Cusco FSB with master cylinder brace - A heads up for AT owners

[JPxM0Dz]

Originally Posted by zoomzoomers

Mine is one the way and I have an AT. I hope there won't be any surprises. BTW, did you guys have to cut anything for the rear bar?

Rear mat required a small piece to be trimmed away on either side of the bar. If I had to guess, I would say the piece I notched out was roughly 2" x 3"
It does require some patience for rear bar install, unlike the front bar.

[zoomzoomers]

I'm holding off on the rear strut bar indefinitely for now. In my experience the rear has been overkill. Especially for street use only.

[JPxM0Dz]

Originally Posted by zoomzoomers

I'm holding off on the rear strut bar indefinitely for now. In my experience the rear has been overkill. Especially for street use only.

Yeah I agree, but it looks so sexy!

[RallySport Direct]

Did you trace where those wires go? I'm assuming that it is for the AT, but now I'm curious.

-Zach

[zoomzoomers]

I tried. It originates from the driver side firewall and goes to the top what looks like the top of the auto transmission.

Originally Posted by RallySport Direct

Did you trace where those wires go? I'm assuming that it is for the AT, but now I'm curious.

-Zach

[zoomzoomers]

Ok, I just installed the Cusco front strut tower bar w/ the master cylinder brace. Got a few questions and an issue...

1. Doesn't the car need to be lifted to unload the struts and then the bolts tightened? I remember being told to do this for my other strut tower bar installs in the past.

2. The red button that braces the master cylinder isn't attached to the bolt that pushes against it. Isn't there a chance that the vibration from the car/motor will loosen the bolt and the red button come loose and lost? Makes me a little nervous seeing it like that. What have you guys done for it? Have you seen signs of any loosening? Issues?

3. I hand tightened the strut tower nuts. How hard do you need to tighten these?

4. How hard/tight do you need to brace the master cylinder?

5. I dropped, and lost, one of the washers that goes on the 8mm allen bolt that holds the tube to the strut towers. Anyone got an extra? Without it the bolt just spins free.

Otherwise, the strut tower bar looks awesome. I'll let you guys know how it feels/results once I get some seat time with it complete.

[RallySport Direct]

Originally Posted by zoomzoomers

Ok, I just installed the Cusco front strut tower bar w/ the master cylinder brace. Got a few questions and an issue...

1. Doesn't the car need to be lifted to unload the struts and then the bolts tightened? I remember being told to do this for my other strut tower bar installs in the past.

2. The red button that braces the master cylinder isn't attached to the bolt that pushes against it. Isn't there a chance that the vibration from the car/motor will loosen the bolt and the red button come loose and lost? Makes me a little nervous seeing it like that. What have you guys done for it? Have you seen signs of any loosening? Issues?

3. I hand tightened the strut tower nuts. How hard do you need to tighten these?

4. How hard/tight do you need to brace the master cylinder?

5. I dropped, and lost, one of the washers that goes on the 8mm allen bolt that holds the tube to the strut towers. Anyone got an extra? Without it the bolt just spins free.

Otherwise, the strut tower bar looks awesome. I'll let you guys know how it feels/results once I get some seat time with it complete.

1. I have heard this before somewhere, but I never bother to do it, as I figure the main point of the bar is just to tie the towers together to prevent movement, and once the bar is on, it will do just that regardless of the chassis load during the install.

2. I made sure ours was plenty snug, and then gave it another quarter turn to almost press the master cylinder into the firewall, I felt that was good enough and nothing was going anywhere lol.

3. Those will be 14.5 ft/lbs

4. I did not notice any torque specs, but according to my Rick hand-Torqueometer I would say 30ish Ft/lbs is what I did ours to.

5. I am assuming this is the lock washer correct? If so you should be able to pick one up from your local hardware or auto parts store

I dropped the nut when doing ours and spent a good 20 minutes fishing it out from the undertray lol.


Thanks,
Rick

[JPxM0Dz]

1. No just install on a level surface
2. Just crank it nice and tight
3. Tighten them nice and tight. Don't go crazy using your body weight. Tighten them as much as you can by hand, then give them a good half turn or better with rachet
4. See number 3, but tighten a full turn or better with rachet
5. Take the existing washer you have and go match it up at your local hardware or automotive outlet

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[zoomzoomers]

Thanks guys for the quick replies. Makes me feel better.

So all of you guys haven't seen the MC brace nuts get loose after regular use of your cars?

[JoeBoxer]

Do all strut braces require modification on AT cars or is only because of the master cylinder brace? Sorry i didn't read the thread thoroughly it's late lol.

[zoomzoomers]

Originally Posted by JoeBoxer

Do all strut braces require modification on AT cars or is only because of the master cylinder brace? Sorry i didn't read the thread thoroughly it's late lol.

Yes, but it's really not a big deal. All you have to do is unscrew a bracket and re-route a wire.

[Ravenlokk]

Originally Posted by zoomzoomers

Thanks guys for the quick replies. Makes me feel better.

So all of you guys haven't seen the MC brace nuts get loose after regular use of your cars?

Mine's still tight after a few hundred km driving.

[jumbaco]

you should raise the car and take the load off the strut towers. Install and torque bolts down then lower the car on the wheels. This will put more tension on the bar. Especially important on strut bars that don't have an adjustable preload feature.

[CircuitJerk]

Originally Posted by JoeBoxer

Do all strut braces require modification on AT cars or is only because of the master cylinder brace? Sorry i didn't read the thread thoroughly it's late lol.

No. As you stated it is due to the MC brace on this particular product.