My Fellow Partiers,
I finally got around to installing my SWAVE 4 point brace over the weekend (thanks to a huge assist from my motorhead father) and I have a few pieces of advice for anyone else who decides to do a multipoint front subframe brace and my instant reactions post install.
INSTALL: Installing the brace under load may be a HUGE mistake. I'm not judging anyone else who recommends installing this with the subframe under load but for me it was impossible. As in literally impossible. Full disclosure I bought my car new in Dec 2019 and it has 20K miles on it so maybe my car has a lot tighter tolerances or the OEM installer had too much caffeine on the assembly line. Either way, my dad made sure we did everything the right way and it was impossible. As in we took out the front end torque bolts, installed the brace and put the bolts back on (without tightening down) and then removed the back bolts. When we tried to align the brace to the back bolts the whole subframe had moved and there was nothing we could do to get the bolts in place. And I mean *nothing*. Luckily the car was on modular ramps so we jacked the front end up, took out the ramps and put it on stands. After that it was still a pretty big pain to align the subframe but we did it. Then we put the front end back on ramps and tightened everything to spec. For us this wasn't a 15-20 minute job but a 3-4hour J O B. Like many others here, I did reinstall the original bolts back in using a dab of Loctite but will keep an eye on it and might replace them anyway when I do my oil change in a month. I did as others here write and torque'd to 64ft-lbs but tightened a full 360 instead of what some wrote to 180. This was by mistake as it was hot and I needed a break and wasn't doing the math right in my head (180=one full revolution? okay! wrong.). It's staying that way for now but like I said I'll check on it and may just do a complete change in a month anyway.
FUNNY ASIDE: whoever the OEM install guy was, he coated all the bolts in blue Loctite. Not exaggerating, my dad was really worried when he took out the bolts on his side because there was no breaking the bolt and then easily unscrewing. It was almost like it was cross-threaded. When we had the bolts out they were completely blue. All four bolts were that way, not just the front torque bolts. It's like they were dipped in a bucket of Loctite and then threaded down.
INSTANT REACTIONS: Took the car around the neighborhood at slow speed just to make sure everything was okay and that the car tracked straight and nothing was...grinding. When I was satisfied/relieved that everything seemed good I turned into a cul-de-sac to do a 180 but when I turned the wheel the instant feedback caught me by surprise. Before the install any move like that there would be a tiny pause as the car shifted it's weight but not now. Now if the wheel turns the car turns. In the past week I can take cloverleafs like I'm being chased and potholes/bumps don't transfer right to my spine. For everyone who talks about the night and day difference of multipoint bracing, I have to completely agree.
The clearance is a non-issue as it's as close to the subframe as you can get without interference. That said everything else on my drivetrain and suspension is bone stock except the RMM. For those who haven't replaced the RMM but are planning to install the SWAVE brace, do the RMM first. I made the mistake of doing the brace first and then the Vibra Technics RMM (*chef's kiss* highly recommend too) which made the install slightly more annoying.
I had some wheel hop in 1st gear with pedal to the floor but never much torque steer so me saying that's completely gone now is kinda misleading. I baby the diapers off my car as I live and drive around Philly/South Jersey so there aren't that many places to wring the Party out. I don't intend to really push the car anyway until I get the Firehawks on my wheels as the OEM Potenzas that came with the Chicanes I bought are pretty shot much to my dismay. (don't flame me, I hear Falken 660s are a better choice too but I'm not gonna come close to pushing the limits and everyday DD'ing takes priority).
Party on, FiSTer Beans.
I finally got around to installing my SWAVE 4 point brace over the weekend (thanks to a huge assist from my motorhead father) and I have a few pieces of advice for anyone else who decides to do a multipoint front subframe brace and my instant reactions post install.
INSTALL: Installing the brace under load may be a HUGE mistake. I'm not judging anyone else who recommends installing this with the subframe under load but for me it was impossible. As in literally impossible. Full disclosure I bought my car new in Dec 2019 and it has 20K miles on it so maybe my car has a lot tighter tolerances or the OEM installer had too much caffeine on the assembly line. Either way, my dad made sure we did everything the right way and it was impossible. As in we took out the front end torque bolts, installed the brace and put the bolts back on (without tightening down) and then removed the back bolts. When we tried to align the brace to the back bolts the whole subframe had moved and there was nothing we could do to get the bolts in place. And I mean *nothing*. Luckily the car was on modular ramps so we jacked the front end up, took out the ramps and put it on stands. After that it was still a pretty big pain to align the subframe but we did it. Then we put the front end back on ramps and tightened everything to spec. For us this wasn't a 15-20 minute job but a 3-4hour J O B. Like many others here, I did reinstall the original bolts back in using a dab of Loctite but will keep an eye on it and might replace them anyway when I do my oil change in a month. I did as others here write and torque'd to 64ft-lbs but tightened a full 360 instead of what some wrote to 180. This was by mistake as it was hot and I needed a break and wasn't doing the math right in my head (180=one full revolution? okay! wrong.). It's staying that way for now but like I said I'll check on it and may just do a complete change in a month anyway.
FUNNY ASIDE: whoever the OEM install guy was, he coated all the bolts in blue Loctite. Not exaggerating, my dad was really worried when he took out the bolts on his side because there was no breaking the bolt and then easily unscrewing. It was almost like it was cross-threaded. When we had the bolts out they were completely blue. All four bolts were that way, not just the front torque bolts. It's like they were dipped in a bucket of Loctite and then threaded down.
INSTANT REACTIONS: Took the car around the neighborhood at slow speed just to make sure everything was okay and that the car tracked straight and nothing was...grinding. When I was satisfied/relieved that everything seemed good I turned into a cul-de-sac to do a 180 but when I turned the wheel the instant feedback caught me by surprise. Before the install any move like that there would be a tiny pause as the car shifted it's weight but not now. Now if the wheel turns the car turns. In the past week I can take cloverleafs like I'm being chased and potholes/bumps don't transfer right to my spine. For everyone who talks about the night and day difference of multipoint bracing, I have to completely agree.
The clearance is a non-issue as it's as close to the subframe as you can get without interference. That said everything else on my drivetrain and suspension is bone stock except the RMM. For those who haven't replaced the RMM but are planning to install the SWAVE brace, do the RMM first. I made the mistake of doing the brace first and then the Vibra Technics RMM (*chef's kiss* highly recommend too) which made the install slightly more annoying.
I had some wheel hop in 1st gear with pedal to the floor but never much torque steer so me saying that's completely gone now is kinda misleading. I baby the diapers off my car as I live and drive around Philly/South Jersey so there aren't that many places to wring the Party out. I don't intend to really push the car anyway until I get the Firehawks on my wheels as the OEM Potenzas that came with the Chicanes I bought are pretty shot much to my dismay. (don't flame me, I hear Falken 660s are a better choice too but I'm not gonna come close to pushing the limits and everyday DD'ing takes priority).
Party on, FiSTer Beans.
