Hood Latchs

J

JKRandall

New member
In the need of Hood Latches and have been looking at Rugged Ridge Aluminum Hood Latch and Drake Hood Latch. I'm pretty sure Eddie just installed Rugged Ridge ones and I kind of favor them. Just interested in the pro's and con's of either one like corrosion or rust if anyone has had them on awhile. Thanks for any info.


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The Daystar ones look factory, are easy to put on, are inexpensive, and are strong. I personally dont care for the metal looking ones.
 
I have only had mine on for a few weeks but I am pretty happy with them. The drake ones looked pretty good to, but in the end I went with RR. The only pain in the ass part for me was the nut on the inside of the engine bay. The deep socket I had was just a hair to long and the normal ones were too small. I ended up taking off the grill and that made it much easier to install.

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I'm using Drakes which I like 'cause they have a racing look and do their job very well. Drakes are about $30 more than Rugged Ridge. A friend has Rugged Ridge and they are much easier to latch and unlatch. They all seem to work better than stockers.:yup:
 
I have been using Drake since May 2013 and am very happy with them. Yes they are about 20-30 bucks more than RR but I like the look. I live on the Gulf Coast and the are holding up great. Look like new. Easy install which took about 1 hour. There are some good videos online that you can check out. Both look great. Just a matter of preference.


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For the ones running Drakes have you noticed any discoloring in the plastic sleeve that covers the pin wire?


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JKRandall said:
For the ones running Drakes have you noticed any discoloring in the plastic sleeve that covers the pin wire?


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Yes definitely and some is an understatement. Mine are almost black. Might just paint them actually. Now with that said I absolutely love them. No good flutter. And I think they look badass. If tighten them too much it is a pain to latch them and if you loosen too much then well the good is loose. Have to find that sweet spot which can be kind of a pain but once you find it just lock it in and you don't have to worry bout it again. Again I wouldn't trade mine for anything else.
 
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I have the drakes and love them. I haven't paid close enough attention to them to know if they are discolored anywhere. I would go look, but I'm nowhere close to my jeep at the moment.
 
drakes here as well, very happy with them. Didnt notice any discoloration however but I never really look at them.
 
JKRandall said:
For the ones running Drakes have you noticed any discoloring in the plastic sleeve that covers the pin wire?


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I've had mine on for about 6 months now........the plastic sleeve has a little of a dark tint to it but not anything that stands out to me.......actually goes well with the black paint on my anyways.image.jpgimage.jpg
 
I have the daystar pieces and don't like them. They pull the hood down way to tight. My son inlaw just got the RR's and they are nice. Plus they won't fade so bad. I'll be switching shortly.

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Ldogg said:
I have only had mine on for a few weeks but I am pretty happy with them. The drake ones looked pretty good to, but in the end I went with RR. The only pain in the ass part for me was the nut on the inside of the engine bay. The deep socket I had was just a hair to long and the normal ones were too small. I ended up taking off the grill and that made it much easier to install.

View attachment 54022View attachment 54023
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Thanks for taking these pictures they look great:thumb:
 
As many here have done, I too have installed Rugged Ridge latches. Truth be told, they seemed a little cheap for what they were but, overall, I think they look great and have been working well for me.
 
I'm leaning towards the RR too. Less expensive than the Drake + not crazy about the pin and wire design.

I like the OEM style which is close to the RR. Just don't like that the OEM latches SUCK... :D
 
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