Nitto front strut tower brace...

[tooter]

While I was visiting Garm and Jeff at Trend Micro, I picked up a Nitto front strut brace which was on sale for only $100...





When I got it home I thought why is there so much free play in the two joints? By the time I installed it I found out why! Man, you need that free play or it would be impossible to put in. It took some dexterity to tighten down the nuts and the 15 degree wrench law came into play (every bolt has to allow for a minimum 15 degrees of wrench travel). So after a lot of wrench flipping and everything was snugged down, it's as solid as a rock.

The Nitto bar clears everything perfectly and doesn't impinge on any of the other under the hood components.

So thanks, Garm and Jeff. It fit like a glove and I'm totally pleased.

...and you can update the listing to include 2012 Yaris models.

[DJYojimbo]

wow very nice!!! Does it feel better on turns? I remember i put one on my matrix when i had a 2004 matrix. Man it looks sweet i think i want to put one on my Yaris now

[tooter]

Originally Posted by DJYojimbo

wow very nice!!! Does it feel better on turns? I remember i put one on my matrix when i had a 2004 matrix. Man it looks sweet i think i want to put one on my Yaris now

MicroImage still has them on sale for $99.95 including free shipping. And I think that's a very good deal.

The Nitto has a nice clean uncluttered look and the oval section profile of the aluminium bar is super strong and stiff while being quite light. And the canted angles at each end clear everything under the hood perfectly with plenty of room to spare. Combined with the TRD rear sway bar, the car takes the curves in the road very confidently. I'm totally pleased.

[pennyracer]

only thing i had noticed with my tanabe strut bar was that its a bitch to put oil in it now but they look cool yours looks like it gives more clearance for getting to the top of motor compared to the tanabe

[tooter]

Originally Posted by pennyracer

only thing i had noticed with my tanabe strut bar was that its a bitch to put oil in it now but they look cool yours looks like it gives more clearance for getting to the top of motor compared to the tanabe

When I remove the oil filler cap there's 4 1/2 inches between the rim of the filler hole and the bottom of the Nitto bar, which is plenty of room to tip a full one quart container into the engine... but a large gallon container would be a challenge if it was full. I'll likely need to empty one quart into a smaller container before pouring in the rest.

I see what you mean now by comparison...



The Tanabe is oval along a vertical axis, while the Nitto is oval along a horizontal axis. The Nitto's end points of attachment also appear to be higher.