Another Strut Tower Brace Option

After looking carefully at your pictures, my brackets are definitely almost identical to yours, but there is no way my cowl pan will go back in like that.

I wonder if there could be a difference in the 04 vs 08? Maybe they made the Cowl pan deeper?

Anyone know?

Do you suppose you could do me a favor and take a pic of what the bar looks like under the cowl? Might be hard to get, but if your cam has a Macro setting it might work. This way I can see if there is a difference.

 

I'll be chasing this up, I love to throw my prius around in the twisty stuff. Although I think it handles really well I'd like to get a little more. Don't us petrol heads always want a little more?

 

Petrolheads, hadn't heard that one before. This side of the pond we're gearheads.

 

I may have misunderstood the post. The OP has a U-shaped brace and the other poster is using a conical brace. This could be the issue.

 

In Australia we are petrol heads, always have been.
Oh and I knew about "gear heads", we get American culture on tap in Australia.

 

I had the same problem, I resorted to a little panel beating of the cowl, followed by some mastic to ensure it was watertight. I am glad I persevered it has transformed the ride especially high side winds on motorway (freeway to some) and slow sharp bends

 

I am just wondering about any conclusive benefits of this installation? As I drive mainly on suburban streets, is this still beneficial? I have just had my wheel alignment done recently and asked the tech guy to have toe in adjusted to 1mm instead zero (toyota spec). This have made my steering noticeably more defined and more stable on the road as well.

Any comments and ideas?

 

Have you taken a MPG hit? I would also be concerned about tyre wear I guess that was toe out as toe in makes most cars handling skittish at best. The short answer to your question is yes, major benefits I was recently reminded of this when I drove someone else's Prius and remembered how poorly they handle rough roads (we have lots here in UK) I also noted major improvement from changing my front tyre size but then I have 16" wheels like the US touring version

 

No effects on mpg so far as the amount of toe in is till within the limits but not zero. As for tire wear, I will know for sure after another 5000km but I doubt. My current front tires were like newish when I bought the car and was told that rubber is getting hard two weeks ago (about 3 yrs old).

As for the strut bar, is there any rubbing issues against the wire bundle(passenger side), bracket for the electric motor and the foam under the cowl plate? I am still tossing up on this as there is not much room under the plastic plate and clearance may be an issue.

The middle chassis plate definitely improved the handling and stability. It also has damped the rattlling noise from the rear plastics (tail gate trim). Any means to make the front tight would be desirable if the benefits are real.

 

Going to be trying this tonight. Wish me luck,I'm using a brace for a Corolla I got off ebay.

 

good luck 'n take pictures. I been thinkin about this mod too.

 

Fail... Poor fitment. There was no way I could make this fit without hitting the crowl. You would have to cut the crowl and some tabs off. The bolts matched up but could not make it fit no matter what way I turned the brackets or bar. The ebay auction was titled "MEGAN RACING FRONT UPPER STRUT TOWER BAR 03-06 TOYOTA COROLLA E120 2ZZ 1ZZ ALL" I plan on reselling it on ebay because it would not be worth returning for a restocking fee and shipping.

 

This is one situation that I'd recommend the Tanabe;

 

looks like the same one the op used. did you try flipping it over and adding washers under the brackets like he did?

 

No, the Tanabe is a perfect fit for the Gen II Prius. No modifications are needed.


To me, the money that you'd save on one that needs to be modified is NOT a savings, given the aggravation and time spent getting it to fit, if it is even at all possible.

 

Flipped it every way possible including the brackets and angling the bar. Washers would have made it go further up into the crowl. Tanabe has been ordered. Lots of people were out on amazon so ended up getting from ebay.

 

I don't understand why everyone feels the need to add all this racing crap to the car. It drives fine as is

 

Some people are after the "image crap."

Other prefer no outward image and a little better handling. I haven't driven high performance in years. No need to. I did it chasing crooks years ago.

If you are numb or dead to any feeling in the car's ride and satisfied, that's fine.

Everyone has their preferences, including you!