CP Racing strut tower brace questions
#1
Old [Sch|F]ool
Thread Starter
CP Racing strut tower brace questions
Questions as regarding the triangulated brace.
- Is it normal for it to not meet anywhere near the firewall on the passenger side? I had to grind the crap out of the forward mounting holes to get the rear leg to meet firewall. (This in addition to the grinding needed because I relocated my strut tops inboard 1/4", but that was to be expected)
- Are there supposed to be spacers to go beneath the forward mounting plates, or are they supposed to sit on top of the nuts? I put it under the nuts and it mashed the hell out of the "ribs" on the strut tower, and bent the brace's mounting plates a fair bit.
Just curious.
The triangulated brace made a HUUUGE difference in how the car feels. I didn't think the car was particularly floppy before, not until the brace was installed. Then it was "Holy Cow this car feels a bunch stiffer." Definitely not the psychological effect here, it was immediately noticeable as soon as I went down a driveway at an angle. And then there's how the car moves (or rather, doesn't) when flying down "imperfect" roads.
FWIW, my car has somewhat stiffer than usual springing under it (200lb-in springs front and rear) and no sway bars, so *all* of the front loading is through the strut tops.
- Is it normal for it to not meet anywhere near the firewall on the passenger side? I had to grind the crap out of the forward mounting holes to get the rear leg to meet firewall. (This in addition to the grinding needed because I relocated my strut tops inboard 1/4", but that was to be expected)
- Are there supposed to be spacers to go beneath the forward mounting plates, or are they supposed to sit on top of the nuts? I put it under the nuts and it mashed the hell out of the "ribs" on the strut tower, and bent the brace's mounting plates a fair bit.
Just curious.
The triangulated brace made a HUUUGE difference in how the car feels. I didn't think the car was particularly floppy before, not until the brace was installed. Then it was "Holy Cow this car feels a bunch stiffer." Definitely not the psychological effect here, it was immediately noticeable as soon as I went down a driveway at an angle. And then there's how the car moves (or rather, doesn't) when flying down "imperfect" roads.
FWIW, my car has somewhat stiffer than usual springing under it (200lb-in springs front and rear) and no sway bars, so *all* of the front loading is through the strut tops.
#4
trainwreck
mine fit like ****, and i can no longer acces my brake fluid without doin a ton of ****. CP made a real shitty strut tower bar if u ask me. Sure it does its purpose and im not planning on taking it off, but they could have made it lots better with very little thought proccesses required
#6
add to cart
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Saskatoon, SK & Montreal, PQ
Posts: 4,180
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
When I received the CP Racing tri-bar and it was distorted, I called Chris. He insisted that they're carefully welded together on a jig, not a car, and if it's bent at all it's the fault of the shipping company.
The owner of the restoration shop that was painting Pamela at the time and was about to drill the fire wall holes for me said it seemed to have been made crooked, not bent that way after the fact.
The owner of the restoration shop that was painting Pamela at the time and was about to drill the fire wall holes for me said it seemed to have been made crooked, not bent that way after the fact.
Trending Topics
#8
Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Etobicoke
Posts: 40
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Mine fit perfectly & despite the controversy surrounding CP Racing, I would say that next to tires, this has been the best performance addition I have made to the car. It was a pain to deal with last fall until I had the chance to replace a leaking brake caliper - there isn't enough clearance on one of the rear facing supports & this doesn't doesn't allow any access to the brake master reservoir without removing the strut tie bar. I highly recommend this if you want to improve the handling ( not the ride quality ) of your car. I haven't seen them being made but I would assume that, given the volume that they produce, a jig would be used to produce them. I also have one of their roll bars. I added a diagonal brace & it also fit perfectly. Maybe your car is bent?
#9
Old [Sch|F]ool
Thread Starter
I know SA's and early FB's don't have the strut tower ribs. Maybe the brake reservoir is lower too.
The brake thing doesn't worry me, I'll be going to remote reservoirs sooner or later.
The brake thing doesn't worry me, I'll be going to remote reservoirs sooner or later.
#10
add to cart
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Saskatoon, SK & Montreal, PQ
Posts: 4,180
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by johnf
Maybe your car is bent?
#13
Old [Sch|F]ool
Thread Starter
As much as we may like to think otherwise, our cars were slapped together from an assembly of cheap stampings, and they are NOT all alike.
#14
Doritos & Dual Sports
iTrader: (8)
Hopefully I can get some dom and scrap metal to build the top hats and plates out of and tig the rest together. much appreciated
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
trickster
2nd Generation Specific (1986-1992)
25
07-01-23 04:40 PM
rkhanso
2nd Generation Specific (1986-1992)
1
08-13-15 11:40 AM