Hey everyone

As there were a bunch of us installing these braces, I thought I would make up a DIY on it. I have installed/helped install these into 3 cars now, so I feel confident enough to post up the DIY

First of all, you will need:

• your h brace
• big ass breaker bar (1/2 inch)
• 19mm socket for breaker bar
• trolley jack
• 2 jack stands
• ratchet
• 17mm socket
• 19mm socket
• 17mm ring spanner
• mallet
• clamping tools

The whole process took me 1.5 - 2hrs, but allow 3hrs for good measure



Firstly, jack up the front of the car and stick the stands on either side of the car. Lower car onto stands and get the jack outta the way




Use the breaker bar and 19mm socket to loosen these bolts (one from each side of the car) Remember - righty tighty lefty loosey! Once loose, use the ratchet & 19mm socket to take them off




Next up, use the 17mm ring spanner and mallet to loosen the nuts until the bolt on the other side starts spinning




Now use your 17mm ring spanner and 17mm socket on either side and take nut off. Do not take out bolt, leave it in there!!! When you're lying underneath, you'll know why

Now that you have all the nuts n bolts off, get your brace out and line it up. Ideally, you want it sitting on the 17mm bolts, and lining up with the holes for the 19mm bolts. Now that its lined up, put in the 19mm bolts. I have found that there is always 1 that will go into its thread easier than the other. **Only put them both in enough to hold them there, and while putting them in, it is important that you hold the brace in place.

At this stage, if you can get the 17mm nuts on - do it. If you can't, don't worry, we'll get to it later.




Now, almost completely tighten the 19mm bolts. I had to use the breaker bar to tighten them as I couldn't get enough force with the ratchet.




Notice how the brace has such a tight fit that the bolts rub against the bar pretty bad...




Now... I had a pretty nifty clamp thing for this part - but basically just clamp the front part of the brace towards the front of the car in whatever way you can. See pic for how I did it ^^
I had to shave the outside off one of the nuts to get it on the bolt on mine - but we got them on Scott's (silo's sube) car just fine without modification.
Once you can get these nuts to catch onto the 17mm bolts, just tighten all 4 bolts until your muscles hurt and you collapse




End product! Great success.
Be a good little boy and put all your tools away
Now jack up the car again off the stands, take them out, and lower the car.

Now you have earnt yourself a drink!



All the installs I have done or helped with involved the Ultrex brace. Some cars will fit the braces better than others, as accidents etc can cause slight movement of the front crossmember.
I have only just finished the install on my car as I write this; so I havent 'tested' it yet - but I've heard its up there with the best handling mods you can do to a gc8.

Hope this DIY helps someone!

Jeremy

Good thread. But looks like its only for a GC8 only. My H-brace looks different and the 19mm bolts are more impossible to remove.

Don't be alarmed when you 'feel' the vibrations in the footwell when driving.

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www.racewars.com.au

What do you mean?

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Huge range of extinguisher brackets for cars!

http://kap.industries/

When the car is strengthened up, it becomes more rigid, meaning you start to feel every little bump in the road. In this case, right in the footwell area.

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No more GC8, sad face.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

The GD h brace is slightly different, but the mounting points are pretty much the same. Sometimes the 19mm bolts are pretty hard to move, yes, but some CRC, a 1 metre long breaker bar and some elbow grease gets the job done.

H Brace: $80
Correct tools: $200
Realising that you are turning the bolt the wrong way: priceless

...this is similar to the experience myself and scott/silo's sube had first time round

Nicely done, will shift to DIY subforum

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MY93 Impreza GX 1.8L, 0hp, 0nm