Front strut tower bar install with aem cai SUCCES!!!!!!!

[breakdancein]

i did it!! i installed the focus central front strut tower brace with my aem cai. i had to get a little creative but ill explain how i did ti so u guys who want one can do it also

1. jack up car so tires just barely lift off the ground this equalizes the struts.
2. remove fuse box cover ( the 1/4 of an inch that the lip takes up will make u not be bale to install the strut bar.
3. lossen up hose clamp holding cai tube into connector to throttle body and slide the tube out fromt he connectore slightly ( the cai tube should be about onyl 1/4 inch into the sleeve that conencts to the throttle body rather than the normal 1/2 inch or so. this wont affect cai at all and again that 1/4 of an inch will be crucial.
4. starting with the drivers side put the brace onto the bolts then do same with passenger side ( the strust brace bar should be just touching your cai).
5. tighten bar down to 18lb/ft like directed in instructions and put fuse box cover back on. it might take a little elbow greese but ti will fit

ok here comes the problem. since the strut tower brace is barely touchign the cai when the car take a turn the bar will rub on the cai also at high revs the bar will rub against the cai. after time that rubbign will wear down the metal on both things and also makes a slight rattle.

here is how u fix that. get a rubber hose about 5-6 inches in length( u want about an inch of extra room on both sides form were the cai comes in contact with the strut bar) as thin as possible and big enough aroud to wrap most of the way around the strut bar. splice the hose open so u can wrap it around the strut bar. slide the hose in between the bar and cai( might need a little spit as lube to get it between) then wrap it around the strut bar. secure on both sides with hose clamps as tight as possible.

whalla u have a frotn strut tower bar with a aem cai. i tested the rubber peice to see if it iwll move under hard cornering and drivign and it wont budge. i have an auto-x tommmorow so that will be the true test but i knwo ti will be fine. the thing u can only tell with time is if that rubber will wear through. ill let u know if i see any change as i drive it. hope this helped.

[Sponsor]

[SLIP STREAM SVT]

do you have any pic's?

[breakdancein]

yes i took a bunch but the cable to download them onto my comp from digital camera hasent gotten in when it does ill post them

[itsmemorphious]

Spit and heater hose probably garden hose and hose claps Sounds a little jury-rigged to me ( not clean lookin at all) Hope i'm wrong, can't wait to see pics.

[breakdancein]

Originally posted by itsmemorphious
Spit and heater hose probably garden hose and hose claps Sounds a little jury-rigged to me ( not clean lookin at all) Hope i'm wrong, can't wait to see pics.

lol its not garden hose its a black peice of hosing. u can always paint the parts before instilation before putting them on to help with looks. the most important thing for me was soemthign that works and it does exactly that

[itsmemorphious]

Hey man what ever works. Can't wait to see pics, that will be my setup to

[SVT RACER]

I just tried putting my strut bar on and did not have very good luck, I thought it matched up perfectly before but when I went to throw it on there it doesnt want to go. It seems as if the bottome screw hole on the driver side is not aligning properly. I even tried jacking it up from either side. Is it necessary to take the AEM off? It didnt seem like that was going to get in the way unless you had to bring the bar in from a lower angle. So you are suggesting putting the driver side on first with the tb slid out of the way correct?

[SVT RACER]

Do you have to lift the car from the middle of the front or just one side?
Maybe that s where I went wrong?! I only did one side at a time.

[breakdancein]

Originally posted by SVT RACER
Do you have to lift the car from the middle of the front or just one side?
Maybe that s where I went wrong?! I only did one side at a time.

u definatly need to do both sides at the same time. by lifting both sides to the same height that makes sure the car is level. if u leave it sitting on the ground or only jack it one side at a time the strits will be uneven and no way u can install it. anymore questions let me know

[Zarelli6]

Originally posted by breakdancein
u definatly need to do both sides at the same time. by lifting both sides to the same height that makes sure the car is level. if u leave it sitting on the ground or only jack it one side at a time the strits will be uneven and no way u can install it. anymore questions let me know

sorry dude, but you can install it on the ground, it is just recommended to jack it up for ease of installation. then again i did it with a fs strut bar so it was a little better quality and fit.