P.J.GRADY Lift Piston feedback wanted

[PJ Grady Inc.]

Ok my bad. I noticed your VIN up there and really should have looked for it before. The answer is no I've never seen your car before so they were a mail order customer. I like to ask but don't always get VINS from them unlike that certain left coast vendor back in the day.
BTW if I can get a revised set with a quicker takeup in the near future we can do a swap if it really bothers you. Just don't tell anybody
Rob

Hi George,

Thank you for providing your honest opinions as I appreciate all feedback both good and less so as well.
Actually your original pistons are about 9 years old as the first build # on the label is the year built not the last as that's SOP in Europe.

I would need your VIN to see if the car was serviced here so you could PM me that if you're really interested. It could be that they were strictly a mail order customer but it would be easy to to find out.

I checked a car in the shop and it just happened to have hood pistons on it from the same supplier that are a year newer (200 and they behave very differently! They need help all the way up and after 1/2 way if you let go they hold that postion binding slightly. Once up they stay up but are rather weak. I never really cared for that supplier but it's strange how your old ones are so different from these. Maybe you got the turbo model! Yours are doing pretty well for 8 to 9 year old pistons but maybe the southern climate has helped a bit with that.

I swapped out to my new ones and as I paid attention to when the piston takes hold on their own I must agree that you are correct but once they engage they are strong and controlled. I didn't notice this initially and can look into a revision on the opening engagement if the design allows it.

Honestly you are the first person to notice this and I'm not sure it's really an issue but I will pursue the matter with my manufacturer to see what they have to say about it. if it can be revised with no drawbacks it could be changed on the next batch. IMHO it's not really a problem...however things can always stand improving.

Using your/that criteria for gas spring happiness I think you'll be OK with the sunshade pistons as they take over after about 10" or so of travel.
BTW why drag out the install as it only takes a few minutes to swap out a set of hood or sunshade pistons? Please advise ASAP.

I really appreciate the feedback as it's the fastest way for me to incorporate improvements in the parts I have made. Please keep it coming if you want the best future products possible. I'm on a mission from who? No actually I just like making things the best they can be. Thanks again.
Rob Grady

[Justin51982]

Rob are you still doing the $100 deal you were doing recently on the lifts?

[PJ Grady Inc.]

Sorry Justin but the sale is over. The normal price is $138.95 for the set. Maybe this December I'll drop it back down to $101- for the month to celebrate our next anniversary but that's not definite at this time.
Rob

Rob are you still doing the $100 deal you were doing recently on the lifts?

[5875]

Hi Rob, finally installed the set I ordered over the winter - they are great! Both doors popped fully open without issue. Great quality struts. My one nit-pick thing is that the hood struts didn't come with new cotter pins, and the previous ones didn't fit as well with these new ones. I had to bend the old cotter pins to make them fit. Other than that, all the struts work really well!

[PJ Grady Inc.]

Thanks for the feedback. Sorry about the clevis lock pins as we normally include them but I think we ran short at that point in time so a few sets went out without them. The old ones would have been reusable if you had them but Murphy's law dictates they're only not there when you need them!
Rob

Hi Rob, finally installed the set I ordered over the winter - they are great! Both doors popped fully open without issue. Great quality struts. My one nit-pick thing is that the hood struts didn't come with new cotter pins, and the previous ones didn't fit as well with these new ones. I had to bend the old cotter pins to make them fit. Other than that, all the struts work really well!

[Gfrank]

Got my car out last weekend and installed my door struts, was quite happy, doors opened vary smooth, was about 55 out. Vary nice. Must say I was quite dissapointed this morning when I went out for the first time in colder weather (36ish) and I had to help my door up the rest of the way.

[PJ Grady Inc.]

Gary,
Thank you for buying and trying my new door "gas springs" for your Delorean. Your northern (Ontario )location puts you square in the path of winter's harsh temperature fluctuations.
I've spent much time and energy on the gas charge and other parameters to make sure the door gas springs work in as wide a range of temperatures as possible. The only way to improve them further in that regard would be temperature compensation built in which is not possible given the short lenght of the Delorean piston.
You have two choices for very cold weather. You can adjust the door torsion bar for the change of seasons (the traditional fix) or you can swap our current 'summer" units out for a new "winter" version that I'll be stocking in the fall. Yes that means you will have to buy an extra set for the winter but it eliminates the hassle and risk of seasonal torsion bar adjustments.
I have thoughly tested them this last winter and am confident they'll solve the winter drop issue in temperatures down to about zero given proper torsion bar summer settings. That means you just swap one "summer" set for the other "winter" set as the temperature plummets.
I'm sorry that mother nature and physics do not cooperate in these matters but it is the best solution I can offer. Current technology just doesn't allow for perfect operation in all temperature extremes you're likely to experience in more temperate regions of the country.
Patrick Conlon did some of the winter testing for me as the temperatures creeped up in my area this spring. He created video's of our two different pistons a few months back that I declared to be "top secret" and asked him to hold back on "utubing" them but I could be persuaded to have him release the footage if there is enough interest. Otherwise you guys will have to wait till the temperatures drops and the need reappears as the next cold season approaches.
I hope that option is something you might consider if you use your car through the winter months. I will have them on my site as the fall approaches and temperatures drop. While some may consider this a ploy to sell more pistons I am just trying to avoid a big hassle for owners by eliminating the need to adjust torsion bars for the seasons. If I could control mother nature I wouldn't be tinkering with "gas springs" would I?
Rob Grady

Got my car out last weekend and installed my door struts, was quite happy, doors opened vary smooth, was about 55 out. Vary nice. Must say I was quite dissapointed this morning when I went out for the first time in colder weather (36ish) and I had to help my door up the rest of the way.

[Gfrank]

I'm not in northern Ontario, I'm just about as southern as you can get, Id hardly call that anything close to winter temperatures in any fourm unless I was from southern california. No need to explain how they work to me, I understand fully, I wasn't complaining, you asked for our opinion and you got it...

[Domi]

Just installed them, and they're really great!
A few pictures here:
http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?10...590#post173590

[PJ Grady Inc.]

I'm glad you like them. BTW your initial pictures show the hood and sunshade pictures mounted upside down compared to the way the factory installed them. It appears you switched them to the factory positions but then switched the sunshade pistons back to the upside down position again! I believe the piston rods should always face dowward when the piston is extended. Some people argue against it but I think the factory knew best and always mount them with the pistons facing down. I've seen pistons fail prematurly when they are mounted incorrectly.
Rob

Just installed them, and they're really great!
A few pictures here:
http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?10...590#post173590