Front Strut Bar Installation

Hi, I just picked up a front strut bar for my 96 240sx. &nbsp;What all do I need to do to install it? Do I have to raise the car before I loosen the three nuts that hold the struts in place or simply leave it on the ground? Also, does anyone know what torque I should tighten them back down to? Thanks bunches! <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>

[tnord]

i've never done this so i can't say for sure, but i wouldn't think you need to jack up the car, just take the three nuts off of each strut tower, toss on the brace, and put the nuts back on, there isn't any real need to put them on super tight, just make sure they're on there good and leave it be

[LanceS13]

There's a big debate on whether the car should be raised or on the ground when the bar is installed. &nbsp;I personally raised my car to pre-load the bar. &nbsp;Other people disagree and say this is useless. &nbsp;
Other than that, install the &quot;rings&quot; first and torque the nuts down to about 40-45 lb.ft. &nbsp;If you wish, raise the car now...or don't. &nbsp;Now adjust the bar so it will fit between the mounts on the rings. &nbsp;Put the bar in slightly offset in a fashion that you can tighten it when you rotate it to the correct position.

[AJ]

Raise it up,, there is another thread that is more than 40 posts long.... the final decision.... pre-load it... everyone i know says it is the way to do it... (u may wear out the stb faster),, but ####, it's the STB, not ur frame..

[Nismos14]

make sure u loosen the bolts before u jack up the car, i think, cuz u dont want the car shaking as u try n get the bolts off and u end up making it fall off the jackz

[LanceS13]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Quote: from Nismos14 on 10<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':0'>8 pm on Jan. 9, 2002
make sure u loosen the bolts before u jack up the car, i think, cuz u dont want the car shaking as u try n get the bolts off and u end up making it fall off the jackz</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>

Install the rings b4 you jack it up period...it's just easier.
But if you can pull a car off the jack by just breaking loose a nut that's only torqued to 45lb.ft., you need to find different jack points or lay off the spinach or something.:)

[LanceS13]

oh...another &nbsp;point:
This may be obvious, but if you happen to change the nuts on the strut towers for some reason, make sure that you replace them with locknuts.

[s13cruzer]

can i use car ramps or does that defeat the purpose of jacking it up?

so i put the rings on , jack it up then put the bar on?

[LanceS13]

Car ramps won't work b/c the idea is to have as few stresses on the chassis as possible...ideally, put a jack under the front cross member in the middle, or on the dif if you're doing the rear.

[DSC]

I just put mine on tonight. I didn't jack the car up and I felt a differance but not as much as I had hoped. I'm gona take the bar off(leave the rings), jack the car up and put the bar back on tomorrow and see how it feels. I'll post back about the differance. Then come the sways...hopefully they will be as easy as my stb which only took me about 10 min after I finally found all my tools.

[LanceS13]

good...I'd really like to hear if you feel a difference.

And plan to spend more than 10 minutes installing the sways. &nbsp;You'll most likely have to remove the exhaust to install the rear...or at least unbolt one end and slide it over it. &nbsp;I think the front is easier...can't say first hand on that one b/c I just have the rear for now.

[HippoSleek]

Thanks for the experiment DSC. &nbsp;I would like to hear the results too. &nbsp;

I, along with Don Nimi am in the &quot;don't jack it up&quot; crowd. &nbsp;Further, I wholly respect TY's opinion, but I respectfully disagree with his conclusions. &nbsp;While I am not an engineer, I did rely on one in concluding that the bar should not be pre-loaded. &nbsp;Next, I disagree that the only stress would be placed on the bar itself. &nbsp;As a straight, rigid aluminum bar it would easily be able to withstand the load. &nbsp;What I would be more worried about how it holding the load transfers it to other points of the suspension. &nbsp;Finally, I don't rely on a STB to control my alignment, so I don't really care about how the chassis may sag 1/2&quot; during it's life as that would be dialed out on the rack.

In any event, I still don't think you would feel a difference from a performance standpoint unless you were running punishing springs, camber plates, and R compounds.

[DSC]

Alright, Its all done. I tested it both with and w/out jacking the car up. Not jacked up, it felt great but not quite what I expected. Then I jacked it up and it felt only slightly better I'd go as far as to say it was hardly noticable. So I don't think its worth the effort to jack it up but if you have time to kill it does make it a tiny bit better. I'm going to leave mine on they way it is (put on with the car jacked up) and I'll be sure to post back if my bar or anything else breaks :cheesy:
BTW I was looking at the front sway bar while it was jacked up, its gona be a bitch to put on. The back doesn't look too bad. I'll post on how those feel as well. That will most likely be on saturday.

[vancouvers14]

why do you say the front will be a bitch to put on? &nbsp;thats my next mod...

[DSC]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Quote: from vancouvers14 on 3<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':0'>3 pm on Jan. 10, 2002
why do you say the front will be a bitch to put on? thats my next mod...</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>For one the bars don't come with instructions and the mounting brackets/screws/bushings are a bit different and the stock ones, plus the front sway bar is above some stuff (don't know how much) but you have to take that plastic part off the bottom to get to it (you know the one with the clips the break when you take them off cauzing you to not be able to reattach it) Actually I was going to try to put my rear sway on tonight but I don't have the right tools to do it so I'll have to use a friends garage (I don't have enough money to buy tools or anything for that matter, hehe <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':('>)

(Edited by DSC at 4:11 pm on Jan. 10, 2002)

Have to keep in mind that I'm one of those chassis-nazis.

I have FLB, RXB, FSTB, RSTB, GAB on full setting, special sidewall reinforced tire kind of guy.

So, to me, any little bit helps, especially when the car gets abused.

As for alignment story, I never did say it was an alignment thing. Just pointing out how the geometry of the system changed when loaded.

As for stress, yes not all the stress is taken by the bar. That's a given. No need to reiterate that fact.

The whole point of pre-loading is to take the slack out of the system. That's all. It's not going to make the chassis stronger or what not. It just takes more slop out of the system then by simply installing the bar.

T.Y.

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Quote: from HippoSleek on 7:32 am on Jan. 10, 2002
Thanks for the experiment DSC. I would like to hear the results too.

I, along with Don Nimi am in the &quot;don't jack it up&quot; crowd. Further, I wholly respect TY's opinion, but I respectfully disagree with his conclusions. While I am not an engineer, I did rely on one in concluding that the bar should not be pre-loaded. Next, I disagree that the only stress would be placed on the bar itself. As a straight, rigid aluminum bar it would easily be able to withstand the load. What I would be more worried about how it holding the load transfers it to other points of the suspension. Finally, I don't rely on a STB to control my alignment, so I don't really care about how the chassis may sag 1/2&quot; during it's life as that would be dialed out on the rack.

In any event, I still don't think you would feel a difference from a performance standpoint unless you were running punishing springs, camber plates, and R compounds.
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