My Wiz Performance hood lift strut finally was no longer able to carry the hood. Even without wind to blow it onto my head.
After unsuccessful attempts to find a replacement strut of about the same size and stiffness, I was ready to put a plain prop rod back in, with various alternative hood lift kits sold by outfits who would dump their advertisements in my e-mail box against my wishes.
There were still the IL lifts sold by R-Speed, but installation sounded complicated and a two-person job, one having to take the hood apart at the hinges, drill holes in it, etc. And I was afraid it would interfere with my relocated cruise control and WBO2 center control box, both of which already interfered with the Wiz strut. (I had to do significant relocation of the bracket to get it out of the way of the Wiz strut.) However, on giving the issue another thought, I found pictures on the web that suggested that the IL struts might stay clear of the cruise (I had not realized that the hinges have sides and that the struts attach to these.) So I decided that I might as well give them a try.
I am glad I did. Not only do the lifts come with dual instructions, (instead of taking the hinges apart, you can merely drill a hole in them and tap a thread in it, which worked great for me,) the struts also do not get into the engine bay at all, resting in the gap between hood and fender ridges. Moreover, while the Wiz always pressed up a bit against the hood when down, increasing the gap between hood and fender, with the IL the hood lays down completely normally.
While I do not think anybody who did not know ever noticed the increased gap caused by the Wiz, the hood looks a lot better to me now. They also seem to hold the hood very securely. The lifts themselves look great, though with my dirty engine bay, it is not a great consideration. ;)
Leon