Difficulty: About 3 just because i didnt have the best tools
2 if i had known what to use in advance
1- bolt on 10 - engine swap
time: depends on your drill and experience. Should not take more than 1-2 hours. But can take up to 3-4 hours without the right tools
Car: 2000 civic EX coupe 5mt
Stock height on Si wheels
Tools needed:
1. Drill (chargable/portable not recommended)
2. many many assortment of drill bits
3. 2 x 13 mm socket and wrenches
4. 6x 3/8 flat washers
5. 4x m8 x1.25 25mm hex screws
6. m8 x 1.25 nuts
7. 1x oem si strut bar (any other oem acura or honda will work too)
8. Torque Wrench (optional)
9. Jack, Jack stands, and 19mm socket (if car is lowered)
i bought the hardware at pepboys about $7 only because it was a mile from my house and i had to make 2-3 trips because i keep messing up on the hex screws ( i bought 45mm length one and that was wayyy to long)
If your car is not stock height, you HAVE to raise you car. You also should remove wheels to make last step easier.PLEASE use jack stands. it is not safe to use only a jack let alone raising only one side of your car with a jack. If you dont raise your car, your are going to drill thru your suspension below.
As you all know oem acura/honda strut bars bolts onto the chassis and not the struts like aftermarket bars do. So for this project you have to drill holes into the chassis. Fortunately EK chassis has markings that perfectly line up with the strut bar.
Drilling:
Please measure twice. Drill DEAD CENTER. You dont want to drill a whole that is closer to the sides because you'll end up drilling outside the frame due to the size of the expanding hole. You may use a center punch to get a little insert for the drill. THat was not working for me so i used nails and a hammer lol. i just straighten out the nail after every so hit. Also drill perpendicular to the chassis because the chassis is at an angle it isnt completely horizontal.
I used small drill bits and increased after each drill thru.
These are in order of which one i used first.
I used the second one to widen the hole so the bigger drill bits can grab onto the chassis. Sorry i do not have the measurements of these bits i jsut found them in a bucket of stuff in the hosue
Apply some pressure on the drill. Drilling thru the initial hole will come with a surprise because you dont know when it will go thru and once it does, you will push your hole bit thru. This is why you must raise your car if you are on any aftermarket suspension.
Then i stuck my hand between the wheel and the chassis and insert the screw in the hole.
I hand one wrench in the wheel well holding onto the screw and i tightened the nut on top with my right hand. An extra person would be helpful but it can be done with just your two hands.
From bottom to top: Screw--->washer-->chassis-->strut bar--->washer--->nut
Torque to 14 ft/lbs. If you dont have a torque wrench jsut make sure its moderately tight. you should be able to tug on the whole bar and not have it move, but instead the car kind of shakes. Must be one with the car lol.
Job well done.
If you raised your car, torque up your wheels to 80ft/lbs
Conclusion: I took it out for a test drive and the difference was kinda noticable not a big difference but its there. I did notice the decreased body roll while doing 15ish mph turns.
edit* i took it for a real test drive making hard turns. it grips the road a lot more compared to non strut bar
Good luck
2 if i had known what to use in advance
1- bolt on 10 - engine swap
time: depends on your drill and experience. Should not take more than 1-2 hours. But can take up to 3-4 hours without the right tools
Car: 2000 civic EX coupe 5mt
Stock height on Si wheels
Tools needed:
1. Drill (chargable/portable not recommended)
2. many many assortment of drill bits
3. 2 x 13 mm socket and wrenches
4. 6x 3/8 flat washers
5. 4x m8 x1.25 25mm hex screws
6. m8 x 1.25 nuts
7. 1x oem si strut bar (any other oem acura or honda will work too)
8. Torque Wrench (optional)
9. Jack, Jack stands, and 19mm socket (if car is lowered)
i bought the hardware at pepboys about $7 only because it was a mile from my house and i had to make 2-3 trips because i keep messing up on the hex screws ( i bought 45mm length one and that was wayyy to long)
If your car is not stock height, you HAVE to raise you car. You also should remove wheels to make last step easier.PLEASE use jack stands. it is not safe to use only a jack let alone raising only one side of your car with a jack. If you dont raise your car, your are going to drill thru your suspension below.
As you all know oem acura/honda strut bars bolts onto the chassis and not the struts like aftermarket bars do. So for this project you have to drill holes into the chassis. Fortunately EK chassis has markings that perfectly line up with the strut bar.
Drilling:
Please measure twice. Drill DEAD CENTER. You dont want to drill a whole that is closer to the sides because you'll end up drilling outside the frame due to the size of the expanding hole. You may use a center punch to get a little insert for the drill. THat was not working for me so i used nails and a hammer lol. i just straighten out the nail after every so hit. Also drill perpendicular to the chassis because the chassis is at an angle it isnt completely horizontal.
I used small drill bits and increased after each drill thru.
These are in order of which one i used first.
I used the second one to widen the hole so the bigger drill bits can grab onto the chassis. Sorry i do not have the measurements of these bits i jsut found them in a bucket of stuff in the hosue
Apply some pressure on the drill. Drilling thru the initial hole will come with a surprise because you dont know when it will go thru and once it does, you will push your hole bit thru. This is why you must raise your car if you are on any aftermarket suspension.
Then i stuck my hand between the wheel and the chassis and insert the screw in the hole.
I hand one wrench in the wheel well holding onto the screw and i tightened the nut on top with my right hand. An extra person would be helpful but it can be done with just your two hands.
From bottom to top: Screw--->washer-->chassis-->strut bar--->washer--->nut
Torque to 14 ft/lbs. If you dont have a torque wrench jsut make sure its moderately tight. you should be able to tug on the whole bar and not have it move, but instead the car kind of shakes. Must be one with the car lol.
Job well done.
If you raised your car, torque up your wheels to 80ft/lbs
Conclusion: I took it out for a test drive and the difference was kinda noticable not a big difference but its there. I did notice the decreased body roll while doing 15ish mph turns.
edit* i took it for a real test drive making hard turns. it grips the road a lot more compared to non strut bar
Good luck