Considering the purchase of a Corksport front and rear strut bar. For $170 you can't beat that deal with a stick.

1.) My 1986 GXL is a 2+2. Will the strut bar interfere with the operation of the rear seats? I don't think they will, but I'd like to confirm. (NO, I will NOT be ditching the rear seats. I like them. My dog sits there.)

2.) I know I'll need to cut a hole into the speaker towers. Will I need to cut a vertical line from the top down, or will a hole cut by a hole saw suffice?

3.) Being that my RX-7 is a family car/practical daily driver ( ) I like the cargo space... I would be able to easily remove it and reinstall it with basic hand tools should I need to in order to use the full cargo area, right?

 

nope it won't effect your seats at all but will limit a bit of boot storage. Installing it requires cutting out a hole in the strut towers which i just did with a angle grinder took about 5 mins a side. As for removal its pretty simple but fiddly due it being sunk right into the speaker tower & then you have to remove both ends of the brace but can be don in about 10 mins, hoep this helps.

 

I think if you are going for more steering performance your money would be better off spent on a front sway bar instead. I have had both F+R strut tower bars and I felt that there wasn't enough performance to warrant buying them. It also basicly takes all your cargo space away.

 

You're kidding, right?

Riz.

 

I know you're looking at the Corksport one because of the combo deal, but I got the TC Sportline one and it doesn't require cutting the speaker towers. It has a two-piece mount that bolts the strut tower to the sidewall inside the tower, then the bar to the sidewall part going through existing holes in the speaker tower.

http://www.mazdatrix.com/pictures/h-...earStrut-B.jpg

 

a hole saw is fine. you should be able to remove it in 10 minutes using normal hand tools. i dunno about the rear seat issue but i don't see how it would interfere.

 

Don't fill your car with BS and you won't have an Issue. An RX-7 isn't a truck...... if you want want PM AngryEarl.

 

I used a dremel tool to cut Both..the carpet and the Steel..
It took about 10 minutes.
If you are putting In a strut bar you won't wanna be stuck taking it off and putting it on all the time.It is a Do or Don't install..Not really a remove and put back on Frequently thing.
By the way, I have 5-1/2 inch speakers in my Speaker/strut towers and they do NOT hit the strut bar.

 

what rear strut is better? the one that goes from tower to tower or a 3 point( tower to tower to rear floor mount between the 2)?

 

I've got an MS rear bar, but it's practically the same as the TCS. I didn't have to cut the speaker towers and if it has to come out, off comes the center piece.

I don't have a rear seat, but I don't think it will interfere with either design. You'll have to force the rear seat past the speaker tower, and the two loops it latches onto, before it contacts the strut bar.

I've got some pics of my MS bar here.

I found this post showing pics of a JIC (?) rear bar installed. The Corksport design is similar.

 

Like Howru, I'm in favor of the MS style. It keeps the interior stockish and mostly intact. Have the TCS one myself:

 

Wow, after seeing the way the TS Sportline RS Bar goes on, I kinda regret buying the CS Rear Strut Bar. Its way cleaner to install. Glad i haven't attempted the install before seeing this post.

 

I disagree.



If I can fold the seats down and put a set of tires or a fridge or something in there, I wanna have that ability.




And not too much more expensive than the PorkSport one...

 

Hey, Yence. Does the strut bar mounts touch the speaker covers?

 

nm

 

if you noticed it that much then it is all in your head.

no they don't make a big difference, mainly they are for the aesthetics of the car. anyone who disagrees really wants to make themselves feel better for spending the money. yes they do help but not as much as you lead yourself to believe.

 

^

I have an EXTREMELY stiff suspension. Pulling into my driveway at the right angle, I can get the car on the left front wheel and right rear wheel in the air enough so that I 'm just sitting there teetering and spinning my wheel.

Over bumps and on hard turns, I can hear the hatch creaking... That's gotta be the chassis flexing because glass doesn't bend.

 

Increasing the points of chassis contact will always warrant quantitative results. Even if you feel them or not. I find it interesting how you come to believe that the strut bars are benefiting the aesthetics of the car rather than the performance. When looking at the load each wheel faces, and how the energy is exerted through the chassis, I can see how a strut bar would show enough change to feel it.

I am curious, could you feel performance from a 4 point roll cage, or a 6 or an 8? some people claim to feel real changes in the cars handling characteristics, while others believe that it just adds weight to the car.

I probably wouldn't go as far as stating that strut bars don't make difference. Some people tend to have different senses in smell, touch, direction, gravity, vibration, ect.. than others.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4KgS8ertHU

and you have to realize that a 20year old FC will have a weaker frame than a 10 year old s15... so more chasis flex. strut bars are proven to work. thats why i want one, after i make my car more fun in the speed department.

 

Be a cheap go ebay.

 

Why? I have money... Why not get good stuff?

 

cause its for aesthetics ^^^ hahahaha


that video just explained everything if anyone else says its for looks watch the video and sit in the corner..

 

The tc one isn't going to work because It is only bolted on to the thin sheet metal of the speaker tower which you can flex by hand. the cs ones like the eBay ones work if you have a stiff suspention. My hatch used to make all sorts of noise then I installed my cusco rear bar And there is no more noise. And It doesn't affect the seats at all.

 

The bracket inside the speaker tower is where the structural integrity occurs. While the sheet metal you speak of is quite flexible it is not where the brace seeks its rigidity from. If the fastening bolts inside the tower and its bracket were flexible then the point would be moot regarding the braces ability to not flex.

 

Because a strut bar is a strut bar. Why pay $170 when you can buy the same exact thing for $50. If it's engine related buy the good stuff. EVEN smarter people use a steel bar and a welder.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...category=33591