Hey. Ez to install. Just move ac line on passenger side, and cut a bit of the plastic driver side.

Car is stiffer. Holds curves better.

Solved my damn sheetmetal clunk while getting body flex. Doesnt flex in that area anymore.

#1.

 

agree completely!! I had a strut tower bar in my 4th gen and it was... eh, better.. but putting in the racing line SB in my 6th gen was like night and day. takes the flex out of cornering you can feel it holding your ride stiff.
i'd recommend you get KCMaxx RSB. together your ride will be as rigid as a board. I bought two of his RSB since there is still a possibility of lateral and horizontal movement, with two you eliminate horizontal movement. with three (one positioned longitudinal) you will have no movement an any axis. would be ideal but too much work for me... you would need a longer bar and would need to cut through the floor to get a good fix point.

im all about gains to money. there is a "worth it" value. some gains are significant while others are minimal, irregardless, i am interested in eventually purchasing ALL performance options available, but the "worth it" value bases my decision in the order in which i purchase my mods.

a front strut tower bar is up there.. i'd put it in this order

worth it value

SRI/CAI= high
BOP=very high
thermal spacers=moderate to high
headers=moderate
y-pipe=moderate to high
SSIM=not worth it (not saying i wouldn't buy it tho)
tune=moderate
f/i=very high
nitrous=very high (add legality and practicality)=not worth it
sway bar=moderate
racing line front strut bar= moderate to high
end links and traction rods= not worth it to moderate (unless your pushing close to 300whp) then= high
aftermarket struts/suspension= moderate
light aftermarket rims (in terms of performance gains)=moderate to high

my subjective view of things.

 

Whats a BOP, and I though the CAI was just a piece of annoying noise making crap, that gets jammed with water and snow ?

 

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

oh man, thats great...

a cold air intake? yes... they can suck up things and kill your engine.

a SRI (short ram air intake) no, it sits in your engine bay. and they do more than make your car sound better. they increase fuel efficiency by a significant noticeable amount. increases power by a noticeable about, and makes running through the RPM range much smoother. i recommend that be the first mod you do to your car.

you will gain 2-6 mpg (dependent on vehicle) with one of those.
a full tank to us is around 18-20 gallon (not including the reservoir) lets say the sri/cai give you a modest 2 mpg increase, 20gal X 2mile is 40 miles extra per tank you get with a cai/sri, which equates to around 2 gallons of fuel and roughly 8 bucks. in savings in just ONE fill up..

so if your filling up once a week (like me) in a month you saving 160 miles and 32 bucks. for a more modest driver who fills up twice a month thats sill 80 miles and 16 dollars you save in a month.

make it a year and you are earning 1920 miles FREE! which equates to 384 dollars!! for a little peice of metal and filter.

i estimated low low numbers, SRI/CAI gives more than 2 mpg in our cars sp those numbers in real life are higher, much higher, like if our cars get 4mph highway were talking around 750 bucks per year you save.

this is not subjective either, even your nissan dealership will attest to these savings. why don't they do these things stock then? three letters my friend EPA... they say it raises smog quite a bit, but you will still be way way under the smog mark.

A BOP is a cheap piece of metal that helps with gains. it replaces your VIAS for a little bit more top end. its not significant in gains but its so cheap and easy to instal which is why i gave it a high rating.

 

agreed ... the FSTB makes the car feel sooo much better on turns !

 

Got the same bar, to me great and not that bad of a price and like the design and performs well....

 

Thanks for the tip.

 

The bar is great but a review 3-4 years after it came out? Weird

I thought it became standard equipment to everyone frequenting this forum.

 

I have the racingline FSTB too and I love it.

But I must mention this to people who don't have the $112.00 to buy the racingline. I discovered a thread on my6thgen where people were buying a brand new strut bar off ebay for $40.00 shipped. So, I am just mentioning it in your thread, lol. Maybe some people might go look at it and buy if interested and cannot afford the racingline $112. Apparently, it is working good for thiose who have it already.

Here is a link or type in the search bar on eaby..., "NISSAN MAXIMA 04-08 VQ35DE FRONT UPPER STRUT TOWER BAR " and it would take you to the seller.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NISSAN-MAXIM...item4cfbb45f85

 

PetitFrere
Thanks for the link to purchase the FSTB from ebay, I just received mine today and will install this weekend, along with Progress RSB on my 2007 Maxima.

merci

 

I've had CAIs for the past 12 years in many cars and not once did I suck up anything, not even water and I drove in rain with them. The only way to suck up water is to have your car submerged beyond the point where your filter is. So please if you don't know, stop spreading bullshet rumors.

 

I bought the racingline just for the look. I mean I'm not going around corners at 40km so I don't really feel a major difference.I just got some moisture pass my MAF sensor and it cost me a new one, so I'm gonna make my intake short in the winter season and long in the summer.

 

As far as i know all i did is ask a question. If it makes you mad to read about cai water issues just dont read my posts.

 

i grew up in NorCal, it rains a lot in the winter season. every single year as the rain starts up i see AT LEAST 3-5 slammed civics, accords, 240's sentras ect.. stuck in a large puddles, steam in the air, and the driver with their heads down. and this number is just what I come across, there must be many more.

hydrolock is not a myth and it destroys cars in my neck of town every year. to give RAZ credit, you have very little chance of achieving this in our maximas based on the anatomy of our cars but it not impossible. if you have a lowered max, and a filter in your bumper, and hit a hidden, deceptively, deep 8-10 inch puddle in a right turn, you could very well suck up enough water to destroy your engine. but this problem is mainly for slammed cars or civics ect.. whos anatomy are such that the CAI filters hovers inches from the ground.

I go with SRI cause they sound better, and i don't have to worry about splashing puddles, (which i do for fun without worry) lol

 

Those concerned with hydro locking your engine with puddles should look into an air bypass valve. I've got a Nismo CAI setup with one that I've been running all winter and summer in Canada and have not had an issue with it.

Very interesting read if you are skeptical.

http://www.modified.com/tech/0104scc...lve/index.html

 

I agree, I also have the Nismo CAI and lived by Seattle,WA and it helps alot with the puddle drama. But man I wish I would of known about the Racingling FSTB and its price, I went with the Stillen.

 

The Racingline piece is excellent and in combination with a rear sway bar, the max really tightens up around corners or during "spirited" street driving. I have endlinks I will be installing next weekend and am looking forward to some additional tightening up although nothing is as significant as going from stock (nothing) to a FSTB and rear sway.

Can't speak to water being sucked up by a CAI since I live in a desert, but I don't think it's possible short of submerging the 6th gen that you will suck up a sufficient amount of water to foul the engine.

Also, personally not a fan of the BOP and would argue some of the "worth it" to price mods are wrong. Tuning being very worth it especially once you have more than a few bolt on mods (spacers, bop, headers, exhaust etc.) as it can wake the car up. I haven't gotten mine tuned yet, I need to replace my HFPCs with headers (preferably cattmans) and get a cat back. Without a tune, I'm not going to get the most out of all of those mods. I liken it to pairing crappy speakers with a deck.

 

I agree with you completely,. As far as the Strut bar, I didn't have to move any AC lines to fit it so not sure what that's about.

 

Same here. Other than cutting a flap into the plastic piece on the driver's side tower, it was literally a 10 minute bolt on job.