Sway bar and tower brace gripes....

[sgtmorph]

I know the car is still new and its considered a baby in the aftermarket world.
I have a few gripes about the current offerings regarding sway bars and strut
tower braces. First, all the strut tower braces out there seem to all mount to
places like inner fender braces and sheet metal pieces. Where are the ones that
actually mount to actual strut towers? Secondly, lets talk about those oem front
sway endlinks.....they are pencil thin and will definetly need a major upgrade.
Hopefully somebody steps up. And my biggest gripe yet. The rear "sway" offering
from cusco. Let me explain why. Obviously we all know our car doesnt have a
rear sway bar. However, we do have a huge epic failure called a torsion beam.
This cusco "rear sway bar" as they call it should be called something like a "torsion
reindorcement bracket" since its not a sway bar. But aside from that, it looks like a
frail and flimsy add on to an already crappy torsion beam setup. Not spending $300
on that....

END RANT.....(flame suit on)

What do you folks think?

[rodrez.]

Originally Posted by sgtmorph

I know the car is still new and its considered a baby in the aftermarket world.
I have a few gripes about the current offerings regarding sway bars and strut
tower braces. First, all the strut tower braces out there seem to all mount to
places like inner fender braces and sheet metal pieces. Where are the ones that
actually mount to actual strut towers?

You probably won't see any chassis bars that mount to the shock tower since there aren't provision for it from the factory. Civic's, RSX's, and other older Honda's typically used a 2-bolt system that would accomidate a very basic shock tower bar. Thats why there were countless offerings from brand name and grey market companies for those models. With the 2nd gen Fit and CR-Z, that option simply isn't there. You wouldn't want to rely on the single shock nut that sticks through the towers, as enough pressure would cause it to break completely.

There is a good solid area to anchor a bar underneath the plastic cowl (the one that surrounds the windshield wipers and closes the gap between the hood and windshield). Here's a picture of that mounting point during the mock-up process that my fabrication guy went through when he built a custom piece for me recently. This bar ties into the anchor points on each end, under the cowl, and then to the front core support. (Disregard the nuts serving as bolt spacers, they were only used during the initial mock-up.)

Under the plastic cowl, just behind the drivers side shock tower

[taikahn]

There are simply NO strut tower bolts on this car, it is impossible to have "normal" strut bars or "normal" rear lower sway bars due to the cars design.

[northbridge]

Originally Posted by sgtmorph

I know the car is still new and its considered a baby in the aftermarket world.
I have a few gripes about the current offerings regarding sway bars and strut
tower braces. First, all the strut tower braces out there seem to all mount to
places like inner fender braces and sheet metal pieces. Where are the ones that
actually mount to actual strut towers? Secondly, lets talk about those oem front
sway endlinks.....they are pencil thin and will definetly need a major upgrade.
Hopefully somebody steps up. And my biggest gripe yet. The rear "sway" offering
from cusco. Let me explain why. Obviously we all know our car doesnt have a
rear sway bar. However, we do have a huge epic failure called a torsion beam.
This cusco "rear sway bar" as they call it should be called something like a "torsion
reindorcement bracket" since its not a sway bar. But aside from that, it looks like a
frail and flimsy add on to an already crappy torsion beam setup. Not spending $300
on that....

END RANT.....(flame suit on)

What do you folks think?

I think youd be surprised with the RSB. I dont own one yet but theres a huge difference on other (non torsion beam cars) from increasing the stock one even 4mm in diameter. On this car, it would be hard to believe that the RSB makes NO difference. Only an owner can tell you definitively though.

[taikahn]

I will be installing a Cusco RSB (like the front "strut" bar I already installed) and IMHO it is something that will produce results and be a noticeable mod. Updates will follow.

[northbridge]

i meant Rear Sway Bar by RSB.

but good to see youve done the front and rear "strut" bars. Did you have to drill holes in the bay for the front strut bar or are the mounting points already drilled out?

[taikahn]

Originally Posted by northbridge

i meant Rear Sway Bar by RSB.

but good to see youve done the front and rear "strut" bars. Did you have to drill holes in the bay for the front strut bar or are the mounting points already drilled out?

No holes need to be drilled, its fully bolt on and the hole exists already -- its actually a pretty cool design -- at first your like this isnt going to do anything but once fully bolted up and tightened down its really snug and the cars chassis/suspension moves if you grab it and wiggle back and forth. Good stuff, Im stoked on mine, keeps the car a bit flatter.

[northbridge]

^ good to know. thanks

[sgtmorph]

well maybe so about that RSB, but I'd like to hear from a few more RSB owners before I even consider it....

[moline]

i'm installing the cusco front/rear sway soon. just go them.
was waiting for some adjustables but doesn't seem like anyone is making?
should help with the body roll for not so much money.

not sure about the front strut brace - since the strut tower are welded to the firewall?
will it make a hguh difference?

not sure about the under chasis braces. are they worth it?
although i like kamispeed/cusco/tanabe 4-point braces and not too expensive.

not sure going the lowering springs or coilovers. will have to wait and see.

later
dan