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TRD Front Strut Brace Idea

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Accessories and Modifications' started by The Critic, Jan 21, 2012.

  1. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

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    I suspect that the Gen III Prius shares a number of suspension parts with the xB, Corolla and Matrix. With that in mind, I believe many members have installed the TRD rear sway bar for the current xB onto the Gen III Prius without issues.

    I currently have a Tanabe front strut tower bar but am dissatisfied with the poor clearance from the cowl. No matter how much I try adjusting it, if I get enough clearance from the cowl, it is impossible to get the bar into the brackets without resorting to a sledgehammer.

    I noticed that TRD makes front strut tower bars for the current gen Corolla and xB. It appears that the layout of the cowl on those two cars is extremely similar to our cars. Unfortunately I am not sure of the exact distance between the two strut towers on the xB and Corolla, so I am not 100% sure if bars made for those cars will fit ours.

    I will go and find a corolla or xB to measure for my curiosity, but if there is any potential of getting one of those TRD strut tower bars to fit, I would like to purchase one since they appear to address the clearance issue much better than the Tanabe bar (for our cars). Plus, I would guess that the lack of an adjustable preload may mean that there is even less flex?

    Any thoughts?
     
    #1 The Critic, Jan 21, 2012
  2. ockevin

    ockevin Active Member

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    Keep us posted. If it fits, I would love to add it to my car.
     
    #2 ockevin, Jan 21, 2012
  3. Dark_matter_doesn't

    Dark_matter_doesn't Prius Tinkerer

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    If you search about on this forum, you can find discussions of other STBs tried, including the Cusco hardware that was meant for the right-hand-drive Prius and interferes with the brake master cylinder. 2010 Prii may have a special problem in that the strut towers are recessed in the engine compartment. It apparently took Tanabe a couple of tries before they came up with their current design. It interferes with the fuse box cover, but if one disconnects the electrical connectors on the box adjacent to the fuse box, the fuse box cover can be teased out.

    Here's a picture of how mine turned out. It does touch the bottom of the wiper tray when under tension (top tilted back), but it touches in the middle:

    [​IMG]

    By the way, I sent an e-mail to Tanabe complaining about their STB not fitting into the second bracket without modifying the bracket or forcing the bar into the bracket. The first end bolts up fine, but the bar has to be bent a bit to meet up with the second bracket, and the mount tabs have to be bent and/or the bar forced into the tabs to make the second connection/bolt-up. It appears that the tabs were welded onto the brackets slightly rotated from their proper location. If anyone else has encountered this, please also send them an e-mail at [email protected] so that they get this fixed for future customers.
     
    #3 Dark_matter_doesn't, Jan 21, 2012
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