**MODERATOR EDIT***
If anyone has a pic of said FSTB ON A MAXIMA please hit up the member via PM. Also PM it to me and I will post it in this thread.


Does anyone have a picture of the actual Netami FSTB for an 02-03 maxima? All the pics i can find online have 4 different ones, and they says "the actual bar will vary depending on make and model".

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

Does it matter? It's a metal bar with mount brackets on either end......It's under the hood, nobody is going to see it anyhow.

btw I've never even heard of this brand....

 

in reality it doesn't do crap, as Irish says nobody ca see it anyway.......get the RSTB and be done with it......

 

hmmmm, seems like it might matter to him what it looks like. if he felt the same as you two, he wouldn't be asking for pics. not trying to be a smartass...but I know how he feels. I'm picky about stuff like that too before I buy it.

wish I had some pics for ya!

 

i beg to differ...

 

Agree... not to mention if you are like me I do a lot of car shows. So it serves more then helping to brace my front end.

 

Well that's your opinion....you better start reading about it.. it is for looks.....

 

I read about it. Then I bought it. And it made a noticeable difference in the car's handling. It's not an opinion, there was a physical difference. Although, I guess the perceived effect can vary depending on how sensitive you are to your car's handling, and on what your suspension set up was prior to installing the fstb.

For example, my car's suspension was stock. I understand that if you already have aftermarket springs/shocks/rsb, then it doesn't make as much of a difference.

But that is not the same as being "for looks." Of course, that's not to say that the looks don't matter at all.

 

on my 00, the FTSB was my first suspension mod. didnt notice a thing
on my 02, i have it with springs/struts, RSB, and LTB. still dont notice anything.

 

must be a 5th gen thing...
a crappy ebay one made a good difference on my 97.

 

so 5th gens are built stronger and dont need them.

 

FSTB?

What's this?

 

google is your best friend. I did the homework for you

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...ma&btnG=Search

 

I gots teh hella rare Alutec FTMFW.

 

i have the rare otto.
good luck finding one

 

I just find that hard to believe. I noticed mine (01 SE) within about 3 minutes, going around some tight, downhill turns at normal driving speed (5-10mph over the speed limit). I also noticed the difference on highway on/off ramps.

I don't have a problem admitting when mods don't really make a difference. For example, I didn't notice any power increase from my intake, or from the hyperground (which some people have noticed). But the FSTB was a real, objective difference.

Maybe I'm just sensitive

 

I found a better one:



It comes with painted CF. Who actually puts the effort into painting it? They'd have to make a machine that paints CF .

 

Custom Maxima FSTB, beat that!

 

wow, nice mAd tYtE jDm cF fStB, yO

 

i auto-x and know how to tell every little difference with adjusting a suspension...the FSTB does nothing.

 

did you auto-x before modifying your stock 00?

If so, then you must have gotten lucky and got a super-stiff-car. Because our cars did not react the same way.

 

i have removed it for runs to see if there was a difference...nothing.

im not saying not to get it, it looks nice

 

Sorry to keep beating this point, but I'm still curious.

When you removed it for runs, was the rest of your suspension stock? If not, all that proves is that there is no noticeable difference when your suspension setup is _____.


P.S. sweet engine cover

 

i have springs/struts, RSB, and LTB.

so yeah, the FSTB is for looks.

 

I felt a big difference when I was riding on stock suspension.

But now my suspension is so stiff that I don't even know what's going on

 

are you for real?

FSTB= FRONT STRUT TOWER BAR
RSTB= REAR (SAME THING)
RSB= Rear Sway bar(goes under the car)

hope it helps.

 

um, Upstatemax is an OG.

You kinda figure.

 

I'm not seeing the logic here. You put a FSTB on a stock car and didn't notice the difference. And the reason you're so sure you would have been able to tell was because you auto-x. But you weren't auto-xing that car at the time, and when you did auto-x, it was with a different set up? So what have we proved here, other than that there isn't a noticeable difference when you have springs/struts, RSB, LTB in addition to the FSTB? We certainly haven't proved that its "just for looks."

The possibility remains that because your car is already so stiff from your other mods, you can't notice the FSTB (which admittedly is less effective than those other mods).

If you did two identical runs, one with stock suspension + FSTB and one with stock suspension alone, then and only then can you conclude that there is NO effect. From what it sounds like, you were not auto-xing with a stock 00 and then with a stock+FSTB 00.

Example

To visualize this argument a little, I'll use some arbitrary numbers. Don't get bent out of shape about how off the proportions are, as they are immaterial to the example.

Assume that a stock maxima has a made up "stiffness rating" of 10. This is just a baseline.

Assume that a maxima with springs/struts/RSB/LTB has a "stiffness rating" of 20.

Assume that a FSTB itself has a "stiffness rating" of 1

If you add the FSTB to the first set up, you get a 10% increase in stiffness.
If you add the FSTB to the second set up, you only get a 5% increase in stiffness.

Maybe the 5% increase is not noticeable, but the 10% is. That doesn't mean that it doesn't do anything. Obviously those numbers aren't accurate, but its the theory that matters.


Disclaimer: I don't mean to be an a$$ here, but I have a problem with people asserting conclusions as if they are 100% correct when there is a possibility (and direct testimony) otherwise.

My Conclusion: No noticeable difference when you have an auto-x set up. Some people notice the difference on a stock setup, and some don't. In either case, the magnitude of the difference is small.

 

^^^I cannot feel the difference with or without FSTB with my coilovers.

It's kinda like adding 1psi of boost to a 15psi turbocharged car.

 

a FSTB does not noticeably increase the the front-end stiffness on a 5th gen maxima.

 

it is know fact that about 20+ veterans (on the forum and with suspension) have known for years that you cant feel the difference with the FSTB.

if you notice, the people saying it does are fairly new. maybe they want to think it does something

 

I believe that. I suppose on a stock suspension set up it would be more like adding 1 psi of boost to an N/A car, which might be noticeable to some people.



what is this from? who's opinion? referring to a stock maxima or modded? is it true because its red? I'm hoping that is a joke.....

Apparently going point for point in a logical fashion won't get us anywhere, so let's just agree to disagree.

I still stand by my statement that I did notice a difference in the car's handling, on constant radius mid-high speed sweeping turns, and with an otherwise stock SE suspension set up.

 

Ah, I had a feeling this was coming. Are we going to compare our number of posts now?

How many of those veterans have modified suspensions? Again, I'm not saying that you would notice it with a modified suspension set up.

Another conclusive statement that proves nothing.

 

I have modified suspension.... Am I a Vet sooner?

Alutec FSTB
Progress RSB
Pro-1 TopSpeed RSTB
Ksport coilovers

 

No, you are a newb. shut up

 

My input, if it matters= reduced understeer. I deffinately thought I noticed a difference and am now sure since I took it off when working on other mods and have not reinstalled it. I noticed a difference when I first installed it and noticed a difference when I removed it. My only other mods for suspention are minimal (only springs) so like Armon said it may be more noticeable on cars with less suspention upgrades.

 

now TECHNICALLY. Stiffer front = more understeer.

With honda guys with adjustable coilovers, they stiff the rear to max to increase oversteer.

 

FSTB = Looks......

 

Yes....I have googled several times. Thats where i found this "netami" bar. If you go a little further and click on the links, all the pictures show 4 different bars. i was wondering which one of the 4 in the picture it acutally the 02-03 maxima bar.

I am going to be putting in tokico blues on stock springs. I am a snowboarder and i have to park on the street for work in the winter (have to climb over little banks sometimes) so I want to keep as much clearance under the car as possible. But I want some better handling. So I was thinking FSTB and RSB to start. If the FTSB helps handling, great....if not, i want one that looks pretty, so at least its an aesthetic upgrade.

 

Ah...the ignorance on this .org is mind boggling.