A gas shock/strut that opens your hood and hold it open. Replaces the stock metal brace that is raised into place.
As mentioned in your write up, the instructions left something to be desired. A great idea of yours to replace the "photo" with a drawing. Overall, installation was not too difficult.
A great idea, but, with my car, less than satisfactory. In my case, the lift causes the driver side corner of the hood behind the headlight door to raise up above the rubber stop a small amount. This makes the hood out of alignment with the fender. It is very noticeable from the driver's seat. Letters and E-Mail to Wiz have gone unanswered. Earlier telephone calls yield advice, but no solutions. I requested a new strut or, alternatively, the model number of the My-T-Lift that Wiz utilizes, but neither has been forthcoming. My Miata may be the one exception, but I do not recommend the product.
Although a bit expensive at $89.95 (not including tax and shipping) the Wiz "Hood Lift-Ease" looks good and works exactly as advertised. I wonder why I waited so long to get one.
There are a few disconcerting or confusing things that I came across that you as a buyer/installer need to know.
1. To install, you will need access to a rivet gun. The ads I’ve seen failed to mention that so if you can’t borrow one, add about $10 more for a Home Depot rivet gun. The two rivets are provided as part of the kit.
2. Firewall Bracket: Determining where to mount the firewall bracket remains the toughest part of the job and difficult to follow in the instructions (the picture is little help)...but, it’s really quite simple. Mount it "directly below the firewall penetration of the washer fluid line on ABS miatas or right below the pre-drilled hole on non-ABS miatas" using the spacer provided and with the ball stud pointing toward the engine. You may want to snap the gas spring onto the bracket as you are setting this up just to be sure you have clearance on the metal clutch fluid line. The gas spring snaps right back off with the aid of a screw driver to release a C-shaped retention spring. Yes, it’s a tough place to drill holes. Use a center punch to start the holes and take your time!
3. Hood Bracket: The directions suggest having a friend hold the hood up as you mark and install the hood mounting bracket. That would be nice but I did it alone with no problem. Attach the gas spring to the installed firewall bracket and the uninstalled hood bracket and then it’s easy to understand the directions as you "eyeball" the location for the hood bracket. The picture in the directions will make more sense too. Mark the location for the holes and remove the hood bracket from the gas spring using a screwdriver as described above.
4. Hood Adjustment: Not mentioned in the directions is the possibility that the hood may now sit a tad higher on the driver’s side than before and require that you make an adjustment to the hood spacer. Mine did not sit higher.
5. Lubrication: The instructions call for lubricating the hood hinges and that helped the initial sluggish lifting. I suspect whatever is inside the gas spring likes heat because when raising the hood after a spirited drive, the hood went full up without any hesitation!
All in all, a good product I’m glad I bought. I fully endorse the concept; there may be less expensive options out there.