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eBay strut tower brace for $45 is it any good?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by Daves09prius, Jun 25, 2011.

  1. xs650

    xs650 Senior Member

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    Bleh!

    I was looking at the 2010 Tanabe:hand: That one is not very impressive.

    If anyone is tempted to do some FEA, remember it's a deformation problem, not a stress problem.
     
  2. Daves09prius

    Daves09prius Active Member

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    Is there another brace that's just straight across with no bends?
     
  3. roverguy78

    roverguy78 Elite Lurking Member

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    I had seen photos of the Tanabe bar which showed stronger looking mounts. Apparently those images were not specifically of the model TTB151F bar for the Prius. Both of these bars now look very much the same, and I would see no reason to pay 2 - 3x as much for the Tanabe, as the $45 bar looks like an identical clone.
     
  4. a_gray_prius

    a_gray_prius Rare Non-Old-Blowhard Priuschat Member

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    Carbing makes one, but importing it will be some work. C-ONE also made one, but it's apparently not available from sigma anymore.

    NHW20 Strut Tower BAR/Aluminum/Front/TypeI
     
  5. Daves09prius

    Daves09prius Active Member

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    The Carbing is the best looking brace I've seen yet! but for 24,800 Yen, that's over $300 USD + shipping and Import duties... Yeah I'll have to pass on that one... I guess there's only one way to find out, eBay here I come. I'll post how the install goes and what, if anything the $45 brace does.
     
  6. CruZindon

    CruZindon New Member

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    Dave!

    Which one are you buying? From sabersport or f1sports?
     
  7. Daves09prius

    Daves09prius Active Member

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    I ordered the one from sabersport. Delivery is scheduled for July 11th I'll probally have to wait till next saturday (July 16th) so that I don't have to rush the install.
    I'll make sure to post before, during and after pictures.
     
  8. Daves09prius

    Daves09prius Active Member

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  9. Daves09prius

    Daves09prius Active Member

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    Here are some of my pictures:

    [​IMG]

    Before Install:
    [​IMG]

    I'd recomend making a bolt board, a piece of cardboard with holes where you can put the bolts so that they are clearly labeled, this way you don't loose bolts, and know where they go, and in what order: [​IMG]

    During:
    [​IMG]

    Measuring the Heighth of the bar, it hit the underside of the hood, so I lowered it more to about a finger and a half.

    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    Here's a picture after the install:

    [​IMG]
     
  10. Daves09prius

    Daves09prius Active Member

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    The installation was easy, took about 45 minutes. If you know how to use a socket set you should have no issues. Now I have to drive it to test it out. I'll let you know if it makes a difference after I get a good test drive!
     
  11. roverguy78

    roverguy78 Elite Lurking Member

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    Dave: Thanks for the photos during your install. What is your opinion of the overall build quality of the bar? It looks like the mounts are lower profile than how they appear in the eBay photos? If so, I imagine that would be a good thing.
     
  12. Daves09prius

    Daves09prius Active Member

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    I took it for a quick drive and the steering felt a bit tighter. I'm waiting for a longer drive before I give a full review. I guess the problem is that I have nothing to compare it to other than not having the bar at all. I don't know if it is as good as the Tanabe bar or other bars. I do feel a difference, and for the price who can complain? I think the BT bar looks like the best bar, but from what I hear they are no longer available as the person who was manufacturing them passed away. Sad really. I'll update everyone soon.
     
  13. LIPriusFreak

    LIPriusFreak Can I haz JDM?

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    does the car feel more planted on the highway above 50? that's what I'm looking for with this mod!
     
  14. Daves09prius

    Daves09prius Active Member

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    I've driven the car two days now with the brace installed, I've driven approximately 240 miles. I've noticed that when I turn the wheel the steering feels a bit tighter and more responsive. At speeds above 50 mph the car is more stable, at 80 mph plus, steering was much more responsive vs. stock. I've also noticed that the wheels don't squeal as much when I take sharp turns.

    As far as build quality it looks alright. Looks comparable to the Tanabe bar. I did notice where the bracket mounts up to the strut tower, the bracket only has spot welds. The Tanabe bar may be the same I don’t' know as the pictures on the Tanabe website don't show the mounting Brackets that well.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    I had to remind myself that the bar was only $45 with shipping, it's the equivalent of $30 for the bar, and $15 for shipping. So I really can't complain. Especially since other braces are $100 or more.

    I think the best bar is the BT Brace, but it's not available, so I think this is a good low cost alternative.
     
  15. WE0H

    WE0H Senior Member

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    A guy could buy the eBay tower brace and beef it up with some 1/4" plate and a TIG welder :)

    Does anyone here have a pipe bender and tools to form some heavy plate to come up with a killer strong front tower brace? Build a jig and fab up a few dozen to sell to the PC members.

    A group of us did stuff like that many years ago for the Suzuki Swift. Turned those cars into super handling econo boxes with some bolt on bracing.

    Mike
     
  16. Daves09prius

    Daves09prius Active Member

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    My wife and I are on a trip to visit her family in Georgia. Were taking turns driving. When we switched out and she started driving she said " what did you do to the car? It drives a lot nicer and there's less play in the steering. I turn the wheel and the car immediately turns. Now can you make it accelerate faster?"

    So I'll take her statement that the car handles better as validation that the $45 brace is an improvement over stock and is a good low cost alternative to the Tanabe and other more expensive braces. I say if you're looking to improve the handling but not willing or able to spend $150 or more, get the ebay $45 brace.
     
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  17. WE0H

    WE0H Senior Member

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    I wonder if the Prius chassis is really flexy? Any bracing is a drastic improvement over no bracing? That $45 brace looks like the ends would flex. How much? I don't know, as I don't have it in my hands to test. But, it obviously has some strength, and some is better than none. Getting a response like that from someone that apparently did not know you added the brace to the car, well that just makes me a believer in this theory. If you get the chance, try some under the car bracing as that has a dramatic improvement on others cars I have worked with. I suspect the Prius of whatever generation would benefit from top & bottom chassis bracing.

    Mike :)
     
  18. BAllanJ

    BAllanJ Active Member

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    I suppose you could tie a thread between the towers and go for a hard drive and see if it breaks... if that's the way it flexes and not toward each other.
     
  19. xs650

    xs650 Senior Member

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    You could hook a pair of tubes, one sliding inside the other and one connected to each tower. Then use paint, grease or whatever to mark them so that you could see how much they slid relative to each other.

    On most McPherson strut cars, the struts mounts stick up and the tops aren't supported by much more then the fender and engine compartment side walls. On the Gen III they are near the firewall and tied to the firewall with a sheet metal plate. That's much better than the conventional strut support.
     
  20. xs650

    xs650 Senior Member

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    When you go around a hard corner, the outer strut tends to lean outward and the inner strut leans towards the center of the car. The inner strut doesn't lean as far as the outer strut because the cornering forces are lower on the inner wheel. End result, the strut top move further apart.