Strut bars and/or Sway bars?

[thedeadpoet000]

Has anyone installed the tanabe front/rear strut bars? I'm interested in buying them from Modacar.com but I haven't seen many reviews on Fitfreaks.
Can you feel the difference in handling if you have the strut bars installed?

Also, is there a company that has developed sway bars for the Fit?

[dank24]

They have flex points in them. i wouldn't waste my money imo. T1R is coming out with a solid strutbar soon I believe also along with a front sway bar in October/November.

[ezekielwhore]

cusco ftw.

[sosoqtpinoy]

Cusco...baby

[Illusive]

The Spoon one I believe is a one piece...I can't wait to get mine!

[Wave]

Ditto on the cusco gear!


ETA - I'm installing the Progress rear sway bar later today on my Fit. Too many guys on FitFreak saying it is the shiznit to not get it.

[EXWRX]

progress has a rear swaybar, that has gotten great reviews. I should be getting mine today.

[Illusive]

OMG another thing I have to get...Progress Rear Sway Bar...I've heard a lot of good things too...let me know how it goes Wave! BTW who did you all get it from?

[j0ebert]

You can get the Progress bar straight from The Progress Group, Inc. Online Store

[nttdemented]

Originally Posted by sosoqtpinoy

Cusco...baby

X2, I own a set of front and rear Cusco strut bars and the rear bar is actually more a chassi brace than a strut tower bar as it braces on the sides of the body, not on the shock tower, and the mounts for both front and rear and prefectly reinforced for the loads they will receive. I noticed a difference at the limit when installing them both together and seperately.

BTW the Tanabees, although they seem solid on the front they aren't, the base doesn't look properly reinforced and the fact that it needs pre-tentioning means it will probably end up with some flex in it. And the rear tanabee bar, well that just bolts to the top of the rear shocks wich does absolutely NOTHING.

[Raaaaaaaaaay.]

Ive noticed a few front strut bars that are solid. Mugen, Spoon, WeaponR, (believe it or not) and also the DC Sports has a solid "look." I think thats it.

The current J's Racing one doesnt look sturdy. So dont waste the money. Tanabe and Aspec are the same design. Poop.
I had to rip my rear Aspec bar off. When I was loading the tires in my car for my friend I put a big dent in the bar. No damn way if tires can bend the bar its stopping body roll.

I just got my T1R Lower Arm Bar in the mail today. I got a little review on someone that has it already installed. He said the front tightened up dramatically. Cant wait to install it. Since the Progress rear bar the rear end feels more solid than the front.

I honestly doing think any strut bars will make a difference with the Fit. The chassis is SO solid from the factory.
Id love to hear reviews on the Cusco bar though. How does it mount?

[thedeadpoet000]

Seems like i'll be going for the Cusco front/rear strut bars. was install easy on these bars, nttdemented?

[dank24]

at least get the DC front bar. Solid and a decent price compared to spoon and mugen. I am tellin yea solid is the way to go, no flex points. I had a 3pt password on my ek, and it is a world difference. As for a rear I am waiting on a company to make a solid

[Raaaaaaaaaay.]

Anyone see that Miracle X-Bar on the N1 Concepts Fit?
Looks freakin great! Looks pretty sturdy to me, bet the price is sturdy too.

[BBRFit]

Where is a good place to order the cusco bars?

[nttdemented]

Originally Posted by thedeadpoet000

Seems like i'll be going for the Cusco front/rear strut bars. was install easy on these bars, nttdemented?

Install and fitmet was nothing short of PERFECT!! I din't have to play around with anything, everything bolted in perfectly without any play on the parts nor the need to play around with things to make them fit.

Be advised though, that to install the rear bar you must remove the side panels and the rear panel on the trunk interior to be able to install the bar as they don't bolt to the shock towers. Instead they bolt to the base of the metal brackets that hold the rear seat's backrest, and they include properly lengthened bolts for that also. Thats why I say this is more a rear chassi brace than a rear strut bar. The base of the rear cusco bar bolts to the sides and it goes down and out through the opening for the rear shock strut towers in the interior paneling but they don't even touch the rear strut towers. They even thought of people that would like to easily install the plastic covers for the rear shock towers back after installing the bar, you just need to cut two slits through the sides of the plastic covers and they will snap right back on covering the base of the bar with only the loops to wich the bar itself is bolted to sticking out.

On the front the only tricky part is reaching under the wheel wells through to the base of the shock tower to hold the nut while you thread the bolt onto it. If you're Fit is dropped you might need to jack up the side of the car a little for your arm to fit up there.

I can also atest to the benefits provided by this rear bar as I installed it ALONE without the front bar and did notice a more stable rear end at the limit. The steering balance turned a bit further into understeer. This was corrected once the front bar was installed.

Overall my impression is that this two bars in tandem help stabilize the car at the limit of its mechanical grip potential since some of the body flex that would make the car twist and shift around during the corner is greatly reduced with the combination of front strut bar the design of the rear custo chassi bar.

Now I can't wait to get the T1R front lower arm bar, rear progress sway bar and the J's Racing SPL floor bar. I want all the stiffness I can get without adding a roll cage.

BTW, a little off the topic of the strut bar subject, the J's Racing SPL rear cross bar seems like it could be VERY effective as it attaches to the bolts where the rear hatch's hinges rest on that top bar on the roof. After looking at a graphic of the Fit's unibodi that was posted on another thread that shows the rigidity of the different areas of the unibodi it clearly shows that the entire gate area of the Fit is high tengstil steel, connecting that area of the unibody to the chassi a little bit further up front seems like it would help the rear of the chassi from twisting forward, on top of providing better lateral rigidity. I'm thinking of buying that bar and using it only when I go to the track though as it definitly eats up the trunk space.

[SBT]

For those with the Cusco rear bar, can it be removed easily if you wanted to carry cargo? Is it as simple as unscrewing the bolts to take off and screwing them back to put it back on?

Thanks!

[kb8thekid]

where are you guys finding the good deal on the cusco bars? specifically the front bar.