Strut Bars
- ScooterBovine
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Strut Bars
I found this on eBay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/89-98-MX ... dZViewItem
Are the front and rear strut bars basically the same, and interchangeable? I know you need to mod the plastic housings in the back, but other than that, would these work for sure if I bought them? I don't know much about this stuff, but I heard that these strut bars help with steering performance.
Do I need the back one, too? Or is it better with just the front one?[/url]
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/89-98-MX ... dZViewItem
Are the front and rear strut bars basically the same, and interchangeable? I know you need to mod the plastic housings in the back, but other than that, would these work for sure if I bought them? I don't know much about this stuff, but I heard that these strut bars help with steering performance.
Do I need the back one, too? Or is it better with just the front one?[/url]
No more MX-3.
- neutral
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Fr & rr are not interchangeable with each other. Mounting points - h/w & bar shape are different. Fr bar has 4 mounting points per side & the bar is bent in two places to angle over the motor. Rr bar has 2 mounting points per side & the bar is straight. Auction looks like actual pics of the bars and they appear correctly shaped with the correct mounting h/w. I have fr and rr & noticed greatest improvement when I put the fr on. Rr was added later & handling improvement & road feel was definitely improved but not quite as dramatically as when the front went on.
Overall the car handles with a LOT more responsiveness to steering input thru turns and even simple freeway lane changes, front end "bump steer" was eliminated (major prob when I first put on wider wheels/tires), and it goes thru the twisties nice and flat like it's on rails compared to pre-bar installation. Can take curves easily at 55-60+mph that previously could only handle at 40-45mph. Have since installed several other suspension mods but IMO the hands-down absolute best suspension mod for the $ was the strut bars. btw, I have the same ones as in that auction except in a polished finish. Ignore the manufacturer name they list cuz they are all really made by Ractive brand on ebay, cardomain, etc. Have installed them on every car I own with great results. (95 MX-3 RS, 95 Camry, 90 MX-6, 96 626) You'll find more opinions plus install tips if you do a search for keywords <strut> <bar> and select "search for all terms". Very easy installation too. You will love em.
Overall the car handles with a LOT more responsiveness to steering input thru turns and even simple freeway lane changes, front end "bump steer" was eliminated (major prob when I first put on wider wheels/tires), and it goes thru the twisties nice and flat like it's on rails compared to pre-bar installation. Can take curves easily at 55-60+mph that previously could only handle at 40-45mph. Have since installed several other suspension mods but IMO the hands-down absolute best suspension mod for the $ was the strut bars. btw, I have the same ones as in that auction except in a polished finish. Ignore the manufacturer name they list cuz they are all really made by Ractive brand on ebay, cardomain, etc. Have installed them on every car I own with great results. (95 MX-3 RS, 95 Camry, 90 MX-6, 96 626) You'll find more opinions plus install tips if you do a search for keywords <strut> <bar> and select "search for all terms". Very easy installation too. You will love em.
-Jim
- ScooterBovine
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- ryan_Fuerte
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You know you dont have to get the carbon fiber look ones!! there are like 40 diffrent listongs for our strut bars, you could get polished.
Mx-3 GSr : Rebuilt klde with 5spd swap, xtd stage 3 clutch, Magnaflow dual exhaust,Accord custom intake, kyb gr2 struts with eibach springs, civic dual halo projectors, black altezzas, white 15'' oz rims, rolling on dunlop street slicks.
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2400330
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2400330
- ElectricEnergy
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- Location: Saskatoon SK, Canada
Most the eBay strut bars look pretty skimpy to me compared to the Corksport ones. Although I havn't looked in a few months. Are the eBay ones actually any good? I've heard that they sometimes snap. It is kinda like $40 vs $200 though.
I am also interested in a set, what would you guys recommend?
EDIT: HAHAHA nevermind, if they wan't me to pay $25 for the bars and $160 for shipping I think I'll just go with the corksports thankyou.
I am also interested in a set, what would you guys recommend?
EDIT: HAHAHA nevermind, if they wan't me to pay $25 for the bars and $160 for shipping I think I'll just go with the corksports thankyou.
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- facko
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i got a corksport front strut bar on my car...that thing is awesome. i didnt think it would make as much of a difference as it did. i remember driving my car w/o it on when i took it for a test drive right after i got my turbo set up done i was a little pissed that i couldnt handle as good lol plus if u get the corksport one u get a badass corksport sticker to rock on ur ride...screw AEM, corksport ftw
- PATDIESEL
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Some MOCA members bought theirs off E-Bay and it is the exact same as the ones I have from CS.
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- ScooterBovine
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- Tunes67
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Do a bit of searching for strut bars here in the suspension forum Scooter. There have been more than a few posts about these before. You can "Preload" the bar or not for specific driving applications. Tightening the bar one way or another after they are bolted to the strut towers will affect your alignment and how much the bar will stiffen your ride. This is a fairly poor description on my part.. cant really think of a better way to give you an example.. but there are a lot of other threads where folks have discussed this topic at length.. a bit of research now could save you some headaches down the road Cheers
Tunes67
Tunes67
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I am the Cranky God of Mods!!! Tremble before my fury!! LOL
- import_fan7
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I got the corksport front strut bar..its pretty awesome noticed a huge diffrence after puttin it on..can't wait to order the rear one ...not sure about ebay ones..ive bought stuff for my car from there and had good luck with stuff ive bought so far..soo good luck if ya do!! also what would help the strut upgrade as well is getting the corksport rear lower tie bar ..i plan on purchasing one soon as well!!!
1995 MX3 RS - SOLD ..... i will remain on this site!......hopefully buying a v6 mx3 spring 09!!!!
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2564737" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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- import_fan7
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well from my expierience i made a point of driving my car around a bit before putting on my strut bar then after i put it on i drove it again and to me it just seemed to make the steering and overall control of my car a little more stabalized, like the diffrence was enough to notice!
1995 MX3 RS - SOLD ..... i will remain on this site!......hopefully buying a v6 mx3 spring 09!!!!
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2564737" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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- Nd4SpdSe
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I have both Corksport bars, I noticed a HUGE improvement witht the front, the rear not much actually. I had to take off my front off when I did the ZE swap until we figured out how to get it on (curved-neck IM sits higher) and I missed it. I noticed it really helped to reduce front body roll, reducing understeer, as well as improving steering response.
I dont know how the other brands so, especially the ones on eBay, but obviously the CorkSport ones's are beefier, so should be stiffer and work better.
One test I kinda did is that where was 2 merge ramps i used to take on the way home from my old job. I used to pretty much go as fast as I could, which on the stock suspension and tires wasn't that much, but it did significantly increase the speed in which i cold take the ramp before feeling the tires loosing grip/understeer. I dont remember, been a few years, but I think i was able to take the ramp an extra 10-20km/h compared to stock
I dont know how the other brands so, especially the ones on eBay, but obviously the CorkSport ones's are beefier, so should be stiffer and work better.
One test I kinda did is that where was 2 merge ramps i used to take on the way home from my old job. I used to pretty much go as fast as I could, which on the stock suspension and tires wasn't that much, but it did significantly increase the speed in which i cold take the ramp before feeling the tires loosing grip/understeer. I dont remember, been a few years, but I think i was able to take the ramp an extra 10-20km/h compared to stock
1992 Mazda Mx-3 GSR - 2.5L KLZE : Award Winning Show Car & Race Car ['02-'09] (Retired)
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2004 Mazda RX-8 GT - Renesis Wankel : LS3 Coils, BHR Mid-Pipe + Falken RT-615K 245/40r18
2011 Mazda Mazda2 GS - 1.5L Manual : Yozora Edition (1 of 500)
2003 Nissan Xterra SE - 4x4 Supercharged : 2" Body Lift, 4" Suspension Lift & 33" MTR Kevlar
2001 Nissan Frontier SE - The Frontrailer : Expedition/Off-Road Trailer Project
imo, i would stick to the corksport ones or go to http://www.nopionline.com they have strut bars from a company called number 1 that are like 40 bucks, and i would think they would be a more trustworthy buy than ebay since nopi sells them instead of a guy selling them from his garage.
94 MX-3 1.6L DOHC 5sp, corksport shifter, crappy intake and muffler
01 SS Camaro, full flowmaster exhaust and hurst shifter
01 SS Camaro, full flowmaster exhaust and hurst shifter