i just bought front and rear USB off ebay and after i installed it, i noticed that it touches the hood in 2 places. i was wondering if any of yours do. i thought that it was supposed to have room to flex if it needed too, because it's only one of those cheap aluminum ones. i don't want to develope a bulge in my hood from it. to check if it was touching i put peanut butter on the bar and closed the hood. the places that touch the hood got peanut butter on the hood at that spot. anyway i stupidly thought that i could make a neat indent in the bar at the spots that were touching the hood, and ended up screwing up the bar, so it's no longer usable . it was only $30 but i'm a little pissed. what is a good inexpensive bar to get?..basically one that fits right. also, i got a rear bar from the same seller and put it on and it touches the back ledge that comes down with the trunk. it's not that bad though, and the trunk still closes fine, but i was wondering if anyone has clearance issues with their bars, and what bar everyone has. tia
#9848, "RE: Front upper strut bar hood clearance" In response to Reply # 0
I got the Pilot Motorsport ones for the front, rear, and rear lower, none of them touch at all, and they seem to work pretty good for being a cheaper name.
#9851, "RE: Front upper strut bar hood clearance" In response to Reply # 3
actually, initially i had it on the wrong way and the hood didn't even come close to closing, but then i flipped it around and the hood shut, but since i'm a paranoid freak i wanted to make sure that the hood didn't touch it at all while closed to leave room for flex, so i did the peanut butter thing and found that the hood touched slightly in 2 places. you guys might wanna check to see if any of yours touch, because if it's touching the hood, if it has to flex for some reason i would think that it would put a dent in the hood. i couldn't notice it touching until i did the thing with the peanut butter.anyway, i was looking at the website of pics from HadesOmega and it looks like he has the exact same strut bar as the one i'm talking about(not the neuspeed one). so, Hades, if you read this, lemme know if you've noticed any clearance problems with yours, because i know that if anyone will make a strut bar flex it'll be you . thanks
#9852, "RE: Front upper strut bar hood clearance" In response to Reply # 4
I have a set of cheapys, Matrix FU and RU. THe rear one does mess with the hatch divider thing. But I have no clearance issues in the front, well unless like said above its on backwards. Rode around for a while with it backwards until I figured it out. Hell that was over a yer ago lol.
. it was only $30 but i'm a little pissed. what is a good inexpensive bar to get?..basically one that fits right. also, i got a rear bar from the same seller and put it on and it touches the back ledge that comes down with the trunk. it's not that bad though, and the trunk still closes fine, but i was wondering if anyone has clearance issues with their bars, and what bar everyone has. tia
05 STi