The Penny Trick

[Madmarky]

A couple of people have asked what the Penny Trick is recently so I thought I would explain and make a quick guide as I needed to do mine. After the application of a heavy spoiler on the car the extra weight stops the boot from fully opening with one press of the boot release. This is due to the springs in the bump stops not being able to fully extend and raise the boot up enough to clean the release mechanism. The Penny Trick is a simple work around to this. Some people have said this trick has caused damage to their vehicle and others have said they have had the pennies installed for years without a problem so make your own mind up before carrying out this procedure as I do not want to be held liable.

 

What you need to do the penny trick is just a few pennies the amount you put on each side will probably depend on how much extra weight needs to be lifted. I would suggest starting with a couple and seeing how it goes, I have used 4 on each side of mine but i do have a hoooge spoiler

 

Step 1 - remove the bump stop

 

This just simple twists a quarter turn either way then just pulls off.

 

 

Step 2 - remove the rubber cover that conceals the spring mechanism

 

 

Step 3 - Insert required amount of pennies

 

 

Step 4 - re-assemble and re-fit the bump stop

 

Voila your boot should work 'as intended' once again

 

Hope this helps

[ATTAK Z]

Good guide thanks .... maybe should be a 'sticky' whatever that is

[bounty78]

+1..good guide will have a go once i have a few pennies lying around Looks simple and couldn't exactly see how the penny trick will damage the boot

[Tarmac@TarmacSportz]

Do you have to cut the rubber cover to expose the springs underneath ?

 

Im just looking at mine now but it doesnt seem to want to peel back so I can see the spring ?

[Madmarky]

Do you have to cut the rubber cover to expose the springs underneath ?

 

Im just looking at mine now but it doesnt seem to want to peel back so I can see the spring ?

 

No it just pulls off, although one of mine did seem a little stuck on, just persuade it with a small screw driver and watch you dont stab yourself

[andlid]

What's this penny in €?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ATTAK Z]

What's this penny in €?

send me a euro and I'll send you a penny

[Tarmac@TarmacSportz]

Didnt work on mine...

 

Put 3p in each and it still didnt pop up.... It did scuff the paintwork underneath though

 

Maybe my boot spoiler is just too heavy for the penny trick

[captain]

Be careful if you decide to do it - dented and cracked both sides of my car.

 

Not worth the risk IMO.

[bounty78]

Tried this..very easy and worked a treat. Put 2p in each..definitely much better than before.Nissan should have made it like this out of the factory. Touchwood..not had any problems so far. Captain are u sure u haven't used too much force when u are slamming it shut?

[BulletMagnet]

Didnt work on mine...

 

Put 3p in each and it still didnt pop up.... It did scuff the paintwork underneath though

 

Maybe my boot spoiler is just too heavy for the penny trick

Do you still have the boot weight installed?

[Tarmac@TarmacSportz]

Didnt work on mine...

 

Put 3p in each and it still didnt pop up.... It did scuff the paintwork underneath though

 

Maybe my boot spoiler is just too heavy for the penny trick

Do you still have the boot weight installed?

 

Ive never taken anything off it so I assume so

[BulletMagnet]

What's this penny in €?

 

I can reveal that the 10 cent coin is the same size as 1 penny, hope that helps.

[andlid]

What's this penny in €?

 

I can reveal that the 10 cent coin is the same size as 1 penny, hope that helps.

[bosh87]

Literally did this 2 days ago!

 

Used 2 x 1p each side and now the boot lid works properly.

Although I did try putting 4 x 1p each side...but couldnt get the rubber bit back on properly(kept flying off) .....must be a technique to it or I have spazzy hands

[Madmarky]

Unfortunately mine has stopped working again, guess 4 pennies just isnt enough for my hooge spoiler *sigh*

[andlid]

Unfortunately mine has stopped working again, guess 4 pennies just isnt enough for my hooge spoiler *sigh*

Time to go with that spring to an engineer place and ask for a harder one

[troublesome]

Is the boot supposed to open automatically once you press the button? Mine never has without and with the N1 spoiler :o(

 

I have to manually lift it up, or am i missing something??

[Harman350z]

Is the boot supposed to open automatically once you press the button? Mine never has without and with the N1 spoiler :o(

 

I have to manually lift it up, or am i missing something??

 

I think they mean when you push the button it pops up enough to pull it open, with spoilers on you have to push the button twice in most cases.

[bounty78]

Is the boot supposed to open automatically once you press the button? Mine never has without and with the N1 spoiler :o(

 

I have to manually lift it up, or am i missing something??

 

I think they mean when you push the button it pops up enough to pull it open, with spoilers on you have to push the button twice in most cases.

 

Yes

[GT4 Zed]

The problem is not the spring clearing to openning mechanism once you press the release button but the extra weight of aftermarket or even OEM nismo spoilers overcomes the gas struts i believe the cars with OEM nismo kits have an OEM uprated strut.

 

There are six ways to sort this problem:

 

- The penny trick which i only learnt about now which has mixed results (probably works by counteracting the centerweight to shift the moment arm on the boots fulcrum)

 

- Buy an uprated gas strut. http://www.z1auto.com/prodmore.asp?mode ... rodid=2976

 

- Regas your strut to cope with the added weight. Someone did this a while ago and posted the company who do this. So search..... It costs less than the option above

 

- Live with it or remove the offending spoiler

 

- Removing the counter weight which is at the center of the boot underneath the plastic trim Thats what i did for my N1 replica and it does the job and allows the boot to stay up most times(fails on cold days sometimes). Might not work for other heavier spoilers.

 

- Try a combo of above and penny trick

[Harman350z]

- Regas your strut to cope with the added weight. Someone did this a while ago and posted the company who do this. So search..... It costs less than the option above

 

I did this, sent it off to SGS Engineering and had them gassed to 500N... Perfect

[sparky370z]

instead of using pennies, which could push through and damage the paintwork, why not use stiff rubber washers. usually about the same size of a penny an would stop the damaging effect of the metal penny.

 

just a thought.

[narcotix]

instead of using pennies, which could push through and damage the paintwork, why not use stiff rubber washers. usually about the same size of a penny an would stop the damaging effect of the metal penny.

 

just a thought.

 

Sounds like a good idea ... I've had this problem for quite a while now but am starting to get annoyed with it ...

 

I'll give it a go this weekend and report back ...

 

[cmck13]

instead of using pennies, which could push through and damage the paintwork, why not use stiff rubber washers. usually about the same size of a penny an would stop the damaging effect of the metal penny.

 

just a thought.

 

Sounds like a good idea ... I've had this problem for quite a while now but am starting to get annoyed with it ...

 

I'll give it a go this weekend and report back ...

 

 

 

Got the same problem, Just cannot believe we can send a man to the moon and here we are 40 years later sticking pennies in a boot to make it open? I used to put pennies in a door to go to the loo in a public toilet (cleaned that one up for you). Heath Robinson or what, the daft thing is that Nissan dealers are well aware of these issues and have left them abandoned. The ongoing saga about rusting wiper arms is another example, I spoke to my local Nissan parts man in Lincoln only to be told that if I paid the exorbitant fee of £190 plus vat I could not get my two wiper arm replacements before November 2010. Therefore I did what I was advised by one of the more experienced members and give them a good re-spray. If this is the future God help us all.