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Old 12-29-2004, 01:47 PM   #1
SubeGURU
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Question Installing Rear Strut Bar on 97 Legacy GT

I know most ppl will say it's self-explanatory but I remember when my brother had it installed on his 95 Legacy L he had to have the rear seats removed and a bucnha' other details. Any help would be appreciated.
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Old 12-29-2004, 02:01 PM   #2
fibuz
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no seat removal on MY00-04....just make sure to torque the nuts to spec when you reinstall...don't wanna go too much...I think its around 15lbs.

if you do have to remove the seats, its pretty straight forward...two bolts for the bottom portion which when removed will expose bolts for the upper portion.

good luck,

fibuz
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Old 12-29-2004, 02:14 PM   #3
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This did not work out very smoothly for me either, but I do have pictures that might help and will try to remember the best way to do this for you. Remove the rear seat. This is easy, there is a couple bolts on the floor. Fold down the seats, then there is about5-6 more bolts there, and then remove the headrest/sidesupport. Now you should be able to see the strut tower hat next to the seat belt mechanism. Remove the strut hat




There is a wiring hole that goes from there, into the trunk



This was not big enough to fit my Cusco bar through So I did the only logical thing, which you may not want to do to your car. I made the hole bigger.



Now you can put the new peice in there. Dont bolt them down yet.


Connect the new strut hats to the bar, now bolt everything down.



hope that helps
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Old 12-29-2004, 02:25 PM   #4
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wow, that is a PITA.
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Old 12-29-2004, 02:41 PM   #5
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yes, I actually took the seats out several times, looking at the holes in the wall that were too small, kinda dumbfounded, before I decided to just rip them open with the prybar side of a hammer
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Old 12-29-2004, 03:00 PM   #6
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Cheers for prybar side of a hammer!
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Old 12-29-2004, 03:01 PM   #7
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I'd forgo this completely.

Given the construction of the car, and the fact that there's a decent amount of material across the rear strut towers already, I doubt you're going to find any real-world benefit solely from a rear strut tower brace in a sedan. (Wagons probably benefit a little more from a strut brace)

So my advice is: Don't bother with a rear brace unless you've already upgraded the wheels & tires, added a bigger rear sway bar, stiffer endlinks, and aftermarket struts and springs.

-Brian

Edited for clarity. Please note that this is my opinion only. If you have an extra brace just lying around, looking for a home, rock on.
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Old 12-29-2004, 03:36 PM   #8
Tizzle
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KD7000

So my advice is: Don't bother with a rear brace unless you've already upgraded the wheels & tires, added a bigger rear sway bar, stiffer endlinks, and aftermarket struts and springs.
True, that is a good logical order for suspension upgrades. When you get that far I would still reccommend this upgrade. I actually noticed a significant difference when I installed mine. I could have described it better back when I made the change, but it definitely has a much more solid feel. I say go for it.
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Old 12-29-2004, 08:51 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fibuz
wow, that is a PITA.
It was real easy in my 98 BG.

Oh, and yes, wagons need this a bit more than the sedans.
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Old 12-29-2004, 09:14 PM   #10
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yes, I'm chiming in with Charlie-III on this one too. Sedans really don't need these. They've got the structure already there for the seat backs to lock into....whereas the wagons have nothing connecting those towers.

GGT
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Old 12-30-2004, 03:01 AM   #11
Patrick Olsen
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I have one on mine, can't say I noticed any difference in chassis stiffness or performance. It helps me sleep better at night, though.

The only thing I had to trim on my sedan was the cardboard/fabric trunk liner stuff, I didn't have to abuse any sheetmetal at all. I'm thinkin' someone got the wrong model strut tower brace - maybe that was an Impreza one? I know when I got mine they sent me the wrong type and it was immediately obvious that the endplates just wouldn't line up right. I sent it back and they sent me the right one.

Pat Olsen
'97 Legacy 2.5GT sedan
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Old 12-30-2004, 06:29 PM   #12
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I saw an interesting bit on SCR on stbs. The essentially said that any stb with a pivot point will allow for parallelogramming of the front or rear under load. They were using a fully welded Mugen piece to as an example of how to stiffen the chassis. They were however advising against to much stiffening in a street car because it might make it unstable while hitting bumps on turns.

My Primitive Racing stb has pivots/cam bolts.

ss
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Old 12-31-2004, 12:04 AM   #13
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subysouth: My Cusco is "solid" once I tighten the bolts up, it's not welded but pretty solid just the same. I am not sure I follow your comment.
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Old 12-31-2004, 03:54 PM   #14
Gator GT
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Charlie-III, there will be pivot on "pinned" (bolted) connections no matter how tight it may be. And I'm pretty sure that the aftermarket companies aren't providing hardware strong enough to torque them down to near non-movement without stripping. Not until you weld will there be no pivoting at the connection.

This is relative though. I'm sure the STB is solid to the touch and you can feel a difference in your handling.....but put in a fully welded unit and it will be leagues better.
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Old 01-01-2005, 03:31 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie-III
subysouth: My Cusco is "solid" once I tighten the bolts up, it's not welded but pretty solid just the same. I am not sure I follow your comment.
As gator says, even tightened if it has a pivot point around a bolt thats aligned longitudinally(or close) with the body of the car, it can parallelogram.

As I thought about it, every oem stb I can remember was a solid piece. It might have been made of stamped sheet metal, but no pivots.

ss

edit: Heres a pic of my bar end:

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Old 01-01-2005, 04:21 PM   #16
Gator GT
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To play off of SS comment above, just think of the GD JDM front STB (no bolts except for the plate to tower connection) and the EVO optional front STB (<-- although I believe that one is double bolted at midspan to the firewall in a triangulated manner).

Same principle can (and is) applied to cages. Is it any coincidence that (higher end) race cages tend to be welded units vs. pieces bolted together? I think not.

GGT
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