After waiting a good 6 months to buy, I finally bought the Alutec FSTB. I bought this because I liked the look of it best, and the beefy joints look superior to the generic eBay FSTBs. While it may not be more functional, the looks will make up.

*all pics taken quickly with cell phone..sorry for the quality.





And the test fit, now I all need is to borrow a torque wrench to install it!

 

Next: my alternative to the mag-lite mod, a $10 LED flashlight from China which runs on 4 AAA batteries. It has 50 LEDs, two modes of light, and lasts 24 hours straight on 4 batteries. Best of all, no drilling required to install into the car as it sits nicely in the armrest compartment!

 

where did u get the bar from it loooks niceeeeee. How much???

 

$80 shipped from Paradox Systems, during their Christmas sale.

 

The bar does look good.

As for the torque wrench - go to Sears and get the non-clicker type for like $20. It's cheap, handy, and craftsman - which is nice if you ever have an "oops" with it.

I have to ask though - have you driven with the brace installed? Do you have any problems with the IM hitting the brace under hard acceleration or if gunning it in reverse? Also, do your windshield squirters still spray like they used to?

Those two things have been the main issues holding me back from trying that brace, mainly since it seems so non-adjustable. My cheapo hit the IM when I first installed it - washers cured that problem. And the squirters didn't work right - the brace was cutting off the lines that ran to them when the hood was closed, thus reducing the pressure. The extreme adjustability of the brace solved that one.

 

No, I have not driven with it yet. But from the test fit, I saw at least 1/2 inch of space betwene the IM and the bar itself. I'll give you findings otherwise after this weekend.

 

Gotcha. Let us know how it works out.

 

lol, i got the same flashlight. my brother picked them up while he was in hong kong last summer. I didnt' see anything like that when i went like 3 years ago tho. anyways, what mod are u going to do with that flashlight??????

 

You never know when you need some light at night, I have it in my car for pre-caution reason only.