E30 Zone

Fellow zoners..

I'm looking at replacing the gas struts on my horse shoe but the cost of new or even second-hand ones are extortionate!

Is there any alternatives ie same shape and size that can be used instead of the E30 ones? (Obviously costing a lot less?)

Or am I stuck with forking out for the originals?

Thanks..and apologies if this has been covered before!

Check how much it costs to get the existing ones recharged.

Ben

The standard bodge is to fit a single strut from an E30 seat.

Brianmoooore wrote:The standard bodge is to fit a single strut from an E30 seat.

Hmmm..interesting. .

You can buy aftermark replacement for a fraction of the cost of genuine but I can't remember who.

I think on eBay I saw some.

bss325i wrote:You can buy aftermark replacement for a fraction of the cost of genuine but I can't remember who.

I think on eBay I saw some.

I think I need to measure mine first as I can't find any aftermarket ones straight off the bat..

might need the size then find some exactly the same and go from there

I used these guys,I think they were £25 for the pair to be regased.I had good service from them.
http://www.sgs-engineering.com/car-boot-tailgate

ah wrote:I used these guys,I think they were £25 for the pair to be regased.I had good service from them.
http://www.sgs-engineering.com/car-boot-tailgate

It's funny as when "benhar" mentioned that earlier I wondered onto that site but I read the part where it said once you send it to them they would assess it first to see if it was do-able or economical to regas and I just Couldn't be bothered with the hassle tbh

But there is a section where it asks for measurements to build a new one

O well,as I said I had very good service from them.

ah wrote:O well,as I said I had very good service from them.

Thanks for your input though.. Much appreciated

If you put the part number into ebay you get some German sellers that are slightly cheaper including postage. You need to put BMW into the search or it thinks it's a ebay item number.
Link to real oem for part number: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showpar ... 1251932333

blazed wrote:If you put the part number into ebay you get some German sellers that are slightly cheaper including postage. You need to put BMW into the search or it thinks it's a ebay item number.
Link to real oem for part number: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showpar ... 1251932333

I'm pretty certain I've seen the one your talking about and it still comes to around £50 with P&P

I'd rather go with the regas option at £25 (if its still this price)

39pound delivered for both http://www.ebay.de/itm/BMW-E30-Cabrio-2 ... Swqu9VSj2L

or cheaper 30pound delivered for both http://www.ebay.de/itm/1x-Gasfeder-Gasd ... SwRLZT07qZ

i bought those cheaper twise and they are good as original.

vytas85 wrote:39pound delivered for both http://www.ebay.de/itm/BMW-E30-Cabrio-2 ... Swqu9VSj2L

or cheaper 30pound delivered for both http://www.ebay.de/itm/1x-Gasfeder-Gasd ... SwRLZT07qZ

i bought those cheaper twise and they are good as original.

The latter one, from 'Able Goods' but via ebay UK, is what I have and they work just fine.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151529988602? ... EBIDX%3AIT

Wouldn't bother faffing around with re-gassing the originals..

Strugs wrote:

vytas85 wrote:39pound delivered for both http://www.ebay.de/itm/BMW-E30-Cabrio-2 ... Swqu9VSj2L

or cheaper 30pound delivered for both http://www.ebay.de/itm/1x-Gasfeder-Gasd ... SwRLZT07qZ

i bought those cheaper twise and they are good as original.

The latter one, from 'Able Goods' but via ebay UK, is what I have and they work just fine.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151529988602? ... EBIDX%3AIT

Wouldn't bother faffing around with re-gassing the originals..

Thanks guys!

Yea like i wrote earlier i cant be bothered for that..just want a direct replacement..

If they were no longer available from anywhere then yea I'd prob regas them

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151522279719

I just ordered 2x which works out cheaper as you only pay for 1 P&P

So all in all £28.60

Can't wait to be able to put the hood down without my elbow holding open the horse shoe cover

Thanks for everyone's input!

let us know if it works out I will follow in a set for mine

manse73 wrote:let us know if it works out I will follow in a set for mine

"Strugs" has stated that they are all good on his so hopefully I have the same luck

I will update my project thread when I fit them

Cypriotgeeza wrote:

manse73 wrote:let us know if it works out I will follow in a set for mine

"Strugs" has stated that they are all good on his so hopefully I have the same luck

Yep, they're all good. I know I'm not the only one to have fitted them with no probs, either, so big thumbs up from me..

Nice one. Will get ordering

Yes this has been covered before in quite some detail.......
http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... sc&start=0
And if you're into originality, and want to stick with OEM, read through the linked post.

minesapint wrote:Yes this has been covered before in quite some detail.......
http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... sc&start=0
And if you're into originality, and want to stick with OEM, read through the linked post.

Thanks for that!

Originality is all good if the part is visible at all times but for something like this it really doesnt matter too much to me..

Plus at £28.60 for the pair i cant even see regassing being cheaper than that!

they work fine. simple diy job although dont expect the clips to be easy to get off and forget about replacing them afterwards!

Received them yesterday Just waiting for the weather to clear up so i can fit them now

I'm about to buy some too.

I changed the horseshoe struts and instantly ran into a bit of a problem today.

The original cylinder is a lot thinner than the new struts

(sorry about the blurry pic)




so trying to mount them the original way wasn't happening as the strut casing was touching the Horseshoe hinge before the slot for the E-clip was visible



So I flipped it around and viola fits and works perfectly





Almost brought a tear to my eye how it actually stayed open on its own

No more elbow on the horseshoe while trying to manoeuvre the hood into the compartment