With today’s modern crop of electronics in automobiles, we’re always amazed at what features some cars have, and wish we had those features on our own cars. Whether it’s a navigation system, or electronic suspension, many of those cool features are way out of our price range – in both the factory version or the aftermarket installation.
One feature that is typically found on expensive cars from across the big pond is now available for nearly any vehicle, including classic musclecars. The product is an add-on device that assists with closing your car doors without having to consistently slam the door, and it comes from a company called Slam Stop.
When closing a heavy car door, the air inside the vehicle pressurizes and as the door latch hits the striker, the force of the built up air pressure keeps the door from closing all the way. This is especially noticeable on cars with new or very tight weatherstrips surrounding the door. We’ve all been there, we close the door and it doesn’t latch properly, so we open it again, and slam the door closed to make sure it’s latched. Or sometimes we do a disco-boogie hip-check and try to get the door to latch; this can sometimes cause damage to the door outer shell if we don’t hit it in the proper spot.
Slam Stop eliminates that extra bump, or slamming of the door, with a simple cable-driven solenoid that detects when a secondary latch and striker make contact, and Slam Stop pulls the door closed automatically. Once the primary latch is fully engaged, Slam Stop releases and the door can be opened normally.
Each kit comes complete for two doors, and a second kit can be purchased for four-door vehicles. They come with full instructions to add a secondary striker on the lock pillar, and for cutting a notch in the door shell to mount the sSlam Stop latch motor. We’re told that the kits, when released, will have safety features to prevent injury to curious little fingers. Check out the Slam Stop website to find a dealer near you, and expect to see these kits in January here in the US. Pricing will come in at just under $400 per two-door kit.