Every pic I've seen of this Strut Tower Brace installed has been in a Mazdaspeed with no cruise control. It was a long, ugly journey getting this thing in, so I thought I'd save anyone else who buys one the hassle of trying to get customer support from CP. In bold are the instructions I got from EssentialSpeed after whining to them for a week.
Tools you'll need:
1.Flat head screwdriver
1.Phillips head
4.Sockets in 10mm, 12mm, 14mm, and 17mm & a ratchet.
1.Power drill w/ a 3/8 in bit
1.Dremmel w/ a cutting wheel
4. washers with a 3/8 inch hole in the middle of them
1. Open ended flat wrench in 14mm
2. zip-ties
1) Remove wipers and black plastic tray
-Use a small flat head to pop off the tabs at the base of the wipers and use a 12mm socket to remove them.
-Pop off the oval-shaped covers on the plastic tray near the wipers, being careful of breaking them. Use a phillips head to unscrew the two bolts underneath. Careful! They screw into plastic and it's easy to strip.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Take off plastic tray. Unhook the weatherstripping at each end, then push up from below on the plastic clips to remove the weatherstripping from the plastic tray. This will also unhook the tray from the car.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2)Remove factory strut brace and A/C bracket
-Use your 10mm, 14mm, and 17mm sockets to unscrew the factory STB and all its attachments. Take the black brackets off, too.
-Use a 10mm to remove the Cruise Control unit from it's bracket. Set CC unit aside.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Use 10mm to remove lower bracket from the face of the strut tower on the driver's side.
-Use 10mm w/ extension to remove A/C bracket from the center of the firewall.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Remove the A/C bracket from the A/C lines. Cut the plastic tabs if you have to.
-Keep all hardware, BTW.
3)Remove all other solenoids from their bolting place.
-Use a 10mm to remove the solonoid on the driver's strut tower, and there should be another one sitting between the strut tower and firewall on the passenger's side. It came off when the stock brace and black brackets were removed. It says Mitsubishi on it.
4)Set the CP Racing STB in place and mark the firewall where you'll be drilling.
-I used a Sharpie to mark where I was drilling, then I busted out the drill and made a 3/8 inch hole on either side. Don't be scared, your new STB is gonna make a big difference!!
You can see my unfinished hole with some ink next to it. Start small, then work your way up to 3/8 inch. You can also see some red paint from the STB. Be careful, the paint on the brace is thin and easy to scratch.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5) Attach Cruise Control to it's new bracket and place the bracket onto the existing bolt on the face of the strut tower.
-This part gave me fits. Pay attention to it's positioning in the pics, and you'll be alright. (screwy) Use the nut from the "lower bracket" you took off earlier.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
6)INSTALL NEW BRACE!
Now we're getting somewhere. (spin)
-Slap that puppy into place. Be careful because the paint on the bar is easy to scratch.
-Feed the 3/8 inch bolts that came with the bar(with the washers that you have to buy) on either side through the firewall and use a 14mm socket, your 4 washers, and a nut to bolt them into place. Don't tighten it all the way down just yet.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
7)Tighten all the nuts and bolts
-Get all your wires and lines out of harm's way, and tighten down your new STB, at the firewall and at the strut towers. Easy does it on the strut towers. I've heard some stories about those bolts breaking off. At the firewall, crank 'er down pretty hard using your 14mm socket and 14mm flat wrench. Zip-tie the A/C lines to the new STB; unless you can find a better, cleaner way to keep them positioned.
8) Re-install all solenoids.
-I used a Dremmel to cut the bracket on the passenger's side. See pic for how it should look after you've cut it. (Yup, there's a couple of fitment issues with the bar blocking some of the mounting holes.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-On the driver's side, the new STB seems to hold down the bracket pretty well....Lol, that's my way of saying that the bar is blocking the hole that we're supposed to screw it back into. Oh-well. I'll have to get back to you on that one, but for now, I'm just gonna leave it as is. It seems pretty damn solid.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
9) Now it's just a matter of tilting your cruise control out of the way while not pressing down on the A/C lines below it too hard. It's kinda tight, but doable. Just fiddle with it.
10) Put your tray and wipers back on. Position the wipers as close to where they were on the windshield as possible. Make sure they don't wipe the plastic when you turn them on. Also, be really careful of the oval-shaped plastic tabs. I broke one trying to pop it back in. Those little things are super brittle.
You're Done! (rockon)
Go hit some corners and feel the difference! The car really seems to track better on the straights and the turn-in is instantaneous. (thumb)
Questions, comments and criticism are always welcome!
Tools you'll need:
1.Flat head screwdriver
1.Phillips head
4.Sockets in 10mm, 12mm, 14mm, and 17mm & a ratchet.
1.Power drill w/ a 3/8 in bit
1.Dremmel w/ a cutting wheel
4. washers with a 3/8 inch hole in the middle of them
1. Open ended flat wrench in 14mm
2. zip-ties
1) Remove wipers and black plastic tray
-Use a small flat head to pop off the tabs at the base of the wipers and use a 12mm socket to remove them.
-Pop off the oval-shaped covers on the plastic tray near the wipers, being careful of breaking them. Use a phillips head to unscrew the two bolts underneath. Careful! They screw into plastic and it's easy to strip.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Take off plastic tray. Unhook the weatherstripping at each end, then push up from below on the plastic clips to remove the weatherstripping from the plastic tray. This will also unhook the tray from the car.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2)Remove factory strut brace and A/C bracket
-Use your 10mm, 14mm, and 17mm sockets to unscrew the factory STB and all its attachments. Take the black brackets off, too.
-Use a 10mm to remove the Cruise Control unit from it's bracket. Set CC unit aside.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Use 10mm to remove lower bracket from the face of the strut tower on the driver's side.
-Use 10mm w/ extension to remove A/C bracket from the center of the firewall.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Remove the A/C bracket from the A/C lines. Cut the plastic tabs if you have to.
-Keep all hardware, BTW.
3)Remove all other solenoids from their bolting place.
-Use a 10mm to remove the solonoid on the driver's strut tower, and there should be another one sitting between the strut tower and firewall on the passenger's side. It came off when the stock brace and black brackets were removed. It says Mitsubishi on it.
4)Set the CP Racing STB in place and mark the firewall where you'll be drilling.
-I used a Sharpie to mark where I was drilling, then I busted out the drill and made a 3/8 inch hole on either side. Don't be scared, your new STB is gonna make a big difference!!
You can see my unfinished hole with some ink next to it. Start small, then work your way up to 3/8 inch. You can also see some red paint from the STB. Be careful, the paint on the brace is thin and easy to scratch.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5) Attach Cruise Control to it's new bracket and place the bracket onto the existing bolt on the face of the strut tower.
-This part gave me fits. Pay attention to it's positioning in the pics, and you'll be alright. (screwy) Use the nut from the "lower bracket" you took off earlier.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
6)INSTALL NEW BRACE!
Now we're getting somewhere. (spin)
-Slap that puppy into place. Be careful because the paint on the bar is easy to scratch.
-Feed the 3/8 inch bolts that came with the bar(with the washers that you have to buy) on either side through the firewall and use a 14mm socket, your 4 washers, and a nut to bolt them into place. Don't tighten it all the way down just yet.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
7)Tighten all the nuts and bolts
-Get all your wires and lines out of harm's way, and tighten down your new STB, at the firewall and at the strut towers. Easy does it on the strut towers. I've heard some stories about those bolts breaking off. At the firewall, crank 'er down pretty hard using your 14mm socket and 14mm flat wrench. Zip-tie the A/C lines to the new STB; unless you can find a better, cleaner way to keep them positioned.
8) Re-install all solenoids.
-I used a Dremmel to cut the bracket on the passenger's side. See pic for how it should look after you've cut it. (Yup, there's a couple of fitment issues with the bar blocking some of the mounting holes.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-On the driver's side, the new STB seems to hold down the bracket pretty well....Lol, that's my way of saying that the bar is blocking the hole that we're supposed to screw it back into. Oh-well. I'll have to get back to you on that one, but for now, I'm just gonna leave it as is. It seems pretty damn solid.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
9) Now it's just a matter of tilting your cruise control out of the way while not pressing down on the A/C lines below it too hard. It's kinda tight, but doable. Just fiddle with it.
10) Put your tray and wipers back on. Position the wipers as close to where they were on the windshield as possible. Make sure they don't wipe the plastic when you turn them on. Also, be really careful of the oval-shaped plastic tabs. I broke one trying to pop it back in. Those little things are super brittle.
You're Done! (rockon)
Go hit some corners and feel the difference! The car really seems to track better on the straights and the turn-in is instantaneous. (thumb)
Questions, comments and criticism are always welcome!
Last edited:
.
The paint/weld/cut quality could be better, but this bar really makes a difference in handling.
