Yes I searched and its between innovative and ETD. The only problem is...all the threads are like 5 years old lol. I'm going to be boosting my b18 89 hatch with a 3 inch downpipe so i have to replace my crossmember with a traction bar, my question is...whats my best bet?

I'm leaning towards ETD, plus it seems like the etd will run me about 350 with the mounts for the half koyo half radiator i got off an integra

http://www.etdracing.com/store/produ...products_id=68
ETD and id get the half radiator mounts

http://www.innovativemounts.com/Prod...ductCode=59112

http://www.full-race.com/catalog/pro...products_id=77
what about this one?

i want something around 350 that i can use my koyo half radiator from an integra(i belive its the same size as an EG half radiator)

 

i was searching on something and actually saw the same thread and someone trying to choose between these two...i looked again but couldn't find it but i think it ended up being that he choosed EDT

 

i found it, but it was an old topic, i think EDT has redesigned their product since the topic.

 

I actually bought the ETD and the Innovative competition traction bars to test fit them and compare both. The ETD didn't look like a very strong piece especially the bracket portion that attaches to the chassis. The powder coating was already chipping as soon as I took it out of the box.

The Innovative competition bar was a much more solid piece and look very well thought out and built. It just plain looked and felt more sturdy than the ETD. The down side was that the radius rods that attach to the lower control arms are a little on the short side. I only got three full turns when I tried to thread the heim joints into the radius rod before it actually started pulling the lower control arm too far forward. I understand some people like to preload the suspension, but any further forward and you could literally see the wheel move too far forward in the wheel well. This seemed a little unsafe for me especially since I was going to be running slicks and launching the car hard.

So I decided to sell both of them and found a slightly used Full-Race traction bar on Ebay for a decent price and I jumped on it. It fits great and looks/feels solid. I have used it with slicks for numerous passes and it has held up great.

On a side note, my friend bought and tried the Innovative replacement crossmember and if your car is lowered at all I would not recommend this piece either. It was built very sturdy but this bar sits so low due to the fact that it allows you to run a half size EG radiator. His car was lowered about two inches all around and this bar would bottom out on even the smallest dips, bumps and driveways.

 

i would go with an EDT traction bar for bseries. im driving rex wit an edit traction bar lowered. no problem at all!

 

this is good info, i will be running a half radiator though out of an integra and it sticks up high just like the EG radiator, so keep that in mind. im lowered 1.5 all around on drop springs. the full race one is out of my price range. 350$ is my limit thats why i was thinking of the etd one with the optional radiator mount to use my half rad(exactly like the EG half rad)

i see you posted your opinions and all the downsides, but you dident recomend either

 

Have you looked at the ESP traction bar.

 

innovative all the way. the down side is that they hang down really low but they protect your header

 

for some reason im still leaning toward the etd

 

Innovative has 2 bars:
1) The Traction Bar
2) "Replacement Crossmember"

I just bought the replacement crossmember. It is supposed to hang a little lower than stock, BUT, it has built in mount points for the EG Half-Rad, and the lower height will protect my headers, oilpan, etc... It is priced around $250. I also like how it uses the stock crossmember mount points. I never liked the bars that only use the tow hook bolts. It also has a mount point for a front motor mount, if you are laying down some serious torque. Innovative sells stiffer radius rod bushings (~$40) to help it act more like a traction bar. My brother used to have the same bar (his car was stolen) and he said he loved how it eliminated wheel hop. He was running a turbo B18B.

 

so your suggesting the replace crossmember by innovative and if i want i can get the stiffer readius rod bushings for it to act more like a traction bar? this sounds like the best bet but performance wise is it going to not be up to par if i would have just gotten an actual traction bar?

http://www.innovativemounts.com/Prod...ductCode=59111
replacement crossmember
http://www.innovativemounts.com/Prod...ductCode=59103
stiffer bushings
http://www.innovativemounts.com/Prod...ductCode=59100
radiator top mount

is that what your suggesting?

 

i got the etd, awsome. no complaints at all. i am very happy with mine

 

can u run a half radiator with it? cause i know the Eg's sit too high, and innovative accounts for that and makes their bar lower

 

I have had an ETD bar for quite a while and never had any problems. The only thing I don't like is it is a little noisy and clunky since it does not have bushings, but I think most all the traction bars make more noise than stock.

 

Yes you can. They sell a pair of brackets to mount the small radiator.

 

Well if money was not an issue, I would totally recommend the Full-Race.
Seeing as how your budget is approx. $350, I would go with either innovative bar because these are solid pieces as compared to the ETD. If you want to run your EG radiator then I would go with the Innovative replacement bar if your car is not that low.

I remember shortly after I bought the ETD there was a thread on here with pictures showing the radius rods on the ETD breaking due to incorrect suspension geometry. People went back and forth arguing about suspension angles, preloading and everything else you could think of. This was however a few years ago and maybe they have corrected the issue since then.

 

i would also recommend full race. ESP is by far the next best choice

 

Yes. Yes. And Yes.
That is EXACTLY what I have laying on the floor behind me.

For the price and function, I found it was the best bet. I haven't installed any of my stuff yet, so I cannot give you my hands-on insight...yet! I'll be doing it all next week. Also, I don't have an agressively lowered car, so I was not too concerned with the road clearance issues that others complain about.

As far as being concerned with the performance of it... I have heard nothing but great reviews about it (save the ground clearance issues). Like I said earlier, my brother ran this in his turbo'd B18B and he had no wheel hop issues, and said that the bar really stiffened up his front end (in a good way). It will be plenty for a daily driver, and will give you the ability to run the EG Half-Rad with no clearance issues, which will help "clean up" the look of your engine bay and give you more room for headers/turbo... what have you.

The ETD bar also has Heim joints on BOTH ends of its radius rods. I personally feel that Honda did not design their radius rods to flex at the lower control arm for a reason. Also, 3 of the 6 tow hook holes in my car have had the inner welded threads "fall out" making it impossible to safely mount anything in those holes. I have no explanation for this, as it is a southern car with no rust anywhere and was bone stock when I bought it. I feel that the tow hooks and their holes are meant to be a fixed attachment point on the vehicle, but are not meant to withstand the continuous twisting dynamic force that is required of them when employed as traction bar mounting points. This is just how I feel from my personal experience.

 

those 3 bolts replace just 1 of the bigger ones...not bad. it still uses that other bigger bolt, and i have found the full race to be very durable. also easy to adjust on the car and i believe the pivoting action at the LCA is a benefit in the corners.
btw, i also had one of those tow hook threads fall into the frame...i plan to make a small cut and at least put a nut and washer up there.

 

ok i think im gonna order the innovative crossmember replacement with the stiffer bushings and the radiator mount so i wont have any hood clearance issues with my half radiator..i dont have an EG radiator, but a koyo half radiator off an integra, so im pretty sure they are the same size

 

im ordering the bar tonight, what is the difference between the innovative traction bar and the innovative crossmember with stronger bushings?

 

Innovative "Traction Bar": No mount points for EG Half-Rad, and more ground clearance. It come with new radius rods that have Heim joints on one end

Innovative "Replacement Crossmember": Accepts EG Half-Rad with no mods. Less ground clearance. Has Built in tow hooks. Re-uses your old radius rods, but you use their stiffer bushings to reduce slack, and improve traction (reduce wheel hop).

 

how much less ground clearance? im on a 1.5 drop all around, can i still do speed bumps?

 

tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt

 

also, should i just order them from the innovative site? im ordering tonight and the site says its 45$ for shipping, jesus