch it. Not sure my wife could easily close the trunk. If you have a Performance spoiler (the kind that attaches to the back of the trunk) I think you would have to worry about eventually ripping the spoiler off. I have a top-mounted spoiler so I'm not worried.

 

[rascalmurano]

I just performed the install 3 days ago, used pistons from Evannex. Installation was easy once you realize that the metal clip doesn’t need to come off fully, just needs to be pushed up to release the socket for removal of old pistons and same goes for the new. I am very pleased, just watch out that your face isn’t near the openings - these things can knock out some teeth!

 

[Fernand]

My wife is little and so she has trouble responding to the
voice command "Close the trunk". But she manages OK
with the alternate voice command "Honey, could you
please close the trunk?" For all the ands and buts, it's
a no brainer improvement, frunk and trunk. If anyone
has doubts, try it, you can even return all the parts to
Amazon if you don't like it after 29 days. The metal
sockets are worth getting next. They do grip the ball
harder and make the opening more gentle, really nice.
There are various ways of making the Big Red Spring
stay down, e.g rubber grommets. After you've had the
mods installed for a while you can't imagine going back.

 

[Fernand]

I just got the $7 Amazon package with 2 springs to
replace the fat motha spring that makes the frunk
so hard to latch closed. i1Tesla's clip about it is here:

It's been noticed, by people who are too cheap or
too chicken to upgrade the struts, that his does NOT
work with the stock struts, and you end up with - not
only no self-opening - but the weaker spring yields a
frunk that's between open and closed. Some have
had to use a spudger to lift it! This led them to all sorts
of experiments to find a spring that will work with stock
struts, so they get the gentle closing without automatic
opening. No idea why you'd want this, but that's their
story, all the way to Home Depot and beyond.

Now, if you already have the stronger auto-lift struts,
-- BTW these were in stock, cheap and work fine for me --

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N9HVK8L/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and you are already enjoying opening the frunk from inside
your beloved M3 or, when approaching it with the Tesla
app, this is the next step. Personally, I thought the single
spring was needlessly weak, I didn't even try it that way,
I doubled up the two springs in the package, fastened
both to the latch mechanism with a tie-wrap, and that
was that. Works great. Pop the frunk, put the stuff you'd
rather not lose to a rear window smash and grab in there,
and you can then latch your frunk with your fingers. I just
did this before dinner, took all of 10 minutes, and so far
it's been perfect. i1Tesla's test shows that even if the frunk
gets unlatched, it won't fly open on you while driving.

So that's the status ... of the apparatus. With the total
cost of the Frunk n' Trunk mods still under $80. Nice.
.

 

[WilliamG]

I don't like the rear trunk auto struts. The frunk is good for the auto struts, but not the rear, despite the convenience aspect. There are some situations where you will hit the trunk on something, whereas you're unlikely to hit the frunk due to it being "within the body" of the front of the car.

Anyway, those are my $0.02.

 

[hridge2020]

The rear struts top part is angle not straight as the add ons .. be careful..

 

[tvguy710]

I just got the $7 Amazon package with 2 springs to
replace the fat motha spring that makes the frunk
so hard to latch closed. i1Tesla's clip about it is here:

It's been noticed, by people who are too cheap or
too chicken to upgrade the struts, that his does NOT
work with the stock struts, and you end up with - not
only no self-opening - but the weaker spring yields a
frunk that's between open and closed. Some have
had to use a spudger to lift it! This led them to all sorts
of experiments to find a spring that will work with stock
struts, so they get the gentle closing without automatic
opening. No idea why you'd want this, but that's their
story, all the way to Home Depot and beyond.

Now, if you already have the stronger auto-lift struts,
-- BTW these were in stock, cheap and work fine for me --

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N9HVK8L/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and you are already enjoying opening the frunk from inside
your beloved M3 or, when approaching it with the Tesla
app, this is the next step. Personally, I thought the single
spring was needlessly weak, I didn't even try it that way,
I doubled up the two springs in the package, fastened
both to the latch mechanism with a tie-wrap, and that
was that. Works great. Pop the frunk, put the stuff you'd
rather not lose to a rear window smash and grab in there,
and you can then latch your frunk with your fingers. I just
did this before dinner, took all of 10 minutes, and so far
it's been perfect. i1Tesla's test shows that even if the frunk
gets unlatched, it won't fly open on you while driving.

So that's the status ... of the apparatus. With the total
cost of the Frunk n' Trunk mods still under $80. Nice.
.

The amazon link you posted for $17 is that all I need for the front trunk auto-lift?

 

[Fernand]

The amazon link you posted for $17 is that all I need for the front trunk auto-lift?

Yes.

 

[Fernand]

The rear struts top part is angle not straight as the add ons .. be careful..

Huh? Can you please clarify?

 

[tvguy710]

Yes.

Thank you! Just ordered a pair.