Just like the topic says, will this fit the xB like it says it will or is it one of those universal ones and why is the thing so darn cheap. Does anyone have this one or any other suggestions without breaking the bank.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7917397428&category=33591
http://i17.ebayimg.com/03/i/02/50/a5/9f_1_b.JPG

Compare this stut brace to others you have seen. This thing has more flex than the body you are trying to stiffen up. You mioght as well put a coat hanger between your strut towers.

You get what you pay for. This fundamental law of business has never changed.

That would just be a waste of money.
Save up your money and get a good one.

Honestly sturt bars dont change the steering that much...if you really want an improvement get sway bars.

check the sponsored sales section. you will find some good deals on strut bars in there for a good price.

Ummmmm, I don't know why you guys are so negative. :x This size vehicle will never twist or flex a piece of billet aluminum half that size.

I just installed that exact bar on after 1000 miles of regular driving and found a HUUUGE improvement in the way the xB stands up on strong corners. Particularily on cloverleaf freeway ramps.

Now that I know this particular vehicle responds to a tower bar (not all vehicles do) I am going to purchase a more stylish one.

Thanks for the responses. I am gonna get it because A.)I am not a speed demon (I am more interested in the boom not the vroom) and B.) I just want something that looks neat under the hood (not caring if I handle a corner at 65 mph).

I am interested in getting a air intake just to free up some room under the hood as well but not wanting to spend a shload of money as I dont care if I gain any hp from it. Anyone know of a short ram intake I can find for the xB for pretty cheap?

BrockAbabba, do u have pics of it installed and did it fit perfectly?

I added some fresh pics, three of the tower bar. Simple install. Cowl panels pull up easily to reveal two 10mm bolts on each side of the engine bay. Remove those and you will be able to pull up the sheet metal enough to put this in place.

I recommend a "Grip Wrench" (one of those wrenches that use a rubber belt to lock onto round objects and turn them) to tighten the bar as much as possible by rotating it forward and having your buddy tighten the locking rings at either end.

The blue paint isn't clean. If I cared I would have had it redone.

Notice on the close shot I left the stock tower support ring in place. I don't know if everyone does. I saw it as a safe thing to do.

http://community.webshots.com/user/brockababba

Thanks for the responses. I am gonna get it because A.)I am not a speed demon (I am more interested in the boom not the vroom) and B.) I just want something that looks neat under the hood (not caring if I handle a corner at 65 mph).

I am interested in getting a air intake just to free up some room under the hood as well but not wanting to spend a shload of money as I dont care if I gain any hp from it. Anyone know of a short ram intake I can find for the xB for pretty cheap?

BrockAbabba, do u have pics of it installed and did it fit perfectly?
Injen has one that is fairly good!

got one. you will have to paint the brackets and polish the bar( unless you like that funky green coating). maybe yours will be able to adjust from both ends. (mine is locked up on one end and the seller wouldn't replace it.)its cheap, but it looks good in the engine bay. check out my pics

Gah, don't be a cheap bastard. The DC Sports strut bar is all over eBay for $69 It is a real strut bar, and it is very strong. It's a DC Sports part so you know it's well made and it will fit right. I own one and I reccomend it to everyone that has an xB. Why buy something for looks, if the people that see it are just going to laugh at you? I mean seriously. If you buy that I hope you keep your hood closed. You should be ashamed of yourself! You're as bad as those people that buy viagra from the spam e-mails. :-P

Honestly sturt bars dont change the steering that much...if you really want an improvement get sway bars.

Exactly.

Strut bars are for the most part, eye candy.

Gah, don't be a cheap bastard. The DC Sports strut bar is all over eBay for $69 It is a real strut bar, and it is very strong. It's a DC Sports part so you know it's well made and it will fit right. I own one and I reccomend it to everyone that has an xB. Why buy something for looks, if the people that see it are just going to laugh at you? I mean seriously. If you buy that I hope you keep your hood closed. You should be ashamed of yourself! You're as bad as those people that buy viagra from the spam e-mails.

This is exactly why I chose to stop posting on the Mazda forums with my P5. I hate punk kids like this. Guess my desicion to join this board was premature and should have looked around to see if only morons camp out here. Sorry didn't mean to categorize all like that but it seems as if I see this more and more on posts. Just like the "USE THE SEARCH FUNCTION" folks. If you don't want to answer then don't. Do not get someones hopes up by them getting on and seeing responses to their thread only to see such things as "DUH" or "USE SEARCH NEXT TIME". Search is overrated and some nice peeps on here don't mind sharing the wealth of knowledge they have learned with us morons. Sorry for the rant, but I will keep my idiotic threads to myself from now on I guess.

And people like you are exactly why most people tell people to use the Search function...

You're too lazy to look up something yourself and just expect to have everything handed to you... Grow up and learn to work for something on your own... Heaven forbid you aren't spoodfed...

Anyway - back to the topic - as far as the strut bar goes - it does make a difference in the xB b/c of the design of the car - some cars it doesn't - some it does - the xB makes a HUGE difference... I am a small guy (ask anyone from the North Georgia region...heh) and I can bend one of these things myself... I'd never trust my car to it...:D Thats just my opinion though... I'll stick to my Hotchkis bar... Granted if I didn't get it w/ the car, I'd have gotten the DC Sports one - as mentioned earlier - it's a very good one...

This is exactly why I chose to stop posting on the Mazda forums with my P5. I hate punk kids like this. Guess my desicion to join this board was premature and should have looked around to see if only morons camp out here. Sorry didn't mean to categorize all like that but it seems as if I see this more and more on posts. Just like the "USE THE SEARCH FUNCTION" folks. If you don't want to answer then don't. Do not get someones hopes up by them getting on and seeing responses to their thread only to see such things as "DUH" or "USE SEARCH NEXT TIME". Search is overrated and some nice peeps on here don't mind sharing the wealth of knowledge they have learned with us morons. Sorry for the rant, but I will keep my idiotic threads to myself from now on I guess

Rant on! As long as everything is constructive, Rant On!

I am a small guy (ask anyone from the North Georgia region...heh) and I can bend one of these things myself... I'd never trust my car to it...

If you can hold each end (like the suspension does) and bend it, YOU DA MAN! If you put it across your knee and bend it, YOU AINT.

Direct from a metallurgist, that bar is as fuctional as any other when force is applied on that single plane. PERIOD. Nobody can argue unless they are a pure idiot. My only concearn, are the welds suffice? They are hand done. If a weld flexes, the weld is gone.

otherwise, PURE IDIOT.

Haha - ya - that's true...

Yeah, I can bend it - not from holding it at both ends - but from using my knee as said above - and no - I am nowhere near close to even thinking of being "DA MAN!" - hell - I am 5'11" and weigh a whopping 135lbs...yeah come on! Haha - anyway - as I was saying - I can't bend the Hotchkis bar I've got on my box - and thats what I'm comparing it to... I am a firm believing in you get what you pay for - I didn't wanna pay $70 at the dealership for the aluminum oil cap - so I bought one on eBay for $6 - it wasn't an authentic TRD one - just an aluminum one with a TRD metal sticker to go down in the hole... Good enough for the purpose it served... So perhaps this is also one of those instances as well - it might be one of those - good enough to get the job done...

And yes, as he said - rant on - constructive ranting is always great...

Oh - and yes - admittedly - our search function here does need some work - but don't complain about people asking you to do a little bit of work yourself...

GOING FOR THE HAT TRICK HERE....

You're as bad as those people that buy viagra from the spam e-mails.

Are people who buy viagra from email worse than those who buy it on their own accord?

"Thats worse than people who stand up in the morning and walk around"

If credibility is what you seek, don't be a dumbass.