I purchased a procarparts.com FSTB on ebay. the seller was "autobacs" (also a high-volume ebayer) but the bars are exactly the same. it was about $49 shipped and it arrived within a couple of days. let me first say that i believe the maxima's structure is quite rigid in stock form (road and track agrees- in the r/t 50th anniversary issue it noted and praised the maxima's structural rigidity in a comparison test which included german cars such as the A4 and the Jetta.) but if i can improve on it i will (especially for only $50 ) .

initial impressions. its a hollow piece and is quite rigid. the mounting plates are pretty stiff. there were a few nicks on the bar itself, and the mounting plate brackets (which meets the bar's adjustable endlinks) exhibited some slight rusting . i removed the rust with naval jelly and sanded it down and touched it up with leftover white touchup paint. i didn't expect prepwork for the STB but it didn't matter since i didn't buy it to look pretty under the hood .

install impressions. i test-fitted the bar on the car. i noticed and found the gap between the adjustable endlinks of the bar and the mounting plate brackets to be unacceptably wide, so i placed one metal washer on each end so the mounting plate brackets wont have to bend (and cause unnecessary stress to the welds) to meet with the endlinks when i tighten up the bolts.

i added drops of loctite red (permanent) to all threads and "soaked" the washer so everything will be "frozen" in place when the loctite dries. i tightened up the strut tower nuts to factory specs and the FSTB nuts and bolts as tight as i could. i had some "clearance" issues with the ac pipe and a couple of points on top of the engine, but i put foam between the possible contact areas to minimize any potential damage. otherwise it was a piece of cake to install.

driving impressions: to test the effectiveness of the FSTB i drove the same route i drove every freaking day for the past 5 yrs.- it mainly consisted of washboards surfaces, potholes, bumpy curves, etc etc. i drove at the same speed too.

first thing i noticed is that the steering has less kickback on washboard surfaces. the front end feels noticeably more rigid on the washboard surfaces too. i'm not saying its a night and day difference but i can feel the difference. overall it exhibits less vibrations and takes a little more effort to turn at speed (which i like). pothole edges felt "rounder" and transmitted less noise. at freeway speeds the car required less steering corrections and steering overall felt smoother.

in anticipation of the FSTB i drove a particular banked curve on the route i take everyday for several times to test and familiarize the limits of the car sans FSTB. i would drive close to the botts dots so the curve would be the same degree. the tires would elicit a slight howl at about 65mph. with the FSTB i was able to take the max a little over 70mph before the tires exhibited any noise. it was more confidence-inspiring!

i am very pleased with this purchase and i highly recommend procarparts.com/autobacs' FSTB to anyone who's in the market for a FSTB.

 

If you froze it in place, how will you remove the strut housing for any suspension work?

 

hehehe i should've clarified things.

i did not apply it to the factory strut tower nuts. i applied it only on the FSTB itself, therefore i can remove the strut assembly in the future for whatever reason. because of the loctite red the fstb will come off as a unit.

the green arrows indicates where i applied loctite.

 

Oh ok... makes sence. Anyways, great review... thanks.

 

Ummm...I don't want to burst your bubble or anything, but I believe, as does most of the board, that the suspension of the Maxima is it's weakest point. It's known for being especially loose and floppy among most maxima enthusiasts. Maybe you think otherwise, and that's ok, I guess, but the Maxima does not have a "rigid" structure in stock form.


Good write up, anyways.

 

wait a minute. "the suspension of the Maxima is...loose and floppy....but the Maxima does not have a "rigid" structure in stock form."

are you confusing the unibody itself for the suspension system?

when i speak of a rigid (stiff) structure, im not talking about slaloming at 70mph through cones placed at 100ft intervals or anti-dive characteristics under emergency braking (which sounds like what you're referring to). i'm talking about how well the car reacts when it hits a bump or encounter rough roads (whether there is cowl shake aka windshield distortions or the dash vibrating, etc etc).

i agree with you that the maxima is no handler because of the modest suspension tuning set by nissan. after all it is a family car. i am assuming that when you wrote "loose and floppy" you were referring to the handling stability of the suspension. however if you were referring to the body structure as "loose and floppy" you got to be kidding me. its no MBZ, lexus, or E39 or E46 bmws, but its right up there with the accords and camry. go test drive a new sonata or an early eighties civic and compare it to your max. the owners of those cars have a right to complain about the lack of rigidity in the body structure.

at any rate thanks for the kind words

 

The structure of the maxima sux. Particularly the 1995-1996 years. One way to look at it is the offset crash test results, as it is particularly demanding of the structural rigidity of the vehicle. http://www.iihs.org/vehicle_ratings/ce/html/95012.htm and http://www.iihs.org/vehicle_ratings/ce/html/97024.htm

However, crash testing is not always directly proportional to chassis tendency to flex. The Ford Taurus has always been rated very high in crash tests, however all the taurus enthusiasts must do the same things as us (braces, subframe connectors) in order to keep the chassis from flexin.