Strut bar

[pk_kk]

i recently just purchased a stru bar for my 1998 camry

and my friend was telling me all i do is remove the boltz on my front strut and put the bar in and bolt it back on without jacking up my car.

is there any precautions i should take or should i bring it to the shop to do..

[ECale3]

I installed my strut bar about a month and a half ago myself and didn't die yet, so i'd call it safe to just go ahead with :p

Especially since it's held up at speeds in excess of 100MPH.

[97camryman]

This is definitely a DIY job. Have the car on level ground, take off all six bolts, drop bar on, make sure you adjust the length and replace bolts. Torque them down good and close the hood its that simple.

[pk_kk]

I just got my SPW Strut bar i need I NEED TO KNOW how much i should torque my wrench to install the bar. I was thinking of torqing it around 90pounds

[Morley]

Originally Posted by pk_kk

I just got my SPW Strut bar i need I NEED TO KNOW how much i should torque my wrench to install the bar. I was thinking of torqing it around 90pounds

I want to do the exact same to my 2000XLE...

What strut bar did you go with, and how much did it end up costing ya?
Good luck with the install...!!

[pk_kk]

i got it on e-bay from SPW

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

The other ones on e-bay dont look good. These guys are great. i asked them to lower the price so i dont get taxed at customs. but i still got taxed somehow.... cost me around $37.18cdn. well if it dosent improve handling it sure looks good.

but dang does anyone know how tight i have to bolt this thing down???

[MoldySpore]

I installed a SPW strut bar on my 97 camry. just have ur car on level ground (dont jack it up or anything!) and remove the 3 bolts from one side, put on the plate, then tighten down the bolts. (dont CRANK THE CRAP out of them. just tighten them firmly) then do the other side with the other plate and tighten it down, then put the bar in and adjust it accordingly. If you have a V6 you might have to use a couple washers to shim up the plates since on mine it rubbed a little against the headers before i did. now I have a good 1/4" clearance between the bar and the headers/plastic sensor.

If you want to be really sure, get a torque wrench, and before you losen any bolts, put the torque wrench on one of the bolts, make like you are tightening them, and read how much torque is on it. and then when you bolt the plates in just apply the same amount of torque you read off the one. This isnt really necessary tho...

You can take a look at the pics of my strut bar if you want. http://thor.prohosting.com/moldyspo/camry2.html

[pk_kk]

OOoo.. well i have a torque wrench which you set the amount of pressure you wish to excert and it clicks to tell you when it reaches that tightness and wont let you tighten it anymore... so 90pounds of pressure good? i tighten my wheels with 90lbs

[EKam]

90 pounds? You're kidding right?

I think it's somewhere around 25 pounds... someone should confirm but it's definitely not 50+... your lug nuts aren't even that tight buddy.

[pk_kk]

my bad if it isnt 90lbs but it was on 90 for sure. I assumed pounds. well my gf's dad did it for me i just helped hahahaha!

[atobe]

lug nuts aren't even at 90ft/lb of torque it's like at 75 for spec.... you'r gonna break that lil bolt with 90ft/lb i don't know the exact spec for your car but i wouldn't go over 25ish

[skewe]

i think the strut bars are just for show. will not work for street user but maybe you will feel a diff on the track.

anyway, it sure loooks nice

[MoldySpore]

Im pretty sure someone told me once that it was like 30 or 35 on the bolts on top of the strut towers, but don't quote me on that.

Anyway, I definatly feel a difference during high-speed cornering with my strut bar. the car doesn't dip to one side anywhere near as hard as it did before I had the strut bar. I took the same S-turns with and without the strut bar (actually twice because I had a different strut bar that I didnt like before I got my SPW) and there is a noticeable difference.

If you look on newer cars (after 2001/2002 or so), a lot of cars are coming STOCK with strut bars. I went over my parents house a few weeks ago and they just bought a new-used acura (RL Type-S I think....I hate my dad now cause it is manuamatic...can be slap shift or automatic) and it comes stock with a big ass black strut bar. It's sweet.

For the money, a strut bar is a nice suspension upgrade. take some tight corners at higher-than-normal speeds. u'll feel the difference. just dont fishtale into a tree

[skewe]

Originally Posted by MoldySpore

Im pretty sure someone told me once that it was like 30 or 35 on the bolts on top of the strut towers, but don't quote me on that.

Anyway, I definatly feel a difference during high-speed cornering with my strut bar. the car doesn't dip to one side anywhere near as hard as it did before I had the strut bar. I took the same S-turns with and without the strut bar (actually twice because I had a different strut bar that I didnt like before I got my SPW) and there is a noticeable difference.

If you look on newer cars (after 2001/2002 or so), a lot of cars are coming STOCK with strut bars. I went over my parents house a few weeks ago and they just bought a new-used acura (RL Type-S I think....I hate my dad now cause it is manuamatic...can be slap shift or automatic) and it comes stock with a big ass black strut bar. It's sweet.

For the money, a strut bar is a nice suspension upgrade. take some tight corners at higher-than-normal speeds. u'll feel the difference. just dont fishtale into a tree

just not sure if the difference will be noticed. read a lot of reviews but more learning towards slight to no difference @ all after the installation.

yeah, most new cars have it now.

definately like the cool factor..

[totalreborn]

OR i just used a regular rachet...added a piping that fit on the end to extend and give me leverage and took the bolts of and put them on haha...nothing technical...cave man style ahha...nothing's wrong with my car right now ... so yeh go for it