Thanks for the warning!
I put mine in the other day and did'nt put the middle bracket in yet.

As others have stated I had trouble with the driver side mounting holes lining up. I also put the lower bar in with no extra modifying needed.

At the same time I did all this I put a set of Tein springs in and I ended up boogering up the threads on one of the struts taking the springs apart, it all turned out ok after a little tap and die on them. I sure did'nt need another headache!

 

I was going to cut the air ram but what I did was just push up the end so it would clear the bar. It stayed in place and clered the bar just fine and yes it probably restricted a little air flow.

 

No problem. As promised, take a look here: Brian's Cars.

 

They are losing mine too. They aren't even replying to their main email address that is linked to on their site about my payment completion. Been over a week now. I really hope I don't have to go through the hassle of a paypal claim to get my money back. I think I'll give them one more week then that is what I'll have to do.

Edit: I just saw that their website also has a phone number as well. I'll try that on Monday and I'll let them know to come back to this thread so they can read up on the feedback left here so far.

 

I feel your pain - I've repaired more than a few of my f-ups on supposedly easy upgrades, but the headaches y'all are having with the front strut brace is why I'm glad I focused on the KMR chassis braces.

If I'm not mistaken, someone early on in the group buy posted that people should beware of buying the ladder brace because it forces you to remove the plastic splash shield that "protects" the fuel tank. That comment probably scared a few people off from buying one of the most important braces if you want to instantly improve the handling on a DD Fit. If you don't address the longitudinal twist in the Fit's "platform" by reinforcing the lower chassis, braces above the belt-line alone won't yield much at the pavement. It's slick to pop the hatch/hood and see a shiny red brace across the struts, but it seems like guys are busting their balls (with varying results) installing a poorly designed "bolt-on" mod on a DD Fit, while I'm having a blast learning all the ways the handling has improved on my Fit, and my "naked" fuel tank is doing just fine.

 

You can also accomplish the same this with this.

 

For those guys that installed the 2pt and 4pt front sub frame braces, did you do this with the car under load, ie on ramps or up on jack stands? Or does it not make any difference?

 

The one thing I really wanted most was the 4 point mount bar but it wasn't sent due to manufacturing problems that caused it no to fit properly.... My money was promptly refunded but it still bothers me.... The car is going to be prone to flexing more in the middle if it is stiffened at both ends and that isn't a good thing to be happening. In fact it's a very bad thing when combined with a very stiff suspension which is something fortunately never plan to use on this car... If I ever go for a stiffer suspension it won't be but mildly so and even more bracing will have to be in place first.... I learned the hard way over 25 years ago on a VW Rabbit pickup.

 

Anybody else have not received their shipment/tracking number like me ?

 

I actually found the chinese manufacture that makes these.

They'll brand them any way you want.

For the GD3


For the GE8

 

Good find.

 

You sure these are the same? The rear anti-sway for the GE looks totally different.

Also, TT just PM'd me tonight and told me my shipment was going out this week. So that's a lot of stress off my back.

 

Some pieces do look similar but they are not the same.

 

Believe you me, I did everything EXCEPT the the cross bars covering the fuel tank - I still might do that as long as I can figure how to keep the plastic fuel tank cover on.

And been VERY HAPPY for the 2 hours I drove my car so far.

 

For those people that bought a front strut tower brace for the GE and are having trouble installing it or just need a general guide, its essentially the same design as the cusco bar except ours has more mounting points. The cusco also uses a more rigid middle point strip and they have done far more r&d than this company so i would trust that its supposed to be there for a reason, the windshield cracking issue i think was just a fluke. heres the guide thread for installing

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...r-bar-ge8.html

 

Cusco uses only one bolt for each side of the front strut bar. This will make the installation a lot easier. I do prefer this way so I don't have to trim the plastic.

 

You could always choose to install it with just the two main bolts and the center but i think using the aditional bolts even if its just 2 out of the 3 on either side will help ease the strain off of the middle point in assisting with shearing forces that would cause the bar to shift left to right with only one point left and right...see the very crude example below

()_............................................... _()
.\ \______________o______________/ /
..\______________________________/

---------------->
<----------------

 

The plastic does not sit tightly even if you choose not to use those screws/nuts. You either trim the plastic or trim off the bar.

FYI - I have another entire cowl on (back)order.

 

"The cusco also uses a more rigid middle point strip and they have done far more r&d than this company so i would trust that its supposed to be there for a reason, the windshield cracking issue i think was just a fluke. heres the guide thread for installing."


If someone wants to do the third point like I did as a guinea pig, that would be much appreciated.

I'd like to debunk the 'fluke' theory, especially when my car is less than 4 months old.

 

FYI -

More 'strength' analysis...

I spent a great deal of time today looking at where the strut tower brace connects to the third point on the tray and again at the springy piece of metal that connects to the car's body in which the glass is adhesived to. Since I'm getting my windshield repaired I did a lot of measurements and sure as shit, with the springy bar on, the windshield does actually flex by what I estimate is 1/8 to 3/8 of an inch. I was quite amazed. I put the aftermarket bar in the springy bar's place and the window does not flex (when it should). On top of that, the window flexes the most within an six inch area of where it cracked at the edge, learning that there is quite a bit of flex or force in that area and if there is nothing to give, the glass could/would have cracked. Also, I put the springy bar back on and the window flexed again.

Based on my observations, I think I have debunked the fluke.

And your thoughts?