CP Raceing triangulated front strut tower brace

[ramrat]

Hi all i just got the tower brace installed. Anyone else had this installed? I had to put 3 washers under each strut tower studs in order to get a couple of mm between the bar and the black plastic injector rail thing. Anyone else had this problem? I was wondering how much of a gap it should really be? Btw it really stiffens up the front end!

One thing i noticed while driving the 240sx is the back of the 240sx feels "loose" or squirrelly going around corners now. I don't drive the car that hard and would have though the rear would have more grip. Note I have AGX shocks and thein springs in all four corners (with about 3k on them) with setting of 3 in front and 6 or 7 in the rear. Tires are new Michelin Pilots and alignment done to stock specs (upper battle arms in the rear). What would you suggest for more grip in the rear of the car - VLDS?, larger traction bars???

[AZhitman]

I have the same piece, and mine barely clears the plastic cover...

Truthfully, you could loosen the bolts holding it in and kinda "finagle" it down... it's just a wire cover. It's OK if the bar touches it.

Anything you can do to get those washers outta there will be smart. You want as much strutbar-struttower interface as possible.

Did you bolt it through the firewall too?

I Looooooove my CP Racing bar. Best bang for the buck on my 'vert.

Interesting that the tail now feels looser.

Realistically, it is probably because you have more stability in front, doubtful anything has changed out back - you just notice it more now.

I'd re-evaluate your shock settings for a more even F/R setup as well.

[ramrat]

Yes the bar is also bolted to the firewall. Very stiff and feels like new. I hope with the washers removed i won't have to drill new holes!

What do you recommend for shock settings?

The tail felt looser when i installed the shocks/springs. Now with the strut bar it feels looser yet.

[ramrat]

ok done with the bar - i had to cut the top piece off that plastic and used electrical tape in its place to get enough room for the bar to rest on the body of the strut tower.

Just need to know what setting is recommended for convertibles as the one i am using seems to be to stiff? probably will try 2/4 and see how that works

[Exar-Kun]

well, seeing as you(if you had them set at 7) had stiffer shock settings on the rear, it would tend to voersteer if all else was held equal.

Now that you have effectively icnreased your suspensions effectiveness in the front, it may be even more pronounced.

I would definately reccomend getting an LSD for the rear, weather it be VLSD, clutch, helical or hypoid, get one. YOu'd be suprised how much of a change that mod alone does to the car.

Check your air pressures all around also, differences as little as 2psi can modify the way a car feels, esspecially at or near the limit. Be sure to check these cold (like when you wake up).

After making sure tha's all set, set your shocks to 2F 4R and adjust from there.

Also, make sure it's not your driving stlye making the car 'oversteer' steady state over or understeer is relaly only caused by weight characterisitcs, weight transfer, and tire characteristics of a vehicle. More often than not, one person driving a car will think it understeer or oversteers due to their style of driving (braking too late/early, etc). Adjusting a car for a driver's style can be quite difficult, esspecially if you're prone to modifying how you drive.

-Chet

[ramrat]

I would have though the stiffer the better it would handle but putting it on 2/4 seemed to let the back end bite a bit harder.

I have a vlsd to install and was going to install it with my 5 lug swap later on next year but maybe i shouldn't wait... Do the japan vlsd's have the sticker on them because I could not find it on this one. Both sides do spin the same direction. I also have the 5 lug axles to install with the vlds and was told its low mileage (roughly 40k miles) just can't understand why it doesn't have a sticker if its low mileage.

[ramrat]

Well I had to install washers back on. The strut bar just sits to low and the intake manifold (and bolt holding the fuel lines) was hitting the bar - sounded something awful when the engine was warm and shakes a bit more. Hope its ok with the washers in there for now. - Will see if i could some how fab a ring the same diameter as the strut bar ring... any suggestions as to what I might use? I will search home depot tomorrow...

[dcdcdc]

did you have to take out the dash and climate control plumbing to bolt it to the firewall? I'm thinking of getting this brace but I really don't feel like taking out my dash

[ramrat]

nope not necessary - here is the instructions http://www.cpracing.ca/manuals/s13tribar.pdf

note - when i ordered from cp raceing i had to wait a VERY long time to get this bar - i went so far as asking for a refund before they would ship me the item. Hope you have better luck if you order from them.

My bar fits perfectly in the holes however like i mentioned above - the bar sits to low. I had to move it up a bit to get it to clear and not hit but wow what a difference it made!

[nab911]

I had one on the front in my hatch and still have it in the rear. It is the best suspension thing i have ever bought. I put them on with out bolting the triangulated pieces and it didnt do anything. Got around to bolting the rest down and OMG.

[slownslurious]

they told me that this bar would clear the CA18DET intake manifold and I almost bought. After hearing that it doesn't even clear whatever engine you are using (stock?) I'm glad I didn't buy it.

[nab911]

It will not fit over the ca18. It does fit over the ka but will touch the fuel rail plastic cover... its not a problem at all but just letting you know it does. The ca has too much of a tilt on it for it to fit over it.

[slownslurious]

well I emailed them and asked because he advertised it as fitting the CA and he said "yes we have fitted it to the ca18 and it fits" and I asked him to send pictures and make sure it was a ca18det and he said he didn't have any but he personally had seen it fitted to a ca18det s13 240sx. I just don't see how it would clear the intake manifold though.

[nab911]

Well i will be honest and say that i never actualy bolted it down but set it ontop of the bolts and it did not look like it could. Its a $130 risk but ask him if he will garuntee it fitting.