cusco tower bar install

well, the install has begun of the cusco tower brace. hope to have pics soon. a friend of mine is actually doing the work. it seems straight forward but a little involved. must take your time. the the first obstacle is taking off the windshield wiper arms. then you take that tray off. something like 10 small bolts. my friend had to remove the wiper motor as well. there is a brace/reinforcement half moon that will be attached to the shock mounts. they have to be screwed in from underneath. thats why my buddy is going home to get his jacks. we loosely place the bar in position . it looks like a tight fit, but workable. it also looks very cool. ill report a little later. keep my fingers crossed.
later: well, total time about 2 hrs.the key ingredient was jacking up the front of car as you try to line up holes on the halfmoon shaped reinforcers. the metal is so thin on the prius that they decided in my opinion to add the reinforcers.after that it was a piece of cake (not for me) .
took it for a quick ride. seemed much more stable in the front. took small corners very sharply. felt tighter. no rattles. i know it could be my imagination, but i feel i could really toss this around. much more fun.

 

now for the tough thing can i add my pics!!!!

 

now that ive had my tower bar installed for about a week, here are my feelings. seems to have absolutely no drawbacks (not counting initial investment). on sharp corners you feel like you are on rails. on sweeping corners it just feels very stable. ive thought it over and probably will not add more mods to the suspension, since i want it to be stock for trade in in the future. some have said that adding the strut reenforcer does not really do anything, but i beg to differ. from a drivers perspective, it just seems to add a very secure cornering stability. i think of it as a helper to the small front swaybar that is stock on the car. its just that little subtlety that makes all the difference. oh, and no hood clearance issues.
anyway, my long winded way of saying that i like it and its fun

 

thanks for the nice reply mnaf. the engine compartment is a tight area, but does not seem to be blocked as far as fluid replacements go.