actually, initially i had it on the wrong way and the hood didn't even come close to closing, but then i flipped it around and the hood shut, but since i'm a paranoid freak i wanted to make sure that the hood didn't touch it at all while closed to leave room for flex, so i did the peanut butter thing and found that the hood touched slightly in 2 places. you guys might wanna check to see if any of yours touch, because if it's touching the hood, if it has to flex for some reason i would think that it would put a dent in the hood. i couldn't notice it touching until i did the thing with the peanut butter.anyway, i was looking at the website of pics from HadesOmega and it looks like he has the exact same strut bar as the one i'm talking about(not the neuspeed one). so, Hades, if you read this, lemme know if you've noticed any clearance problems with yours, because i know that if anyone will make a strut bar flex it'll be you ;) . thanks