kcdirtbro54
Member
- :
- mazda2
First off: I'm not trying to step on anyone's toes (CS and RB), but I know this will save people money and who doesn't want to save a few bucks where ever they can?
Ever since I bought my 2 in November, I've been eyeing a few upgrades that I'd like to do to the car. Nothing major, as it's a DD and won't be raced. I saw Corksport's rear torsion bar and thought.... I bet a rear lower tie bar from another car that has a huge aftermarket will fit just fine. Why another car with a huge aftermarket? Because rear lower tie bars (and many other similar suspension bars) can be bought on Ebay for 15-20$.
Thinking this, I measured the 2 holes in our rear beam (20-21") where the CS bar would bolt to and began searching car forums and Google trying to find the lengths of other cars' lower tie bars. And trust me, it hasn't been a quick or easy process. Sellers won't tell you how long the bars are and being a BMW tech, I don't see any other car make out there anymore to be able to measure between suspension bolts. The other night my searching paid off. A guy on some Nissan forum with a B13 Sentra (91-94) was in the same boat as I and wanted one for his Sentra. He found out that the B13 is 20-21" between bolts and had a buddy that had an EK Civic (96-00). Turns out they were the same length and he installed a rear lower tie bar from a 96-00 Civic on his B13. I saw this info and immediately ordered a rear lower tie bar for a 96-00 Civic off Ebay for a grand total of $15 shipped to my door (had some Ebay bucks to use to bring it down to 15$).
So this is what arrived on Friday
I went to the hardware store and bought 2 bolts, 2 nuts and 2 washers (shown at bottom of pic). bolts/nuts are 7/16". I bought standard sized because my hardware store has a terrible selection of metric bolts and NONE that are high grade and/or zinc coated.
Install was simple. I first bolted the brackets up with bolts from hardware store. then adjusted the bar until the holes lined up with the brackets. Now the bolts supplied with the bar have a hex nut on one side and an 8mm allen head on the bolt. If I were to do this again, I would suggest getting a hex bolt and nut for bolting the bar up because you CAN NOT get an allen socket on the bolt to keep it from turning. I just used pliers to hold the allen bolt while I tightened the 14mm nut on the other side.
Installed
Driving impressions are ok. I can tell the back end is tighter and for $16.50 grand total (bar and hardware) I can't complain at all. I haven't pushed the car much because of traffic but I can notice a difference.
My apologies if I left anything out. Feel free to ask any questions. Just thought I'd offer an alternative to spending $115 or $208 for other options.
CS: This gives me some extra cash saved towards making a multi item order with you guys.
Ever since I bought my 2 in November, I've been eyeing a few upgrades that I'd like to do to the car. Nothing major, as it's a DD and won't be raced. I saw Corksport's rear torsion bar and thought.... I bet a rear lower tie bar from another car that has a huge aftermarket will fit just fine. Why another car with a huge aftermarket? Because rear lower tie bars (and many other similar suspension bars) can be bought on Ebay for 15-20$.
Thinking this, I measured the 2 holes in our rear beam (20-21") where the CS bar would bolt to and began searching car forums and Google trying to find the lengths of other cars' lower tie bars. And trust me, it hasn't been a quick or easy process. Sellers won't tell you how long the bars are and being a BMW tech, I don't see any other car make out there anymore to be able to measure between suspension bolts. The other night my searching paid off. A guy on some Nissan forum with a B13 Sentra (91-94) was in the same boat as I and wanted one for his Sentra. He found out that the B13 is 20-21" between bolts and had a buddy that had an EK Civic (96-00). Turns out they were the same length and he installed a rear lower tie bar from a 96-00 Civic on his B13. I saw this info and immediately ordered a rear lower tie bar for a 96-00 Civic off Ebay for a grand total of $15 shipped to my door (had some Ebay bucks to use to bring it down to 15$).
So this is what arrived on Friday
I went to the hardware store and bought 2 bolts, 2 nuts and 2 washers (shown at bottom of pic). bolts/nuts are 7/16". I bought standard sized because my hardware store has a terrible selection of metric bolts and NONE that are high grade and/or zinc coated.
Install was simple. I first bolted the brackets up with bolts from hardware store. then adjusted the bar until the holes lined up with the brackets. Now the bolts supplied with the bar have a hex nut on one side and an 8mm allen head on the bolt. If I were to do this again, I would suggest getting a hex bolt and nut for bolting the bar up because you CAN NOT get an allen socket on the bolt to keep it from turning. I just used pliers to hold the allen bolt while I tightened the 14mm nut on the other side.
Installed
Driving impressions are ok. I can tell the back end is tighter and for $16.50 grand total (bar and hardware) I can't complain at all. I haven't pushed the car much because of traffic but I can notice a difference.
My apologies if I left anything out. Feel free to ask any questions. Just thought I'd offer an alternative to spending $115 or $208 for other options.
CS: This gives me some extra cash saved towards making a multi item order with you guys.
