Review: APR 4-point frame brace and rear lower tie bar
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Senior Member
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 567
From: Baldwin Park, CA (626)
Review: APR 4-point frame brace and rear lower tie bar
I wasn't sure if it was appropriate to start a whole new review in the parts section for a discontinued item, so ill just post it here if thats ok...
APR 4-point brace with lower tie bar:
this is not so much a "handling" upgrade per say. what this bar(s) definitely does, is greatly improve steering STABILITY and precision. i didnt see a really big improvement as far as body roll (noticeable, but barely) and turning physics. the big difference is that the car bounces around less, and is far more stable over bumps that would normally knock the car off balance. the steering wheel vibrates less, and exit speed improves because the driver is more in control of the car when its not bouncing around through road imperfections. the improvement in stability and vehicle control will effect the handling aspect of the car positively, but indirectly.
get it? :D
as for the actual product installed, it bolted up perfect, but its not a 1-piece brace like the gtspec/cusco/greddy/etc. the bars were bolted together (i thought those rivets were just for show
). a 1-piece bar may likely be stiffer.
the rear tie bar fit ok, but there were a couple mystery nuts (
) that came with them. the holes where the bolts were re-inserted were slightly wider than the bolts themselves, and these nuts ( ) looked like adapters of some sort to compensate for this. but if i used them, the bolts were to short to bolt back to the frame. and even if they were long enough, the bolts would end up dragging over bumps and whatnot.
i ended up mounting the bar regardless of the fact that the mounting holes were too wide. i would think this would allow unwanted shifting of this bar's positioning, but hey... i had the car up and it took an extra 5 minutes to do. plus the stock bar was a piece of crap and it wouldnt even make a difference whether or not anything at all was there.
im very happy with this bar. a worthy upgrade for the money.
just wondering what i should do about the rear tie bar. any suggestions? or is it ok as is.
so there you go. hope this was helpful for some people.
APR 4-point brace with lower tie bar:
this is not so much a "handling" upgrade per say. what this bar(s) definitely does, is greatly improve steering STABILITY and precision. i didnt see a really big improvement as far as body roll (noticeable, but barely) and turning physics. the big difference is that the car bounces around less, and is far more stable over bumps that would normally knock the car off balance. the steering wheel vibrates less, and exit speed improves because the driver is more in control of the car when its not bouncing around through road imperfections. the improvement in stability and vehicle control will effect the handling aspect of the car positively, but indirectly.
get it? :D
as for the actual product installed, it bolted up perfect, but its not a 1-piece brace like the gtspec/cusco/greddy/etc. the bars were bolted together (i thought those rivets were just for show
). a 1-piece bar may likely be stiffer.the rear tie bar fit ok, but there were a couple mystery nuts (
) that came with them. the holes where the bolts were re-inserted were slightly wider than the bolts themselves, and these nuts ( ) looked like adapters of some sort to compensate for this. but if i used them, the bolts were to short to bolt back to the frame. and even if they were long enough, the bolts would end up dragging over bumps and whatnot.i ended up mounting the bar regardless of the fact that the mounting holes were too wide. i would think this would allow unwanted shifting of this bar's positioning, but hey... i had the car up and it took an extra 5 minutes to do. plus the stock bar was a piece of crap and it wouldnt even make a difference whether or not anything at all was there.
im very happy with this bar. a worthy upgrade for the money.
just wondering what i should do about the rear tie bar. any suggestions? or is it ok as is.
so there you go. hope this was helpful for some people.
Thread Starter
Senior Member
SL Member
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 567
From: Baldwin Park, CA (626)
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