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Old 11-02-2009, 03:50 AM   #1
jlemond
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Default Tanabe Front Strut Tower Bar and Under Brace Review.

Hello Fellow NASIOCions. This Review is about the Tanabe Front Strut Tower Bar and Chassis Brace (or as they call it Under Brace.)

So a couple of days ago I signed on while I was at work and found a thread from Nakioki asking for some help with These parts. I immediately called him and confirmed that I would do it.

So I sent my wife and Friend down to Tanabe on Friday morning where they met Brain (Nakioki) as well as the Tanabe tech's. Brian sent me many pic's on my cell phone while I was at work, of the whole process. My wife told me that everyone was very cool.

So onto the Parts Review...

The Front Strut tower bar http://www.tanabe-usa.com/towerbar.asp,
Looks Very nice, almost beautiful. The Red is Bright and stunning and the Black is nice and glossy. The only thing they could have done better with the paint is maid it match Subaru paint code's, but since Tanabe has their own Paint theme and paint code I guess that is wishful thinking.
Function, The Strut tower bar by Tanabe really ties the front end together really nicely. It is very Stiff and Well constructed. The welds are nice and even, they look to be machine welds.

The Chassis Brace (Under Brace,) http://www.tanabe-usa.com/underbrace.asp
Again looks very nice, is all red .
Fit and Function, Fit is perfect, Well what else would you expect?? Their is room to upgrade your down pipe and still have at least half an inch clearance. The Chassis brace ties the front end to the rear VERY nicely. The Tanabe Chassis Brace Stiffens the car up very nicely. The Welds again are incredibly Beautiful and are done by a machine. This is ONE BEEFY Chassis Brace, It has four (4) points to bolt to the car and eight (8) points on the Brace itself, Unlike your average H Brace. This is a H brace with two (2) Y's For Integrity and reinforcement.

Now onto my own personal experience with The Front Strut Tower Brace and Chassis (Under Brace.) So my first drive with the new parts installed was after my wife and friend delivered my car back to me at work. So the 1/4 mile that I drove from the office to the parking garage. The first thought that came to mind was Holy$h!t This is soooo STIFF that it feels soooo WRONG but oh soooo RIGHT!!!!
Then on my way home I take the 110E Pasadena FWY. Yes guys those of you who know the Pasadena FWY this is my route to and from work every day, The Worlds first FWY and one of the best 60 MPH drives ever.
So Back on Topic, The car handles smoother and doesn't bounce up and down so much any more. Initial turn in is alot more responsive and more precise until body roll kicks in(a bit later than it did Stock and quite a bit more manageable). Lane changes (yes I said lane changes) are easier to do if you want to perform a quick precise lane change. (Yes one one of those retarded ricer lane changes.) Tight turns are even tighter than before. Bumps in the road are not as bad as they were witch is something I did not expect the Chassis brace to do.

So my experiences with these product have been nothing but positive. I only have one complaint in order to clear the down pipe and third CAT the Chassis Brace is LOW to the ground. Up front it is the lowest thing to the ground. I believe that the Muffler is still the lowest thing to the ground so that is good.


PIC'S
STRUT TOWER BAR





CHASSIS BRACE






P.S. Ebert and Roeper Give these Parts 3 THUMBS UP!!!
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Last edited by jlemond; 11-02-2009 at 04:07 AM. Reason: Pic's wern't working I figured them out. DUH!!!
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Old 11-02-2009, 08:26 PM   #2
jlemond
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Bu Bump
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Old 11-02-2009, 09:03 PM   #3
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my tanabe front brace was great until a upgraded to an sti tmic.......now it bangs up againts the IC since this brace sits so low
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Old 11-03-2009, 11:56 AM   #4
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Great review man... great to hear you like it. And glad I can help you out and also for helping out.
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Old 11-03-2009, 04:39 PM   #5
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cool bean, thanks for the great review. I'm actually about to get those parts for my car.
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Old 11-03-2009, 09:59 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wrx-c-ra-r View Post
my tanabe front brace was great until a upgraded to an sti tmic.......now it bangs up againts the IC since this brace sits so low
I do belive their was not a Front Strut Tower Bar Designed for the early STi's I may be mistaken and they may have one available in Japan or Euroupe. Hopfuly Brian (Nakioki) can chim in more on this subject through some PM's. Other than that get creative. And lets get back On Topic. Sorry for my side tracking.
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Old 11-04-2009, 12:01 AM   #7
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i got a noob question. could you put the plastic tray back on after the install?
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Old 11-04-2009, 02:03 AM   #8
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Which plastic tray?? I still have all my stock parts.
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Old 11-04-2009, 08:07 AM   #9
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The under panel is what he is referring to. You can probably get a carbing one to bolt up.
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Old 11-04-2009, 09:56 AM   #10
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Yea I mean the under panel. So the OEM one won't fit properly?
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Old 11-04-2009, 12:05 PM   #11
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I think what you are refering to is what I know as the airflow diverter/skidplate thingy that comes stock and covers the ehngine and transmision from the bottom of the car. I am at Puente Hills Subaru getting my oil done and a visual inspection, So I will let you know when I get home. But I do belive it IS Still their.
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Old 11-04-2009, 07:27 PM   #12
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So I looked under my car and Yes the Plastic Airflow diverter/Skidplate thingy IS still their.
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Old 11-04-2009, 09:58 PM   #13
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Thanks for the update, I'll be looking forward to buying one once I have the money
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Old 11-05-2009, 01:31 AM   #14
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NP, Congrats on the future mod.
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Old 11-05-2009, 12:28 PM   #15
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Yes the under tray cover is there and was never removed lol... the under brace is installed just right next to it. As for the Front Tower Bar hitting on the STI TMIC. The newer front tower bar clears both STI and WRX... the one jlemond actually have was tested on a STI too and was tested on his car to make sure it fits.

GDA GDB ... Tanabe only have the front tower bar available for wrx models only because it couldn't clear the STI's TMIC and obviously the reason is being a bit larger. So JLEMOND was right the earlier Front Tower Bars were only designed for WRX and not STI...
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Old 11-17-2009, 08:49 PM   #16
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Just a heads up to anyone thinking about installing this on a non-turbo impreza -> it doesn't fit!
Since the exhaust is routed straight from the header, there are clearance issues at the front side of the brace. The WRX/STi don't have this problem, because the downpipe clears the front side. If anyone has a way of making this fit, let me know.
-Wilson-
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Old 11-18-2009, 02:56 AM   #17
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I would Have to agree with you their, as these parts are designed for the 08+ STi and just so happen to fit the WRX. Brian (Nakioki) should eventually chime in on weather or not Tanabe will or will not be making a Chassis brace to fit the 2.5i. Hopefully they will to bring some more quality parts and competition to the market.

Anywho quick update as I have logged just shy of 800miles on the new suspension. IT is still great I am really pushing the car a lot harder now. One of my favorite turns on the Pasadena fwy can now be taken at 85+ (it is a Low speed fwy and a Lower speed turn.) I do believe the reason for the low speed limit is the 20ft on and off ramps as well as many blind turns. I feel that I am not even PUSHING the car at that speed.

By the way do not do what I do under any Circumstances. It is Highly dangerous, dumb, and illegal. Take it to the TRACK!!!

Last edited by jlemond; 11-18-2009 at 02:58 AM. Reason: Ninja Edit!!!!
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Old 12-01-2009, 03:59 PM   #18
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For what year? Sorry, I been missing out on this thread lol...

At this moment we currently have one for the GC models...

Lol... Since you work @ carson. Have you exited @ carson st. On 405 N side. There's a BIG tight turn there. It's fun if you have right settings on the car. And it's all guts... VERY very tight 180 turn.

Oh and... yeah. Take it to the tracks. lol...
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Old 12-02-2009, 10:56 AM   #19
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jlemond--
Nice photos. It looks like you lost 1 or 2" of ground clearance up front. Still no issues so far?

Are you running stock swaybars? I upgraded to Whiteline front and rear to replace the wimpy OEM sways on my '08 5-door, and I'm wondering how much additional handling improvement I'll get by adding a front strut tower bar and under brace. Anyone care to comment?
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Old 12-02-2009, 12:24 PM   #20
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He did say that the plastic under tray/ airflow diverter/ skid plate thingy still fit under the car so no clearance was lost.

The improvement in under brace and tower bar wouldn't be as nearly as dramatic as upgrading swaybars, but its still a noticeable improvement. But I think majority of it came from the under brace considering that most people notice little difference with upgraded strut tower bars.
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Old 12-02-2009, 04:52 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nodecaf View Post
jlemond--
Nice photos. It looks like you lost 1 or 2" of ground clearance up front. Still no issues so far?

Are you running stock swaybars? I upgraded to Whiteline front and rear to replace the wimpy OEM sways on my '08 5-door, and I'm wondering how much additional handling improvement I'll get by adding a front strut tower bar and under brace. Anyone care to comment?
I did loose about an inch of clearance, but absolutely no issues. I am still running stock sways until this spring. I am purchasing The GTWorks shocks/Struts and Yellow springs as well as the RCE Sways this January. I cant Install them until I get some wheels to go with it all this spring though.
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Old 12-02-2009, 05:07 PM   #22
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Cool. Been thinking about doing this mod with parts from spt, but the Tanabe look sharp and are significantly cheaper than spt (at least for online pricing). Thanks for sharing.
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Old 12-03-2009, 12:37 PM   #23
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I'm pretty sure you can get them for cheap @ one of our sponsored vendors here. Always good to support them. But as for noticeable... the under brace was very noticeable to me. Although I do not have Tanabe at this moment (fail for me) I have NRG. And when I slapped them on I quickly noticed great improvement. A lot of them I noticed on the fwy going fast and doing lane change. The car seems more responsive...

Dammit, why am I always late on replying lol.

Hey, jlemond... why not? I think the car would still look good lowered
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Old 12-03-2009, 04:22 PM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nakioki View Post
Hey, jlemond... why not? I think the car would still look good lowered
Well I am seriously thinking about lwering her b4 getting my rims. You know what really sucks? I cant make up my mind on what rims to get. Oh and I get a JNA Lip for x-mas too. it'll be here 2marrow.
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Old 12-03-2009, 04:32 PM   #25
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very nice... You have lots of options there dude. Choose wisely lol...
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