Lower Stress Bar Group Buy

[Kirk]

To answer some questions and clarify a bit, let me give some more detail on the group buy.

You've got until January 25th (2 weeks) to put in your order by PayPal or check/money order. So far I see NO issue with getting enough orders for the 15 piece minimum. The question I need to answer is just how many to have made up (15, 20, 25 sets?). I want to limit my speculation as much as possible by getting advanced orders so nobody is slighted and I order enough. I'll order about three sets as extras though just in case someone misses the cutoff.

If I order by the 25th I should then be able to ship out finished kits to everyone (bars, mounting hardware, and instructions) by the end of February.

Kirk

[Gary in BR]

Kirk,

I'm interested in getting a lower stress bar but i am afraid that my intercooler may be in the way.

Hopefully you can tell if it will fit by looking at the pictures.

I have attached a few pictures from beneath my car. See what you think and let me know.

[dmcutter]

Ditto what Gary said. I'll be adding the Turbowerx turbo and i/c this spring...clearance issues?

[Kirk]

Originally Posted by Gary in BR

Kirk,

I'm interested in getting a lower stress bar but i am afraid that my intercooler may be in the way.

Hopefully you can tell if it will fit by looking at the pictures.

I have attached a few pictures from beneath my car. See what you think and let me know.

Gary, you and I have talked before over on 6speed about your need for bracing with that intercooler. Unfortunately though, looking at your pictures I don't think the main bar would fit with the intercooler there. I'm not 100% on that, but it's my best guess from the photos. I think the only option would be to use a spacer to drop the bar down lower, but then you might have ground clearance issues.

If you're ever up in Northern California (which I don't expect), I'd be happy to take a look and probably work something out for you...

Otherwise the side bars look like they should fit fine.

Kirk

[Gary in BR]

kirk,

i need to fly you down to louisiana to do his project and the boost controlled muffler bypass!

i would like to do all 3 bars.
Tonight I measured and my intercooler is 5 inches from the ground and my rear sway bar is 4 1/2 inches from the earth.

If only the side bars will fit. will they make a difference?

What other measurements do you need from me to decide if we can make the bar fit?

[Kirk]

Originally Posted by Gary in BR

kirk,

i need to fly you down to louisiana to do his project and the boost controlled muffler bypass!

i would like to do all 3 bars.
Tonight I measured and my intercooler is 5 inches from the ground and my rear sway bar is 4 1/2 inches from the earth.

If only the side bars will fit. will they make a difference?

What other measurements do you need from me to decide if we can make the bar fit?

The main lower stress bar sits about 1/2" higher than the lowest spot on the rear sway bar (when the car is raised up). But it mounts below the sway bar mounts... I've looked under my car three times now and looked at your pictures and I still can't say 100%, but to me it doesn't look like it will fit. Complicating matters is that I've got a 6 speed transmission which confuses things when looking at your 5 speed. What matters more than the height of your intercooler is how far forward from the sway bar it's mounted. The stress bar mounts just forward of the sway bar and it looks like it would interfere with the rear-facing pipe on your intercooler.

Again, with a spacer though you could mount the lower stress bar below the support braces that run along each side of the car, rather than on top of them, but you'd lose about an inch of clearance in the rear. On a lowered car that could be a big problem.

You could also grind out a section of the braces (they're aluminum) to make room for the lower stress bar heim joints to mount them from below without a spacer, but I would not recommend this.

In your case I think the side braces could make a big difference simply because you don't have your stress plate installed at all now!

Kirk

[HammerESQ]

Kirk,
I would be interested in the complete set.. When will they be available for purchase?
Ie.. You knowing if you have enough orders.

-Eric

[Kirk]

Originally Posted by HammerESQ

Kirk,
I would be interested in the complete set.. When will they be available for purchase?
Ie.. You knowing if you have enough orders.

-Eric

The group buy has the green light. I've got enough orders to make it happen.

I'm going to order about three extra sets too just in case someone misses the deadline of January 25th. If you want to make sure you're on the list to get a set just send payment before the 25th via PayPal to kbristol@lycos.com or PM me for my mailing address. That will get you locked in to receive a set at the group buy price.

Basically I'm looking for folks to commit to buying sets by paying up front. That reduces my personal risk and speculation. I don't mind getting stuck with the three extra sets I'm ordering as I'm sure I can always sell them on eBay. I'm sure some folks will miss the deadline and want these stress bars later.

Kirk

[Gary in BR]

Originally Posted by Kirk

Gary, you and I have talked before over on 6speed about your need for bracing with that intercooler. Unfortunately though, looking at your pictures I don't think the main bar would fit with the intercooler there. I'm not 100% on that, but it's my best guess from the photos. I think the only option would be to use a spacer to drop the bar down lower, but then you might have ground clearance issues.

If you're ever up in Northern California (which I don't expect), I'd be happy to take a look and probably work something out for you...

Otherwise the side bars look like they should fit fine.

Kirk

Well...here we are a few months later...
the main bar fit...and it makes a LARGE improvment.

I could not fit the bar on top of the mounts as per the directions, mainly becasue of some intercooler that someone stuck on my car

But the bar fit below the intercooler with no problems.

The car feels more planted now than before. Thats the only way I can think of describing it. This was a worth while mod for me.

Thanks Kirk you did good.

Gary

[HammerESQ]

Is there any chance I can still get one of these, or did I miss the boat? I asked about them a while back, but never actually paypaled money to anyone. I'm VERY interested.

-Eric

[Kirk]

Originally Posted by HammerESQ

Is there any chance I can still get one of these, or did I miss the boat? I asked about them a while back, but never actually paypaled money to anyone. I'm VERY interested.

-Eric

I've had half a dozen other people asking me the same question. I had ordered six extra sets, but they all sold out before I even received them! Sorry, I thought those extra sets would cover any stragglers.

Since there are still some people interested I'll put in another order, but it will take about 5 weeks until the bars are made and I won't be able to match the group buy pricing I had before because of the lower volume... sorry again. I'll keep you updated.

[Kirk]

Okay, since some people missed out on the group buy I’m willing to put together a few more sets for them. These will be sold on a first come – first served basis. You can wait until I get them in, or to assure one is reserved for you PayPal (kbristol@lycos.com) me now or PM me for my address for sending payment. I’m putting together 6 complete sets and 6 main bars. I’ve put in orders for the parts I need and expect to have everything by May 30th. I can’t hold the group buy pricing though because of the lower volume, higher costs, and a hardware change noted below. Plus the original $10 fixed shipping charge was too low. What I can do now is $75 plus $12 shipping on the main bar and $175 plus $12 shipping on the complete set. Add $5 more for shipping to Canada.

I asked for some feedback from the folks that got the group buy bars and overall it was very positive. One clear area for improvement though is with the mounting hardware (nuts and bolts). I went with zinc plated grade 5 bolts. Compared to the high quality bars, these came across as functional but kind of cheap. I will upgrade the mounting hardware this time around, probably to stainless steel. Here is some of the feedback I received by folks in the group buy:

“I am very happy with the quality of the materials and workmanship.”

“Very pleased with parts quality, first class. Installed them the first day I got them, great instructions for the install. I think I could feel the difference right away on hard cornering and going over sharp bumps, rear end seems tighter. I would recommend the kit to all boxster owners”

“Although I haven't tried to install them yet, the stress bars appear to be very well made and the fittings are substantial enough to take whatever stress may be put on them. My one minor concern is about whether the nuts and bolts will rust and whether it would have added a lot to the cost of the bars to have the nuts and bolts made of stainless steel. I have read the instructions and they seem very straightforward and complete. Overall, the stress bars are excellent and a great value. Couldn't be happier and can't wait to get them installed.”

“The quality of the parts appears to be good. I appreciated that every piece was protected, and when it arrived the shipping tube was intact. Your instructions appear to be well written.”

“The quality of the bars and rod ends is excellent, I really like the look of the parts.”

“I have not installed the lower stress bar yet, but if your products is anything like your communications during this transaction, I'm sure it is top notch. I have been impressed with every part of this group buy.”