Rear strut brace question

[threpwood]

Originally Posted by eslai

Is that really how high up the heim joint sits on that cylindrical stalk? Talk about poor design. That won't do much to brace the rear and who knows how long those welds will last at the base of that stalk.

The cylindrical stalk rests about 2.5 cm from the bottom. I don't know how much force is needed to crack the welds, but time will tell.

Other rear strut brace (such as from titanium advantage) sits much lower but it rests on screws which may get easier bended.

[mjw930]

I installed the unit sold by EVO. I know it's made for them but I'm not sure if it's shared by any other vendors (I think Imagine gets theirs from the same supplier but I'm not sure)

Although the installation is not documented it's really rather simple IF you do a couple of things to prep.

1. On my '03 the clips that hold the drive cables also hold a cloth piece from the top. You'll need to remove those clips. That involves popping the cable out and unscrewing them.

2. Install both base plates and notch the insulation so the bolts protrude and there is no insulation to prevent the bar from dropping all the way down the bolts

3. Size the bar to fit over the top of both bolts.

4. Expand the bar as you walk it down the bolts (they are angled in so you need to expand the bar to get it to slide all the way down.

5. Expand the bar so the joints are pushed all the way down to the bottom of the bolts

6. Install the nuts

7. Re-install the clips that hold the cable and cloth making sure the lower clip portion lays on top of the strut brace

8. Re-install the top cables and the cloth.

Note, the nuts don't hold the bar on the bottom of the bolts, the pressure does. There will be a small gap between the heim joint and the bottom of the nut, this isn't a problem. With the bar fully tensioned it cannot ride up on the bolt. This design actually causes a slight downward force as lateral force is applied, this will reduce the force applied to the welds and transfer that force into the opposing shock tower.

Here's some pictures.