I've had my 97GXE 5speed for 1 week now.
My first mod arrived today, in the form of a FSTB from Ebay that I got as an early birthday present from my wife. It cost $12 plus $12 shipping. The bar is a good quality polished aluminum bar.

The install was a piece of cake, took about 10 minutes. I used the instructions I found on the ORG. No fitment issues whatsoever.

I even got to use my new Torque Wrench I got a month ago for $18 from Ebay too.

I probably won't notice a difference as I'm still just getting used to the car!

I'm about to drive to Bend, OR from Eugene which has some great twisty mountain road, so maybe I'll notice it then.

For those of you hesitating to get a FSTB because of price, there is no excuse anymore.

 

Congrats on your first mod. Time to start thinking about the next one.
Intake or clear corners maybe?

 

It's good to know that the fstb was easy to install because I ordered the exact same one off of ebay from the same seller and wasn't sure if there would be any drilling/fitting problems. Please update on how the car handles and if there's a big difference.

-doug

 

Hey Orbrit, congrat of the very first mod. You will definitely feel the difference when you drive to Bend. I remember the good old road from Eugene to Bend!

Tifosi

 

$24?? That was a steal. I wish ALL mods were that cheap....

 

def need to go with diamond clears up front for your next mod

 

I'm betting Hyperwhite bulbs are next..

 

then intake, then rear sway bar, then exhaust, then springs and rims and then turbo

 

24 dollars?! sheesh!

where u get that from? which seller? my bolt is stripped holding mine down so i may not be able to take it off before junkyard pics up my car

 

hey what did you torque that puppy at?..

 

Well, I'm back from Bend - I'll try and answer all your posts in one go..

Next mod - probably RSB - the car came with Clear corners and hyperwhites, so that's been taken care of already.

I don't know how the handling has changed as I'm still getting used to the power - having driven a 91 Chevy Blazer for hte last 3 years it's quite a change - I noticed on the way to Bend, Tifosi, that I was hitting 90 mph up hill on the way to Santiam Pass. Great drive

Meccanoble, I got the bar from Directcarparts on Ebay (the link is for their other items)

BOZonPJs I torqued it to about 34lbs - I think I read that somewhere on the ORG, maybe here