Bonnet gas struts are one of those practical upgrades that significantly improve car usability. Instead of propping up the bonnet with an awkward metal rod, gas struts enable smooth opening and automatic hood support. The installation itself is incredibly simple.
Genuine hood struts from Polo Sedan
There are many aftermarket hood struts available, but when I found out that OEM struts from Polo 6RU (Sedan) exist, I immediately wanted to order them. Unfortunately, purchasing from the official dealer wasn’t possible, so they had to be ordered directly from Russia. I managed to do this before the war, with Alexander (firegrafik) helping me with the order as usual. I ordered them around August 4th, and they arrived on October 2nd:
At that time, OEM struts cost 4000 RUB, plus shipping from RU➡️PL for 1500 RUB, so the total cost came to 5,559 RUB. After PayPal conversion and including fees, I ultimately paid 319.30 PLN (it would have been a bit cheaper if ordering more pieces, but unfortunately no one else was interested :P)
At that time my Polo was in the workshop, so I hung the struts on the wall in my garage and there they lay… Until Michel visited me (iichel89/iichel retrofitting).. Usually when he visits me to pick up parts, he helps me with my Polo 🙂
Part number: 6RU823359
6RU823359Installation kit::
You need to unscrew this bolt and nut on both sides of the hood, then attach the struts – mounting an additional bracket with a ball joint at the top, and screwing in the ball joint bolts included in the kit at the bottom. Installation time is about 15 minutes.
The kit uses German gas struts from Stabilus Lift-O-Mat with 250N force (296860 0250N):
Information about the struts from ap.co.at website, where you can order them for €56.40 per piece:
This is how it looks in my Polo now:
After installing the struts, don’t forget to trim the cowl panel insulation 6R0864759 to make room for the gas spring cylinder:
Reliable Alternatives
Rival AST5803156
A cheaper alternative to the original 6RU823359 is the Rival AST58031 kit – these are the same Stabilus struts, just in different packaging and without Volkswagen labels – they cost around 3000 RUB, so about 50 PLN less (it’s also hard to talk about exact prices because the ruble exchange rate is fluctuating wildly…).
Product code: AST5803156
AutoUPOR UVWPOL012
Among the cheaper alternatives available on the Russian market, АвтоУПОР UVWPOL012 struts are quite popular. They cost around 2300 RUB and probably come from the same manufacturer as the previous sets.
Product code: UVWPOL012
Other alternative sets
From what I managed to find, apparently the same lifters can be found with markings KUVWPL0002 (set) and KUVWPL0000 (1 piece). Drive2 users in their car logs wrote that they just order whichever ones are currently available.
Chinese alternatives – what to watch out for
There are many different aftermarket hood lifters available, but not all of them fit perfectly – some cause hood bending, poor fitment, and other issues, so when using the cheapest alternatives, it’s worth paying attention to this and trying to close the hood a bit more gently after installation.
When the mounting bracket for the lifter is too large, or a so-called “universal” bracket from a multi-car kit is used, you can notice hood dents in this area under good lighting:
These types of mountings with quite extensive universal adjustment can be problematic if we screw them incorrectly and close the hood harder:
Besides branded gas springs, the appropriate sizes of screws and brackets included in the kit are very important, so it’s best to use proven solutions 😉
According to posts on drive2, there are also cheap alternatives with code Atlant UP2742, whose mountings reportedly rust quite quickly.
And finally, a bit of humor about progress in Golf:
