# lower tie bar brace review



## LIUSPEED (May 29, 2002)

well i just got back from my friend place installing a lower tie brace bar for the b14 that i got from http://www.mattblehm.com/..

at first attempt (monday ) the install didnt go very well for the hole for the rear was a tad off but nothing like a little drilling cant fix but of course fate has it against me and my friend forgot the drill at work.. no biggie though..

next attempt ( wednesday ) went really well.. had a bit of a hard time getting the control arm bolts loose on the driver side for we had a little clearance issue with the auto tranny being in the way and the socket was a deep end socket but slowly and surely we got it loose with a little help with rust eater.

next we placed the front ends matching up with control arm bolts and tighten it both down no problems perfecto !

next we tried to put the rear back on.. and had a small difficulty because the rear was slightly lower now and so we decided to use a bit of force and use the jack to help us push up the rear end of the brace and to our advantage popped right into place.

next slight problem we had was that we didnt have a " short " extension to bolt up for the place holder for the bar was pretty deep.

luckily enough my friend had long and very skilled fingers to start the process of threading in the bolt and to our very luck a very good tool that allowed us to not push in the socket all the way into the socket wrench so we can bolt in the rear tight.

after tightening all the bolts i decided to take it for a test spin around the lot and did a few sharp turns.

to my amazement that this bar indeed gave me near full control of my sharp turns and felt very steady and firm.

on the drive home took a few twisty road routes and my god was it wonderful !

so stiff so precise and VERY responsive.

this is a must have for all drivers that love the twist and sharp turns on their rides.. well worth the money !

thanks matt93se for such a wonderful wonderful product i cant wait to test it out some more with the TEIN SS coilovers someday !

ill have pix of the bar installed on my car later on but this is just an amazing part that im glad i got it ! this is a must have for b14 owners ! even maxima owners love this product !

in short this is what it does it bolts onto an additional frame mount behind the control arms to provide more strength and reduce chassis flex even more. you don't lose any more ground clearance compared to the first stage, but you do gain several more steps up the ladder in the handling department.

below is a pic of what the bar looks like for the b14.










edit : sorry so long. :thumbup: and special thanks to 02sunnyb15 for helping me to do the install


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## B14_Stealth (Aug 14, 2003)

sounds good, maybe one day ill get one too.
I went to the site and there are two stages, yours is stage 2. How is it comparing to stage 1 ?


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## LIUSPEED (May 29, 2002)

stage 1 is only the front bar.. stage 2 is a full brace front and rear.


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## B14_Stealth (Aug 14, 2003)

so..the you need 2 of the stage 2s ? for front & rear ?


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## LIUSPEED (May 29, 2002)

yea it better to get the stage two for the full wonderful effect


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## LIUSPEED (May 29, 2002)

here are some pix of it installed on my good friend joe (azkicker0027) car.. he was one of the few that had them before me..




























that what it looks like installed for those who dont understand quite well what im tryin to say in above posts.


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## B14_Stealth (Aug 14, 2003)

nice, thanks for the pics


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## xt_out (Jun 23, 2003)

sweetness!!! how much did that run ya? $$


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## LethalAudio (Feb 12, 2003)

man, them prices aint too bad at all. thats going on my "To Buy" list for sure.


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## LIUSPEED (May 29, 2002)

xt_out said:


> sweetness!!! how much did that run ya? $$


175 + shipping



LethalAudio said:


> man, them prices aint too bad at all. thats going on my "To Buy" list for sure.


when you buy mention that i sent ya and hell take care of you for sure. :thumbup:


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## wickedsr20 (Aug 8, 2002)

Very nice product. I could see where that would sharpen steering response considerably. Only concern is don't have your car dropped too low or else that bar will rub on a whole lot of speed bumps and the like. My car was only down 2" front and 1.5" in the rear and I was still occasionally scraping the crossmember here and there. Stage 1 will make a difference by eliminating the flexing of the control arm mountimg points inward, but that stage 2 bar looks like it would really solidify the control arm mounting points from side to side and forward/backward movement. You have a measurement of about how thick that tubing is by the crossmember? Definitely interested.


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## LIUSPEED (May 29, 2002)

i can do that and measure approx how thick.. i cant be accurate cuz i hafta crawl under the car to measure..

but the bars are one hefty peice.. to me seems really solid and nice n thick


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## wickedsr20 (Aug 8, 2002)

LIUSPEED said:


> i can do that and measure approx how thick.. i cant be accurate cuz i hafta crawl under the car to measure..


Put the car on some ramps and it should be easier.


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## Matt93SE (Sep 17, 2003)

The tubing is 0.75" heavy wall tubing. you lose right at 1" of ground clearance, as I left about 1/4" of room between the crossmember and the tie bar.


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## wickedsr20 (Aug 8, 2002)

Cool. Thanks for the update. It's just living around here with the Baltimore and Washington DC roads being the way they are, every little bit of clearance is precious. That bar does look damn good though and looks like it could handle a scrape or two.  Got me thinking.


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## B14_Stealth (Aug 14, 2003)

wickedsr20 said:


> Cool. Thanks for the update. It's just living around here with the Baltimore and Washington DC roads being the way they are, every little bit of clearance is precious. That bar does look damn good though and looks like it could handle a scrape or two.  Got me thinking.


if only my car wasn't dropped 2.5" in the front and 1.1" in rear


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## LIUSPEED (May 29, 2002)

change springs?


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## B14_Stealth (Aug 14, 2003)

LIUSPEED said:


> change springs?


lol
that would be too much work man, i just replaced my crappy ass Spring springs with Tein S.tech ones and also got myself AGXs all around.. sweet shit


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## Matt93SE (Sep 17, 2003)

Hmmm Tein S Tech is a 2.5" drop?


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

wickedsr20 said:


> Cool. Thanks for the update. It's just living around here with the Baltimore and Washington DC roads being the way they are, every little bit of clearance is precious. That bar does look damn good though and looks like it could handle a scrape or two.  Got me thinking.


it could even double as a skid plate :thumbup:


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## nj1266 (May 14, 2002)

Sorry to bring a thread back from the dead, but are those pics of the sub frame for an SE-R B14? The sub frame on my car sure looks different than that. Are the sub frames for a GXE different than that for an SE-R?


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## LIUSPEED (May 29, 2002)

nj1266 said:


> Sorry to bring a thread back from the dead, but are those pics of the sub frame for an SE-R B14? The sub frame on my car sure looks different than that. Are the sub frames for a GXE different than that for an SE-R?


those arent subframes ( i dont think)

i know that it mounts to the front control arm bolt area and also the rear ones as well.. both have been tested on GA and SR motors but B14 chassis are all the same.


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## azkicker0027 (May 31, 2002)

nj1266 said:


> Sorry to bring a thread back from the dead, but are those pics of the sub frame for an SE-R B14? The sub frame on my car sure looks different than that. Are the sub frames for a GXE different than that for an SE-R?


those are pics of my b14 by the way, but we've tested the bars on b14's: from the sedans, to coupes, and even the SE-R. so if it's a b14, then it should fit.


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## pimpride (Mar 28, 2005)

azkicker0027 said:


> those are pics of my b14 by the way, but we've tested the bars on b14's: from the sedans, to coupes, and even the SE-R. so if it's a b14, then it should fit.


Sorry to bring up a dead thread, but will this fit on a B13?


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## Matt93SE (Sep 17, 2003)

Unfortunately, no. the B14 chassis is totally different from the B13, and I haven't had the time to develop one for the B13 chassis yet.


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## pimpride (Mar 28, 2005)

Bummer.

Edit:
Well it turns out SHigSpeed makes them for both B13/B14 models. I will be going with one of those, thanks for the fast response though Matt.


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## monk1451 (Nov 22, 2005)

can I put the stage 2 brace on with suspension technique sway bars.
Will it clear the front sway bar. Or do I have to get the stage 1


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## Matt93SE (Sep 17, 2003)

Yes, you'll be fine. the stage II doesn't go anywhere near the sway bar.


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## monk1451 (Nov 22, 2005)

*thanks*

thanks, for the reply


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## funkpacket (Feb 13, 2004)

what kind of effect does it have on ride comfort?


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## Matt93SE (Sep 17, 2003)

They will increase ride comfort slightly due to the increase in chassis rigidity. Otherwise, there is no change in ride comfort. Since these are stiffening the chassis and not the suspension (like springs/struts/sway bars), they don't affect the ride dramatically in a straight line.

the place you see the benefits of the bar is going over bumps and through corners. car will corner flatter and take bumps slightly smoother since the chassis doesn't flop around like a wet noodle.


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

they look really nice (as they did when I added to Liu's site). I'd love one, but I can't afford the loss in ground clearence, I already scrape my crossmember and flex-pipe sometimes.


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## azkicker0027 (May 31, 2002)

as for the bar doubling as a skidplate. i had a run in with a small fire extinguisher and it protected my undercarriage. it just shot it out from under there. i was surprised of how i drove away with just some scratches on the bar, but nothing on the car. i had to come back and look for that road debris and found the damage on it.


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