I did not mark my strut top hat orientation prior to removal. How important is this step for reinstall and how do I figure out which way they origanally came out?

 

Honestly I don't remember too clearly since it was a while ago, but if you look on the underside of the top hat, there's a groove where the spring fits.

I don't think that the orientation matters, but if it does, there's only two possible mounting orientations, and you'd be able to tell which one's correct.

 

Are you referring to the actual top hat or the spring perch right below it? If you are referring to the actual top hat and you are still using the factory top hats then the orientation does not matter.

 

That's what I was looking for, thank you. The Evomoto writeup says mark them and put them back in the way they came out. Not sure why?

 

Top hat should not matter. Spring Seat does and should be aligned so the notch groove mentioned should be pointing directly out of the car 90 degrees to the car's centerline ( front to rear centerline ). It can move during reassembly so make sure if it does to check the spring is properly seated, hasnt turned and the mark is properly positioned.