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I just got a nice Japanese shipment the other day and I finished cleaning, repairing, and fitting a early gen Mazdaspeed strutbar.
this strutbar is super rare compared to the MS bar which has anodized orange ends. I got the bar from https://jdmparts.rupewrecht.com/ who specializes in Mazda JDM goodness. He's on this forum.
little information, it uses a hollow threaded bar with left hand and right hand M20x1.5 threads and anodized fittings. They look like they are from a 12 AN fitting. The center bar is just extruded aluminum anodized clear with machined threads on the ends.
I can see why this wasn't super popular. It is more difficult to fit than the more common doubleshear mounting method. If tightened while mounted it's easy to gall the threads. And aluminum on aluminum is fast to gall and seize.
when I got it it had some aluminum corrosion and the left had thread was sieved and galled. I was able to free it and use a left handed tap to repair. Luckily the thread is common for oxygen sensors and easy to come by (thanks McMaster-Carr!). After cleaning with red scotch bright and a walnut media blaster it matches the patina of the engine bay.
Handsome piece.
To be pedantic...the bar ends may "look" like AN thread but they are not. AN refers only to fluid carrying tube,hose, etc, not straight mechanical fasteners like this.
A little bit of baking soda blasting on the cast aluminum will clean that crusty look off well and look brand new. Just make sure you don't use it on the shiny parts, as it will dull that finish
Handsome piece.
To be pedantic...the bar ends may "look" like AN thread but they are not. AN refers only to fluid carrying tube,hose, etc, not straight mechanical fasteners like this.
oh for sure, however, you'd easily mistake the end pieces for the AN hose fittings. The only real difference would be the length of the tapered end and the metric threads. Otherwise I think you could actually use this on a hose end fitting.
I've never been a fan of strut tower bars that have that common pivot point. To me, the bar should be stiff and without flex points, in order to do it's job efficiently.
Thats a nice piece of kit, https://jdmparts.rupewrecht.com/ gets some really cool stuff in, some of his wheels are obscure and very interesting, and I have purchased a set of JDM Mazda work overalls I still wear when working on my FC.
11-28-19, 10:28 PM
