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fASTBACK
04-23-2004, 08:04 AM
It's about 2:45am now. It took me about 6 hours to put this bar on. I'm eating a bowl of Corn Pops and writing this review because I love you guys. It was a full day for me. I had 2 tranny fluid change, 1 oil change, and the hardest was the D3 Designs Double X-Brace.

Product: D3 Designs Double X-Brace

Price: $185.00 usd...$220.00 usd with shipping.

Service: It was okay. Not as well as I would have liked it.This could be an isolated incident but I highly recommend them.They do know their stuff.

Installation: Takes alot of elbow greese. I would do this with as much help as posible. You and 3 more friends will do the trick. 4 jack stands, OEM tire jack, 1 floor jack, 19mm,17mm,12mm, and a rachet with extension

Lets say the instructions might not work for everone. I will put his into plain and simple terms. IT'S A PAIN IN THE ASS. The instructions did not work for me. It said to start from the front than proceed to the back. This was false in my case. We then tried form the back and proceed to the front. This did not work. We finally got it on by this method:

1. Put the bolts in the front, do not tighten
2. Put the bolts in the rear, do not tighten
3. Put the bolts in the middle , do not tighten

We used 4 jack stands because it is easier instead of 2 like in the instructions.

The reason why this takes so much elbow greese is that not all Eps are created equal and x-brace for that matter. You will need to pull and bend the bar for it to align on the hole. A couple of friends are going to have to pull and bend while one person insert the screw and tighen it but not all the way.

4. Tighen the bolts down in the rear. Should be simple for this 12mm once it is aligned
5. Tighen the bolts in the front. Use the extension with the 19mm socket and OEM jack. Put the extension on the bolt and jack it up untill you hear a loud pop. Once done, the bolt can be tighend down easily or it is nearly inpossible to do so. Trust me on this.
6. Tighten the bolts in the middle. Use any meathod possible.

Performance: The hard work was well worth it. The price was well worth it. My car now literally rides like a Go-Kart. We took it out for spin in the neighbor hood. Took about 15 90 degree turns at 25 to 30 mph with no screeching tires. The car was so stiff. Body roll is almost eliminated. We went out on the main street and the car handles bad ass at high speeds. It's so firm and sporty like. Finally the stock Ep bucket seats seem to have a use. My brother drove it and he loves it. He is willing to go through the trouble again for his EP.

My EP mods before this:

Neuspeed upper front strut bar,Eibach Pro-kit with stock shocks, JDM CTR 22mm rear sway, Skunk2 lower tie bar, 15x7 wheels with 205/50/15 Kumho 711

Problems: I have some sound coming form the bar I believe. I will fix this tommorrow. One bolt is not fully tightened in the middle section. I don't know why. I will see tommorrow.

I will keep ya'll posted on the daily driving later this

fASTBACK
04-23-2004, 08:09 AM
The sound sounds like a creaking sound. It only happens in 1st and half of 2nd gear when driving off. I think it is the cat. Another one is that on hard left turns, there is like a rubbing sound.

The car daily driven is fun. It is alot firmer and swicthing lanes is tigher.

What is ya'lls take on this?

cdr127
04-23-2004, 08:19 AM
Do you have any pictures of your x brace on you car. I want to see what I am getting myself in to if i get one.

oogy-boogy
04-23-2004, 09:12 AM
Nice write up. Zip ties are also a big help with installing. I just zip tied the bar on loosely to give me the use of both hands.

BSEVEER
04-23-2004, 09:41 AM
I was able to install mine by myself in less than 2 hours. I will admit however that it wasn't all that easy. I didn't use a jack or jack stands, I bought a couple of those cheap ($20) plastic ramps to get under the car. I started with the bolts in back first, after using zip ties to hold the brace up. For me the biggest problem was the front right bolt. When I took it out the suspension kind of setteled towards the rear of the car misalinging the holes for the bolt to go through. Since I didn't have anyone to push the things in place for me, I used some motorcycle tie downs to hold things in place while I put the last bolt in. I over tightened one of the rear bolts and broke it off.:o As for the handling, Wow! Freeway ramps are a blast now!

Si3
04-23-2004, 09:42 AM
sounds like a good mod... thinking about getting one...

-aj-

2fastcivic
04-23-2004, 12:23 PM
fASTBACK: get some pics man. i was thinking about gettin an x-brace too. do you guys think the nuespeed x-brace is just as good as the D3? b/c the neuspeed one is alittle cheaper. oh and can you get a pic of your skunk2 lower tie bar also. i was thinking about getting this to go w/ my ctr sway.

oogy-boogy
04-23-2004, 12:39 PM
Originally posted by 2fastcivic
fASTBACK: get some pics man. i was thinking about gettin an x-brace too. do you guys think the nuespeed x-brace is just as good as the D3? b/c the neuspeed one is alittle cheaper. oh and can you get a pic of your skunk2 lower tie bar also. i was thinking about getting this to go w/ my ctr sway.

Well, the D3 has more points of contact (6) and will naturally be stiffer.

Neuspeed looks like this: X

D3 Like this: XX


You will absolutely love it BTW.

2fastcivic
04-23-2004, 12:56 PM
cool. but is D3 the only place that sells the double x-brace?

oogy-boogy
04-23-2004, 01:06 PM
Originally posted by 2fastcivic
cool. but is D3 the only place that sells the double x-brace?

Yupper, they designed it and are the only one that I know of who sell it.

fASTBACK
04-23-2004, 02:24 PM
Originally posted by cdr127
Do you have any pictures of your x brace on you car. I want to see what I am getting myself in to if i get one.

I will try but it wont be soon. Im busy all weekend. If you can use a rachet than you can get it on. It just takes alot of effort.

fASTBACK
04-23-2004, 02:30 PM
oogy-boogy is correct on this stuff. Put out the extra money to get a superior product.

The car rides like crazy on the freeway. 80-125mph feels awesome. It's not scary like before. You have more control of the car. The steering feels a little more heavy but it performs 100% better than before. When turning fast or normaly, the car is stiff. Basically like Ice skating on the streets. It is smooth and quick.

oogy-boogy,

Are you having any wierd sounds? Like the cat hitting it or just sounds when driving and turning at real low speeds in the parking lot.

Thanks

oogy-boogy
04-23-2004, 03:27 PM
Originally posted by fASTBACK
oogy-boogy is correct on this stuff. Put out the extra money to get a superior product.

The car rides like crazy on the freeway. 80-125mph feels awesome. It's not scary like before. You have more control of the car. The steering feels a little more heavy but it performs 100% better than before. When turning fast or normaly, the car is stiff. Basically like Ice skating on the streets. It is smooth and quick.

oogy-boogy,

Are you having any wierd sounds? Like the cat hitting it or just sounds when driving and turning at real low speeds in the parking lot.

Thanks

Yeah, I will occassionally get some flex noises. Nothing to worry about. I do get the occasional cat clanking (every 3-4 weeks). Just make sure you get up under there again after a few days. My 2 front bolts loosened a tiny bit after driving with it on.

I totally agree with you on the highway driving. It's just insane now.

Mighty_Mouse
04-23-2004, 03:57 PM
Originally posted by fASTBACK
Body roll is almost eliminated.

Just curious as to why you noticed a decrease in body roll. I always that that body roll was dependent on the shocks/springs, sway bars and center of gravity.

chubbychu
04-23-2004, 04:37 PM
do you know anything about clearance? im dropped pretty low. and dont wanna scrape on stuff. but this sounds really good.

oogy-boogy
04-23-2004, 09:56 PM
Originally posted by plainol2k2si
do you know anything about clearance? im dropped pretty low. and dont wanna scrape on stuff. but this sounds really good.

You'll lose about an inch in some areas.

fASTBACK
04-24-2004, 10:52 AM
Originally posted by plainol2k2si
do you know anything about clearance? im dropped pretty low. and dont wanna scrape on stuff. but this sounds really good.

Just yesterday, I hit 2 speed bumps and it wasn't funny. My car only has a 1" drop. I went over the 1st one slow and the 2nd even slower. I still hit both of them. I don't think I will ever make over one anymore. Who knows?

Mighty_Mouse
04-24-2004, 11:01 AM
Originally posted by fASTBACK
Just yesterday, I hit 2 speed bumps and it wasn't funny. My car only has a 1" drop. I went over the 1st one slow and the 2nd even slower. I still hit both of them. I don't think I will ever make over one anymore. Who knows?

Damm! Only a 1" drop and you're scraping hard on speed bumps? I've got Mugens, so I'm gonna have to stay far away from the D3 brace.

fASTBACK
04-24-2004, 11:18 AM
Originally posted by Mighty_Mouse
Just curious as to why you noticed a decrease in body roll. I always that that body roll was dependent on the shocks/springs, sway bars and center of gravity.

Well it is, but I can literaly swing the car around a corner and it feels like a roller coaster. Fast and swift.

As D3 states:
You will notice the following after installing the D3 Double X-Brace:
Increased handling
Decreased understeer
Increased torsional stiffness
Quicker steering
Better steering response
Higher turn-in speeds
Higher exiting speeds
Lower lap times
Reduce body flexing
Increase lateral G's
Bragging Rights!

I have experienced every single ones of the characteristics he stated. Not minimal gains, but maximal gains. This stuff is awesome.
Only problems I have is clearence and the damn noises. Nothing the radio can't help with.

Mighty_Mouse
04-24-2004, 11:22 AM
I'm glad that you like the brace, but nowhere in D3's promotional literature do they claim a reduction in body roll. Thanks for the good write-up and review.

mikespeed95
04-25-2004, 09:23 PM
hey fASTBACK, i have 3 posts now, thank you.

skooba
04-25-2004, 09:24 PM
Originally posted by mikespeed95
hey fASTBACK, i have 3 posts now, thank you.

I have 765 now, yay.

fASTBACK
04-27-2004, 08:28 AM
UPDATE:

I just came home from my local muffler shop. I paid a guy $10 that I know there to torch the heat shield on the cat off. I also had my tools there so I tighten every single bot again. I thought one bolt was striped untill he kept on wrenching and it tightend. I am so proud of the X-Brace now. No more sounds, no nothing.

Reason why I torched off the heat shield was because there is one bolt on there that I can not get to without removing the brace again.

Again, the X-Brace is worth all the money and the troubles. It is a night and day difference. I feel like the car is sportier and faster with it on. And if you do bang the hell out of it, D3 will get you a new one for free I believe. They have a guarentee for the street and track use. Thumbs up to them. So go get it!