euclid

ok, this is tech related so i left it on this forum. im doing a diy trunk brace [strongbar] like the benen one from materials used from home depot. heres the order in which scenarios have taken place.

i was at lowes yesterday w/ my dad and i decided to finally buy the materials for the trunk brace. i go look for steel or aluminum 1"x1" suare tubing. all i found was steel and it was 3 feet and dirty as hell... we took my dads bmw there so he didnt want the grimey-*** bar in his back seat, so i held off and figured i would go get it today... i get home and measure the trunk area on my car and it turns out the 3foot bar would have been an inch too short anyway, so i was relieved i didnt buy it. lowes also didnt have any endcaps for he tubes.

so i wake up today and decide to try home depot for the materials(i had to drive my sister to work and the home depot was closer than the lowes), i took out the factory bolt that needs to be lengthened and i went out. the 1st home depot didnt have any steel or aluminum tubing, they also didnt carry ANY bolts in [m12 x 1.25] let alone a 2 inch one.

next i went to advance auto parts to look for the bolts and they didnt have them, susp. grade or regular, then to auto zone and they didnt have them.

then i hit up a second home depot, they didnt have the steel tubing and i was getting aggravated, but they did have a selection of aluminum that the other places didnt have... so i looked through it and to my delight in the very back they had two 4foot box aluminum bars that are 1/3rd the weight of the 3 foot steel tube and just as strong. and they had endcaps for them, but again no bolts in [m12 1.25]. so i skipped it the register, under 15$ for 2 bars and endcaps(i figured since the bars were hard to come-by id get both. phase one complete.

my next descision was to go to the lowes i was at the last night and get the hardware, b/c lowes ALWAYS has the hardware i need, **** out of luck at lowes too. so at this point ive been out for a few hours and rush hour traffic started [new jersey style ] and i was hungery and pissed. so i went home. this is where my story unfolds.

i was sideswiped about 2 months ago in massachusettes and my entire left rear suspension was destoyed on my car,( i normally live up in massachusettes but i came down to new jersey to visit my family for the holidays and got stuck here b/c of the weather. ) so anyway i had the integra rear disk swap in my kitchen for a while and the accident afforded me the oportunity to get it installed for free b/c the accident wsnt my fault, the insurance money was enough that i could get new calipers from acura along with rotors, ss lines, r4s pads, and all new harware for both sides of the rear susp assembly, and i did the itr rear sway bar, beaks kit, and benen tie bar w/ beaks upgrade... so needless to say i was happy about that aspect of the accident.

when the shop in mass. did the install, they forgot to replace the hardware i bought from acura for the trailing arm mounting points. i bought all the replacement parts and gave them all the stuff in a box, but when the car was done they left these 4 bolts in the box, and i was pissed about it. so i came down to nj for christmas and for some reason brought the ****** bolts down with me.

so on my way home from lowes like an hour ago and i was pissed/worried i wouldnt be able to find the bolts, then the ridiculous thought popped in my head that what if the bolts the shop forgot to install would work, lol wouldnt that be a coincidence i disregarded it completely, it was imposible.
so i get home and check the bolts, and to my complete amazement the bolts were [m12 x 1.25 x 2 inches long] and i have 4 of them suspension grade from acura.

weird **** alot of different events happened over the course of a few months for me to get all the materials in my hands today... so im gonna use both the bars and all four 4 bolts and do a double strong bar in the back using all four factoy bumper support bolts for added support and ill let you know how it works....... if you made it to the end of this novel, and have the mentality to appreciate the story.

Nameless RB26

Whoa, that's alot of writing!

I read it all though.

Take some pics of the bar when you're done (if you have a camera). I'd like to see it!

greebler

Yo dude, I need some pictures of this. You are doing a brace that goes over the spare tire well?? How the hell are you mounting it??? Are you talking about plastic end cap covers or somthing.

Pictures Yo Pictures!

sounds intresting

euclid

yeah it goes over the spare tire well, ill get pics up sometime tonight.

-Whitey-

hell yea good story

my diy strongbar is just using the front bolts but recently i have been thinking about making another one for the rear bolts i painted mine flat military green

EK MONEY

iTrader: (5)

too long to read...

euclid

alright the install is finished, under 2 hours in total for both bars.

i cut the bars to 38" each, then drilled a small hole 1.5" in from the end, then used the biggest drill bit i had, then used a file to finish the job. i took a fine grit sandpaper and then steel wool to the whole bar and the finish looks really good. i used 4 large zinc washers to space the bar up far enough to clear the trunk bottom and then measured and did the other side. i tightened the bolts down tight untill the bar started to depress alittle.

the aluminum is really strong and the bars are under 5lbs for the pair. and the aluminum was easy to cut and drill, steel would be much more difficult and weigh twice as much.... i can't bend this aluminum at all so i think the steel is not necessary.

the part # on the bolts from honda/acura is 90174-sj4-003. i suggest these b/c you will have a really tough time finding them elsewhere and these are gold finished suspension grade... they look good. ill let you know later how it performs. my dad returned the digital camera he got for christmas so i dont have pics, sorry but ill post some links.

http://hogens.com/car/default.php?pa...race/index.php
this is on an integra, the trunk floor looks different on the civic so you can mount 2 of these bars, one for each bolt. also, the itr style rear brace will do nothing for civics, the frame doesnt come up to meet the verticle trunk area like it doea on the integra.

http://www.zteamyossi.com/benen/bothbars2.jpg
thats a good pic of the benen bar.

euclid

i just drove around alittle and the car feels tighter. this is definately a good upgrade for $20. little creaks in the rear chasis are now non-existant when taking fast corners and the handling is more neutral than it was, so my limit has been raised.

greebler

I really like your site, very nice. Informative too! Thanks

Soulless

So what exactly does this bar doo?

KENLUDE97

iTrader: (1)

Ok assuming that you have a hatch back car. isn't it over kill? If you have a rear strut bar then can that really help? Is there a suspension bolting in there? Is that what you are bolting to? And in turn is that what is causing that area to flex? There fore needing the braces? Now i'm new to the EK arena, so bare with me
Just want to know everything about it

SloCivicHMM

from what I know....hatches are prone more to rear flex due to the fact that there is nothing back there.......that is why there are so many bars for hatches.....rear upper strut bar, lower bar, that pillar bar, truck braces, and ultimately a roll cage to connect the rear all together for better lack of words....

I own a 92 hatch my rear rattles and squeeks a lot....I was told to put some kind a bar over the truck to fix that and just stiffen the rear more so left flex.....I'm goign to try this...thank bro!!

KENLUDE97

iTrader: (1)

When you are installing the trunk floor braces are the holes that you are using existing or do they need to be drilled and tapped?

SloCivicHMM

they are there already....you'll see 4 bolt heads....kinda like the oil drain plug size........check it out you'll seee.....

chad

good write up on a HOW TO

KF_S2000

The rear strut bar helps to reduce any flexing in the rear due to forces exerted by the suspension. However, the strong bar ties in to the actual frame of the car.

Edit: This mod seems like a great DIY project. Thanks for taking the time to share this with us, let's see those pics!


[Modified by kf_Type-R, 10:43 AM 1/8/2003]

euclid

lol, that web site i posted isnt mine, thats just where i saw the bar for the first time
the rear strut bar is gonna serve a totally different function than these, this is keeping the rear of the chasis in line, it seems that you can never go overboard when strengthening your chasis to fight flex.
and you will need a breaker bar and a 17mm socket to get the factory bumper support bolts out, theyre pretty tight in there. good luck

also, i have a 4pt roll bar, benen 3 point front strut bar, cusco front lower tie bar, benen front crossmember brace, suspension techniques front 25mm saybar, the 1 piece mugen rear strut bar, itr rear swaybar, and benen rear lower tie bar on my car already.... if i can feel a difference that these bars are making then i would assume a car w/ less suspension mods/chassis support will feel an even bigger improvement.


[Modified by euclid, 3:25 PM 1/8/2003]

KENLUDE97

iTrader: (1)

Ohhhh this starting to make more scence(sp)

SloCivicHMM

Nice suspension set up!! I'm going to try these bars soon!!

BROOD

Usually the flex in that area of the car is more noticalbe when the rear bumper core/support is removed to shed weight. This brace bar is substituted to properly brace the frame rail together with out the bumper support.

The bolts (through hatch floor and to the rails) are 12Mx1.25 - 20mm thread length 10.9 grade metric bolts. I used some flywheel bolts from a diesel engine to replace mine while doing a similar set-up. It is funny where you can find the right bolts sometimes.


[Modified by SLPR, 7:35 AM 1/21/2003]

BROOD

Some pics I found of my hatch brace for a better example.....I'll have to get a installed pic though. Made this in a few minutes after having a friend weld the AL spacers to the box tube. 40" overall length, 1 1/4" AL box tube, and 12mmx1.25 bolts. I have some materials left over that I'm gonna make about 5 more of these and powder coat them black.

Welded spacer onto the 1 1/4" box tube. My 95 Civic hatch has an indentation around the bolt loactions.


Milling the hole centerlines.


Finished holes



Hardware



[Modified by SLPR, 7:48 AM 1/21/2003]

euclid

my coupe has the indentation too, i used washers to space it.

that will be a really nice piece when you get them powder coated

make sure you post about selling them b/c peopel have been asking me about this mod and i guarantee people will buy them from you.

BROOD

I guess I could do that....

**I am looking into this, bolt-on fittment, powdercoated black, and harware included....probablu shipping included also. Will post an update if there will be some made for sale. Thanks for the input.**


[Modified by SLPR, 10:53 AM 1/21/2003]

AB16A2T

How much would that all cost? $10 a bar, hardware $5, powdercoat?. x 2 or x 1.5 I think would make a decent price.

SloCivicHMM

8.75 for a 4ft bar at Home Depo

12 to 14 bucks for the bolts/washers at ACE Hardware (metric extra cost)

cut and drill and your set......

like someone said 30 for 2, I say a decent price is 2 for 65 shipped.....or do it your damn self...lol JK......