Modified a dodge neon strut bar to fit today. Drilling the holes was really the only hard part and it was a pain because I didn't have the right size drill bit, then my battery kept dieing on my drill. I used my stock strut bar on top for a custom 3-point. I don't have any pics right now, maybe tomorrow when the sun is out (just finished about 10 minutes ago and it's about 1 am now. lol) I dunno if it's going to make any difference yet, as I won't be able to drive my car until at least the 28th...

im curious, where did you find one? junkyard?

^^20-30 bucks shipped on Ebay. Thats the easiest place to find the neon one.

yep, it was like $25 shipped off of ebay.

alright, recieved a request for some pictures so here they are: (you're all getting a sneak peak at my *unpainted* bullet fenders too, lol.)






EDIT: darn photobucket automatically resizing my pictures... fixed now.

This post has been edited by 6strngs: Nov 15, 2006 - 5:50 PM

i know you said you cant drive yet but does anyone else have this set up and if so how does it feel?

i have that strut bar on my car too but i have it the other way.

quintingt has that setup. he said he noticed some difference over the neon or stock strut bar alone. but its not as great as a real 3-point cuz the neon bar is aluminum and flexes. i was thinking of doing this cuz i didn't wanna spend 300+ on a name brand.

This post has been edited by j0e_p3t: Nov 15, 2006 - 8:30 PM

was the strut mount botls hard to take off?....


OH BTW...i think the fenders look beter on yoru car...

Im sorry, but im going to be realistic here. The neon bar doesnt do jack. its for looks, and to say, "Yay i have a 3 point strut bar! Im l337!!!" Just my 2 euros. If i wasnt a broke hungry starving college student who is too lazy to put in proper punctuation in this post, then yes, I would drop the dough and buy a real bar. But, meh. Im poser l337.

This post has been edited by hitcachi: Nov 15, 2006 - 11:44 PM

>
would've been alot easier with a breaker bar or a ratchet with a 1/2" drive. I used a 3/8" drive ratchet, and a 14mm socket... they were on pretty tight, but I was able to get them all off in about 5 minutes. with the right tools you could do it really easily.

and thanks, the fenders will look better once I get the rest of my bodykits installed and get everything painted... but then my clutch broke and will be delaying that until such a time I can afford to do so. But so far, I really like the fenders.

-hitcachi+
umm.......... alright, you got me. I am a broke college student lacking the funds for a proper strut bar. but if the neon strut bar does nothing then the benefits of having something like a J-speed would have to be very minimal. and probably not worth an extra $575

^ lol, I was talking about myself.

After reading the posts on here, I went and scored a strut bar off ebay for the neons and fitted it to my celica ST. I used one of the existing holes, drilled a new hole, and cut a notch in the brackets for it to fit the three bolts.

I'd have to agree with hitcachi, I bought a neon-bar for my old st202 too eariler this year and (without trying to be too negative) would have to say that i didn't really notice any difference in the handling.
Was good to have the engine-bay looking nicer with it in there though.

Yeah, the strut bar didn't "feel" as if it were there when I first drove around. But after swerving around and taking corners, you can notice it's there.

>

yes..after hard cornering yes i feel it......

It's the design and materials that make these type of strut tower braces not as effective as they should be. I custom fit hand made strut tower braces to cars here in Houston [see my profile] and have for almost 10 years.
1. The mounting holes should not have much, if any play, in them. If the hole is too large then the bolt will "travel" that distance before the mount hits the bolt and keeps the car ridged. Let's face facts: your car does not flex even a full inch even under hard cornering so if the free play from both sides of the car is even a 1/16" then that's 1/8" of travel before the strut tower brace does any good at all.
2. the aluminum used in it's construction is also inherintly flexible [by metal standards]. The adjustability of the length doesn't help matters either.
3. The design of the bar where it first comes up at an angle before running straight across also allows for further flex just by design.

My custom braces are constructed from light weight super high tensile strength Aircraft Quality Steel - the same stuff used to make aircraft wing struts. Further I hand fit each one to the specific car - not the model type. This means I do not have to allow free play for deviances and tolerances in the production line of the car. You must use a slight downward force on one side to install them. Removal requires getting a flat bladed screwdriver under the mounting surface and giving a slight twist to pop one side up. All of this means my strut tower braces grab and hold instantly and very well. Check out my profile for pics. The stock one is also reinforced with aircraft quality steel inside. You can def feel a difference with these.
Another point: The TRD and other three point ones make changing the spark plugs on a GT a real pain in the a$$. I had a TRD one but sold it in favor of the two peice one I made. pop off two bolts and the spark plugs are easily accesible.

On the up side, they do look very good in the engine bay and are very affordable and light weight. Try turning it around the other way so the curve sort of follows the curve of the stock v shaped one.

This post has been edited by Negative: Dec 8, 2006 - 7:25 AM

i know this is a old thread but what is the year neon strut bar you used 95-99 right and for the back can you guys help me with the part numbers for the covers that have the spot for the rear strut bar thanks gary if not i will make a new thread