Strut Bars......

alright guys, got them today and im the type of person who cant wait lol.......the front was a piece of cake, the hardest part was figuring out which nuts went with which bolts cause i had no pictures in front of me......

when i got around to the rear it was a bit more difficult, im 6'2 270lbs so me fitting into the trunk is not easy.....once i got it on there i couldnt get the ends to get up against the "nuts" from the bolts that bolt up, the notches just kinda sat on on top of the rubbed nuts.......i checked to make sure i had it the right way and i do........did you guys have to jack up the car, remove tires, undo the bolts and get the "nut" out of there, then mount the "nuts" over the strut bar mounts after u got it on......

anyone whos installed these i need some help..........thanks

[Vtolds]

Which braces did you get? on the rsm racing rear brace you have to jack the rear of the car up, it should come with a 2 longer bolts 1 for each side which you need to replace. the brackets sit on top of the original factory nuts then you put the new nuts on to hold the brackets down. It actaully took me about 1.5 hours, and iam no small guy 6'1'' 230 pounds.

nah i got the ones from pfyc, maybe i wil try and jack up the car to see if that helps........any other suggestions....

[Vtolds]

Did it not come with directions?

[jabartram]

I have the ones from pfyc i'll take pics of how i did mine.

[Vtolds]

Here are the Directions for the speed biult STR's from PFYC, I can tell you that these instructions suck.

The Next Level Strut Tower Brace


Tools needed:

* Ratchet (3/8" drive or 1/4" drive or both).
* Sockets: 14mm and 15mm (deep socket preferred for the 15mm but not required) If you don't have a deep socket, at least a 3" extension will save your paint.
* 14mm open-end wrench or adjustable wrench.
* 15mm ratchet wrench (not required but makes rear STB installation much easier.
* 8mm hex wrench or driver.

Front Strut Tower Brace Installation

Total time should be about 15 minutes. Difficulty level - Really easy.

1. Start with the car on a level surface with the wheels pointing straight ahead.
2. Assemble the STB by bolting the bar to the brackets as shown below using a 14mm socket and 8mm hex driver. Make sure the hex side of the bolts are facing the same way. When installing on the car, you'll want the hex side facing the front of the car. Leaving the bar wrapped until the last step will help prevent scratching of the bar during installation.

3. Remove the two nuts from the strut bolts on each of the strut towers with a 15mm socket (a deep socket is preferred to avoid banging the ratchet into your fender while turning).


4. Lay the assembled strut tower brace in place over the bolts on the driver's side of the car. The passenger side will not go over the bolts just yet. Start the two nuts on the driver's side strut bolts but do not tighten.
5. From the passenger side of the car, hold the passenger side strut tower brace bracket and twist the bar. This will cause the rod ends to extend and the overall length of the bar assembly will lengthen. Turn until the passenger side bracket is able to go onto the strut bolts.
6.
7. Start the two nuts on the strut tower bolts and tighten down. Torque to 18 lbs. Repeat on the driver's side. Twist strut tower brace bar until it is snug. Do NOT load by overtightening. Once it's snug, tighten jam nuts up to the bar with a 14mm open end wrench.
8. Remove paper wrap over stb.




Rear Strut Tower Brace Installation

The rear is very similar to the front. Total time is about 10 minutes (due to having to lay in the trunk).



1. When assembled, the bar isn't centered across the brackets, it is offset. When installing, the bar should be towards the rear of the car (it can only go one way due to the bolt pattern of the struts).
2. The rear nuts on the rear struts can be a bit difficult to reach. A deepwell 15mm ratchet and socket will work back here.

[jabartram]

sorry they are blurry but you should get the idea? and they do work well

[jabartram]

I used grade 8 washers.

[jabartram]

i didn't like the idea of them "floating around"

thanks jab, it kinda helps although they are a lil blurry and some nice detailed pictures would really help, thats what im having trouble with the notches sitting against those things.......so you used washers underneath all the boltsand then on the two bolts on the other side you put a washer on top and found a nut to fit onto the bolts?

[jabartram]

yeah, the washers lock everything down nice and tight. if you use a bigger washer, then a smaller on top of it then the bolt, push the big washer forward for more pressure on mounting plate.


i'll attempt a better pic of the washer setup.

[jabartram]

maybe these are a little better, it's just hard to take a clear pic in that area?

[jabartram]

last one?

i think thats what im going to do, put washers on the mounting bolt and then on the other two just to make sure its even and it sits flush.........ill try and get pics up but my camera sucks so your pics are probably better than what i can get........i appreciate it though jab......

[Redog]

Yeah it's not too bad putting them in, I had to re install both of mine after the dealer did my struts <_<

Originally posted by Redog@Dec 24 2004, 07:11 AM
Yeah it's not too bad putting them in, I had to re install both of mine after the dealer did my struts <_<

why? did they ask you to take them out?? or did they do it and say here you go you need to put these back on lol.........its not too hard, just the back is a lil more detailed and harder as space is hard 2 come by....

[Eh_nigma]

The strut bars for the front and rear, I was looking into them... how much do they help? Is it noticable? Especially with stiffer shocks?

i dont have the stiffer shocks......i have eibach springs with stock everything else and i can feel that the cars much tighter, turns are more predictable.......

[Youngblood77]

I just installed both of my speedbuilts today, and even without my lowering springs I can feel the difference. The car doesn't handle differently, but it feels asthough there's less effort required to make the same turn? I dunno, it's hard to describe. There's a definate drop in road noise though. :thumbsup: