After talking to Brent and seeing his cowl installation in the early 90's, I
just HAD to have those fasteners for my cowl also.  The beauty of the
positive and negative ratcheting feature is that you don't need to really
crank them down hard on the glass--just barely tight.  The ratchet mechanism
is rated to +/- 40G, so it won't come loose, and it doesn't dig into the
glass--therby obviating the need for washers (working and flying great for 5
yrs this month).  I also nearly had a heart attack at the price, but I guess
quality costs in the short run.  What I DID do was modify my cowling
installation so that I only used 11 of the units.  How?  I use piano hinge
along the lateral seams and over the top rear of the cowl, and also
vertically along the rear seams of the bottom cowl.  I used the Tridairs
around the spinner area, an external power unit door on the upper cowl, and
around the acute curves at the rear lateral aspects of the top cowl as the
seam transitions from horizontal to vertical.  Happy building!
Douglas W. Johnson MD, FACR
8265 Riding Club Road
Jacksonville, FL 32256
(904) 642-6016
Lancair1@bellsouth.net