DIY : TRD Door Stabilizers

[sittinSideways]

These are made by TRD. They don't release parts unless they serve a purpose. The above videos do a pretty good job of proving what purpose they serve.

[xxBrun0xx]

Originally Posted by sittinSideways

These are made by TRD. They don't release parts unless they serve a purpose. The above videos do a pretty good job of proving what purpose they serve.

Oh really?

[sittinSideways]

Originally Posted by xxBrun0xx

Oh really?

Yes really.

TRD claims no performance advantage from that gas filler cap.

But TRD does claim a performance improvement from the door stabilizers, so you best believe it does improve it. Otherwise why would they have bothered to develop it if it was just for looks, only to stick it in an area that is covered 99% of the time (unlike the always exposed gas cap). Just look at the videos posted above; you can clearly see the flex in doors.

[serialk11r]

Random question, does anyone happen to know if Toyota cars all use the same door latches? I want a set of these for my MR2 but the ones listed on the internet as fitting the MR2 cost more for some odd reason. If possible I'd like to get the ones for the FRS from Japanparts for 130 USD. Steep price but considering that my car stripped a door latch assembly's bolt threads from door flex, it just might do the trick. The pictures all look exactly the same to me so I get the feeling this is probably the case...

[gutbomb]

Just make a shim yourself

[YouShallKnow]

So this was a nightmare install for me and I wanted to share my experience for anyone else about these bastards.

As everyone says, the only hard part is getting the damned door latch bolts out, which are glued in with blue loctite.

I bought an impact driver like in op's instructions just for this job. It did absolutely nothing. Maybe I suck using it, I don't know, but I couldn't do shit with it. I hammered away at that driver and got absolutely nothing.

I ended up putting the bits in my electric impact wrench and trying to get them off that way.

It was partially successful. I managed to get the first three bolts out, but only by destroying all 3 of my Phillips head impact screwdriver bit.

I was left with one bolt still in and had to improvise. I tried hammering the flat head bits into the bolt, then using the impact driver, and nothing.

Eventually I just bought the biggest phillips screw driver I could find, attached some vice grips for leverage, and just muscled that bitch out.

If I had to do it over again, I would have just done this from the beginning.

I also had issues tightening the replacement torx bolts since the loctite was in the grooves. It takes a lot of torque to get passed all the loctite in the threads.

If you run into problems like I did, some words of wisdom:

- Don't use the impact wrench, it's way too much torque and if you're lucky, you'll just destroy your bit and bolt while loosening it. If you're unlucky, you'll accomplish nothing and have a really good chance of slipping and scuffing your paint.

- If you have just one bolt stuck, put the microfiber towel under the hanging old bracket so you don't mess up your paint while you work the last bolt. I failed to do this and now have some unslightly scuffs near my new TRD bling.

- If you have problems with door alignment after install, don't worry. You can almost certainly fix it. The piece of metal that you screw the torx bolts into that's inside the door is pretty flexible; it's easy to adjust it (I used a screwdriver in the door latch to twist it back to shape after I deformed it trying to get those loctite bolts out). Also, make sure that the new latch is pushed as far into the frame (towards the interior) as possible when you tighten it down, if it's sitting further out, it may make your doors not flush.

Good luck, the good news is it's a great install and if you know anything about how this car feels without them the improvement is obvious with hard cornering, MUCH STIFFER.

[crustol]

Regular places sold these for $250, but since I found out that I could get them for ~$140 including shipping, I decided to pull the trigger.

The installation:
I also tried to use an impact driver to loosen the bolts, and was unsuccessful. To be fair, it was my first time using an impact driver so maybe I wasn't using it properly.
I was successful using a regular 3/8 ratchet with a phillips bit. It wasn't that difficult.
The most difficult operation IMO was installing the torx bolt into the striker. It was cold outside, I had no gloves, you have to hold the damn slide all the way back throughout the entire process. The instructions stated to be careful of not letting the slide go while installing the bolts since you could damage the finish on it... I chipped some of that finish off so you can see a black spot on the edge.

Result:
In my case, the driver's side door seems to require more force to close now. Passenger side, not that different. Performance wise, didn't feel a lot different, but wasn't expecting night and day difference anyway.

[misterfly]

Where do you find it at this price ??

Originally Posted by crustol

Regular places sold these for $250, but since I found out that I could get them for ~$140 including shipping, I decided to pull the trigger.

The installation:
I also tried to use an impact driver to loosen the bolts, and was unsuccessful. To be fair, it was my first time using an impact driver so maybe I wasn't using it properly.
I was successful using a regular 3/8 ratchet with a phillips bit. It wasn't that difficult.
The most difficult operation IMO was installing the torx bolt into the striker. It was cold outside, I had no gloves, you have to hold the damn slide all the way back throughout the entire process. The instructions stated to be careful of not letting the slide go while installing the bolts since you could damage the finish on it... I chipped some of that finish off so you can see a black spot on the edge.

Result:
In my case, the driver's side door seems to require more force to close now. Passenger side, not that different. Performance wise, didn't feel a lot different, but wasn't expecting night and day difference anyway.

[crustol]

Originally Posted by misterfly

Where do you find it at this price ??

You can google "buy ZN6 ドアスタビライザー"

I bought mine from an individual seller, so proceed at your own risk.

[YouShallKnow]

Originally Posted by misterfly

Where do you find it at this price ??

Japanparts has them for even cheaper.

https://www.japanparts.com/parts/detail/40799

[Timmy_Jones]

Originally Posted by YouShallKnow

Good luck, the good news is it's a great install and if you know anything about how this car feels without them the improvement is obvious with hard cornering, MUCH STIFFER.

Much stiffer? How was this measured?

[YouShallKnow]

Originally Posted by Timmy_Jones

Much stiffer? How was this measured?

Butt dyno

[JB86'd]

Originally Posted by Timmy_Jones

Much stiffer? How was this measured?

Originally Posted by YouShallKnow

Butt dyno

It was much stiffer in his butt dyno.

[YouShallKnow]

Originally Posted by JB86'd

It was much stiffer in his butt dyno.

My butt dyno loves it stiff.