I had a bit of free time recently to tinker with automatic boot (hatch/tailgate/trunk) opening on my 6C (European 2017 model).
I wanted to share my findings to hopefully help others since there is not a lot if information around, if there is, it is for 6R/pre-facelift. I also did not want to post this to "DIY Guides" since it is still a work in progress.
My 6C is coded in a way that would allow the pop-up opening, this post will be about the "mechanical" side of things.
After browsing Youtube videos, this guide http://www.polo9n.info/Wissen/anleitung ... heckklappe and mainly mypolo.nl forums, I decided to get my hands on the following parts:
Two 1L0 827 550A (OEM gas struts for SEAT Toledo, the German guide called for eject force of 530N, length 515mm, stroke 220mm)
I have ordered two KRAFT 8504830 struts with eject force of 550N (even though almost every site says 600N, but mine have 550N etched on them), length 510mm, stroke 200mm)
Two 1K8 827 761 C (OEM Scirocco rubber "bumpers")
These were a little problematic to find.
Guides on the mypolo.nl forum had some conflicting info about modifying the bumpers, I followed the one which made the most sense.
Here is the original bumper and the Scirocco one side by side. The Scirocco one has a spring action that basically gives the initial "push" that then should be followed up by the struts raising the boot lid up.
The length of both bumpers can be adjusted and fixed with a 3mm hex wrench.
I followed this guide https://www.mypolo.nl/xenforo/threads/a ... 45/page-20 to modify the Scirocco bumpers.
I sanded down 3mm from the "base" - this means that you basically have to take 3mm less from the rubber part.
The part I sanded down is originally used to mount the bumper by placing and twisting it slightly (counterclockwise to loosen, a 24mm deep socket can be used). I found out you can actually use 3/8" (9mm) ratchet or an extension to do the same, as seen below.
You also have to cut a few mm's from the part that slides into the base, otherwise the rubber part will stick out too much (note the white line/marking where I cut).
Finally, here is the modified Scirocco bumper next to the OEM 6C one. Note that the Scirocco one is in the position where the spring is not released. The spring can actually be fixed in the unsprung position by twisting the rubber dome slightly.
Now we have to get the "part that sticks out" just right.
Here is the length of the OEM 6C one (21.83mm):
And the Scirocco bumper (25.17mm) in "unsprung" position:
This means that to make them the same, 3.34mm's have to be shaved off from the rubber part.
The Scirocco bumper consists of a rubber "dome" (red on image below) that is followed by a plastic "disc" (orange) and and then the actual spring (yellow).
By measuring the centre hole where the screw is, I found out that you can take a maximum of 6.91mm off of the rubber "dome".
Here is the OEM bumper mounted:
And here is the new bumper mounted (I wanted to first give it a try without cutting off the required ~3mm from the rubber "dome")
As you can see, when closed, the boot lid is not flush when the 25.17mm Scirocco bumper is used:
I have used the sander again to shave the required length off of the rubber "dome" - more details are in Findings below.
Don't worry if you sand off a bit more, as the length of the whole thing can be adjusted and fixed with the hex screw (the ribbed part goes up/down).
Afterwards I managed to install the KRAFT 8504830 gas struts (no pics, it is a 2 minute job with a small flathead screwdriver).
Findings:
- The boot goes up much more violently with the Kraft struts (specs are above for anyone reading) - the hinges would definitely suffer with these struts, there is no "slowdown" at the end of the opening cycle as one would expect. I'm not sure if the OEM 530N would make a difference vs. my 550N. Maybe 500N would be better but I don't think they would have sufficient eject force to raise the lid.
- I suspect I will have to try out more struts if I want to make this work. The OEM ones that the German guide calls for are a bit hard to find (and are expensive). Other guides (mainly for Golfs) mentioned Skoda Fabia 6Y0 827 550 struts and also different ball studs - 1J6 827 439 A. I might give it a try.
- I found some solutions but they are either sold out/discontinued because they were unreliable or are for the 6R/pre-facelift, e.g.:
https://www.gb-tuning.de/go-simply-auto ... -2009-2013
https://www.vw-retrofit.co.uk/product/v ... op-up-kit/
This points to an unknown (at least to me) differences in boot lids on 6Rs vs. facelifted 6Cs. - The Scirocco bumpers are capable of giving the initial "push" to the lid, but it is not enough for the boot lid to go up sufficiently enough to be raised by the struts automatically.
Since careful testing is needed as the lid tolerances may be different for each model, I have tested several lengths of the Scirocco bumper - (measured as seen here) - 25.17mm, 24.15mm, 23.10mm and lastly 22.15mm - Much more force is needed to actually close the boot - you can get used to this but man, I did not expect to be using two hands.
- I have also tried OEM bumpers with Kraft struts -> lid flush but no pop-up, hard closing, violent opening
- Lastly I tried Scirocco bumpers with OEM struts -> lid flush after modification to 22.15mm, a tiny initial pop-up but no automatic raising, positives are no hard closing, no violent opening and actually the fact that the Scirocco bumpers have a spring action, it makes closing the boot lid a bit more pleasant, namely for people who tend to "slam" the lid, as it has to overcome the small resistance from the pair of springs. If I don't manage to get the automatic raising/pop-up, I will keep just the modified bumpers.
Thanks to everyone who read the whole thing, please share your tips and experience in case you managed to sort it out (or didn't
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