Hi all,

I just finished installing my Muz cross brace. I put the car up on jack stands to to this. It seemed like when I loosened the original bolts there was some movement as the first bolt unscrewed much easier than the last.

Installing the bar and aligning the new bolts to hand thread in, needed some wiggling.

I originally wanted to finish tightening the bolts with the suspension loaded on the ground, but not enough room. I need a pit in my garage.

Does this little change affect the alignment much? I am planning on getting a UK alignment in the Spring anyway

Cheers,

George

 

I wouldn't be surprised if it does need an alignment. I had my bolts come loose on my Digrappa X-brace a couple times, and it screwed my alignment up.

BTW, what torque settings did you use for the 4 bolts? I think the OEM bolts are supposed to be torqued to 36 ft-lbs, but that didn't work for me. I spoke with Mark Digrappa about it, and he told me that he torqued his X-brace bolts to 45 ft-lbs (but didn't outright recommend it - for liability issues...). Those bolts do have more force on them when a brace is installed.

 

I torqued them to 28 ft-lbs (MUZ directions) with a small dab of Honda (blue) loctite. I will check them in a week or 2 after some sprinted driving...if the weather here in DC breaks.

If the loosen, I will up it to 36 and see.

George

 

Come to think of it, I may be thinking N-M instead of ft-lbs. If they come loose check the Helm's manual. The loctite will probably do the trick.

 

Hmm?, looks like I can reach the bolts now with the car on the ground.

I think I will loosen them, push up and down on the suspension a few times, then re-torque them. I just want to make sure I am not tweaking the chassis.

George

 

Go with the specs that muz gave you. It varies on the actual bolts provided which torque setting is best.

I don't think you'll need an alignment at all - its a chassis brace to stiffen up the chassis. However, if you haven't had an alignment on your car, a good lightly aggressive alignment can do wonders for your car. There's no settling time and I wouldn't worry too much about tweaking the chassis with the brace.