Suspension PerformancePost Suspension related modification information and/or questions here.
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The Tanabe Sustec UnderBrace ties together the lower control arm mounting points. It basically does what the Neuspeed and Cusco lower tie bars do. The Tanabe Sustec UnderBrace is made out of hollow aluminum tubing with internal fins to make the tubing stiffer. It is welded together nicely and has a stainless steel identification plate riveted on to it. When you view it from the side you can see that it is bent in such a way as to make it stiffer. It is a lightweight too, weighing in at only 4 pounds. It is also powdercoated in a smooth and shiny dark blue metallic color that does not chip.
This is how the Tanabe Sustec UnderBrace came to me straight from dezod.
Take off the wrapping, and you get some more wrapping.
Here it is in all it's glory. The triangulated shape is strong, yet light.
Here's a shot of the stainless steel tag that is riveted in to place.
Here's a close-up of the welds and of the finish. Yummy.
See the bends that make it thicker when viewed from the side?
This is the first page of the instructions that came with the Tanabe Sustec UnderBrace.
This is the second page of the instructions that came with the Tanabe Sustec UnderBrace.
This is the third page of the instructions that came with the Tanabe Sustec UnderBrace.
Required tools for installation:
- torque wrench
- 19mm socket
- 17mm socket
- 14mm socket
- 2lb sledge hammer
- jack stands
- 2+ ton jack
- hack saw
Optional tools that make the job easier:
- flashlight
- leather gloves
- ear mufflers
- impact wrench
- jig saw
- large tarp
Installation instructions:
1. Pull up on the emergency brake to keep the rear wheels steady for jacking up the front of the car.
2. Jack up the front of the car by the front support point. Look for a metal pad with a hole in the center pointed to by an arrow on the black plastic underneath the car.
3. Put the jack stands under the side support points. Make sure that they are extended as far as possible so that you have plenty of room to work under the car.
4. Lower the car onto the jack stands and set the jack aside.
5. Lay a tarp down under the car so that you will have a comfortable working area.
6. Take out all of your tools and set everything up so that you won't have to stop what you're doing to go and get something that you'll need.
Everything is set up to get the job done. This is basically half the job.
7. Go under the car and look for the four bolts that you will need to take off in order to attach the Tanabe Sustec UnderBrace.
8. Test fit the Tanabe Sustec UnderBrace without taking the bolts off in order to understand how it will attach to the sub-frame.
9. Look at the sub-frame. You will be able to take out the four bolts without having the sub-frame fall down on you. Understand what is holding it up. There are two large bolts in front and two smaller brackets in the back (besides the four bolts that we will be taking off). The bolts that we will be taking off are more for counter-acting the side forces from cornering than to support the weight of the engine and transmition that is sitting on the sub-frame.
Additional instructions for people with the Progress sway bar:
1. Un-bolt the sway bar bushing brackets using a 14mm socket and socket wrench.
2. Look at the corner of the sway bar bushing bracket support plate near the bolt with the 17mm head. See how it's cut out farther to allow the bolt with the 17mm head to fit into place without interfering the sway bar bushing bracket support plate? You need to cut the corners off of the sway bar bushing brackets to match the corners of the sway bar bushing bracket support plates.
3. Mark off how much you will cut off of one sway bar bushing bracket by laying the sway bar bushing bracket support plate on top of the sway bar bushing bracket and marking off the exact amount with something that will leave a mark on the metal.
The pencil in this picture is pointing to where the sway bar bushing bracket needs to be trimmed.
4. Use a hack saw to cut off the corner of the sway bar bushing bracket exactly as you marked. You may use a jig saw with the appropriate cutting blade to do the job quickly and precisely. Trace the amount that you cut off to the other sway bar bushing bracket by laying the sway bar bushing brackets one on top of the other and tracing with something that will leave a mark on the metal.
See how much of the corner I I had to take off?
5. Re-attach the sway bar to the sub-frame and tighten the bolts down to 50 foot pounds.
10. Use a 19mm socket and socket wrench to loosen the bolts in the front and a 17mm socket and socket wrench to loosen the bolts in the back (these bolts will be used to hold down the Tanabe Sustec UnderBrace to the sub-frame). To aid you in loosening these bolts, an impact wrench may be used.
11. Align the Tanabe Sustec UnderBrace to the sub-frame and secure it in the back using a 17mm socket and socket wrench to tighten the bolts that used to be there. You may use an impact wrench to cut down on the time spent on tightening down the bolts. Do not tighten them down all the way yet; you might need some play to be able to align everything perfectly.
12. Check on the alignment of the holes in the front. The bolts that you took out with the 19mm socket and socket wrench held one side of the lower control arms. The lower control arms (both front and rear) have a tendency to mis-align when unbolted. The solution to this problem is to get them back into position by sticking a screwdriver into the hole from the other side and wiggling it around; then simply use a 2lb sledge hammer to pound the bolt into place. The bolt is designed for this sort of thing, so do not be afraid to use a little force. Do not pound it in all the way though; it is enough that it slides in part way (less than the length of the bolt without any thread on it).
13. Tighten these bolts down with a 19mm socket and socket wrench. Again, an impact wrench will help you to get this done quickly. Tighten all of the bolts down with a torque wrench to 76 foot pounds.
Doesn't it look perdy!?
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Great DIY......how many do you have now, like a dozen? I've used like two of them and Im gonna use this one for my spoon front lower tie bar. Underbrace looks tite. I wish I would have gotten that before my spoon one but Im going for spoon theme. Congrats on the underbrace. Your car must handle great now.
Originally posted by JDMCIVIC Great DIY......how many do you have now, like a dozen? I've used like two of them and Im gonna use this one for my spoon front lower tie bar. Underbrace looks tite. I wish I would have gotten that before my spoon one but Im going for spoon theme. Congrats on the underbrace. Your car must handle great now.
Where did you get your Spoon bar? The Neuspeed X brace and the Tenabe Underbrace aren't legal for my class (STS) but I think the spoon bar is. Its a single Straight bar that conects the 2 lower control arms right?
Autocross: Because Life is more fun on three wheels......
"I know Solo only comes one minute at a time, but what an intense, non-stop, fast-forward car control exercise minute it is. Sure, the velocity is higher in road racing, but inside the car it is slow-motion in comparison. In Solo, the turns come like machine-gun rounds. "
Randy Pobst
Originally posted by Zzyzx Where did you get your Spoon bar? The Neuspeed X brace and the Tenabe Underbrace aren't legal for my class (STS) but I think the spoon bar is. Its a single Straight bar that conects the 2 lower control arms right?
Originally posted by JDMCIVIC Great DIY......how many do you have now, like a dozen? I've used like two of them and Im gonna use this one for my spoon front lower tie bar. Underbrace looks tite. I wish I would have gotten that before my spoon one but Im going for spoon theme. Congrats on the underbrace. Your car must handle great now.
Yeah, I've got a bunch of stuff on now. Hehe... I notice bumps and dips in a big way. It would be scary to get 18's. LOL I've got front and rear strut bars. Front and rear tie bars. OEM middle strut bar (betwean the steering rack). Front and rear anti-roll bars. Um... That's it.
I'm not done yet though. I'm getting front and rear aluminum lower control arms. I'm getting the ones from the Integra Type R for the front and I'm making a custom set for the rear (it'll be a nice weight savings over stock). I'm getting some small re-inforcement pieces (like the stock RSX rear tie bar and the RSX's front strut bars that connect to the firewall). Then I'm getting a bar that goes inside betwean the seat belt harnesses. Then a rull roll cage of course.
That should be enough, but I'll do some more when I think of some more. Lightening the car is a big thing too. I will swiss cheese it and weld up all of the metal together. That's later though. When I was under the car today I saw a lot of little usless pieces up front that I could just tear off and/or weld off and/or bolt off. A vibration damper on the sub-frame for example that looks like it weighs at least 5lbs. Oh yeah, I need camber kits too. Oh yeah, coilovers too. Duh.
As for handling... It's too early to tell. I did a test run and it's different. It definately does something. I think it increased understeer, but I'm not sure? ???
Quote:
Originally posted by DogstyleEX just wondering.. has it messed up your aligment any? i'm about to install mine, but i just don't want to do another aligment so soon...
oh yeah, JDM, you do know they don't have 2dr 7g civics in japan/asia right?
I don't think so, but I can't tell. My alignment is already messed up enough from an earlier accident. I fixed that somewhat with new OEM strut assemblies, but it's still a little off.
Sup man... Wouldn't a gain in understeer be a bad thing? I guess it makes the car safer but I would think the more lateral grip the better. I'm guessing the positve would be a better steering response but please let me know the benefits of this bar. Thanks.
oh yeah, JDM, you do know they don't have 2dr 7g civics in japan/asia right?
Yea I know they dont, but that doesnt stop me from putting some JDM goodies in my ride...haha
Quote:
Where did you get your Spoon bar?
Got it from another member who got it from Hondawerx
Damn Grey you doing so much suspension tuning for your car. Seems like your going all out on this sucka. Everything you have planned sounds good though. Ohh yea I got your enlinks on now...works like a charm.
grey AWESOME job man... i was wondering what exhaust you have and if it hits at all? i have custom 2.5" piping.. and im not sure it wil fit under the exhaust w/o hitting like MAD... any ideas?
13.38 @ 109.13 ... 2.412 60'.. i need tires!....
SF RULES street and track
1st 7th gen with a DHRACING crank pulley> havent been to track with it on yet
MadWheel: Yes, understeer is a bad thing. I had it more or less neutral before. I don't understeer though. I was wrong. I was afraid to push it harder 'cause now it oversteers! That's a good thing though. I'll stiffen up the rear and it'll be all good.
futurersxswap: I have a stock echaust. It kinda hits, but I can't hear it. It rubs a little in one place. I taped it up to prevent the paint from getting ruined.
could you put that spoon lower tie on and the brace?? and do you think the ex cat placement would be an issue being as you have an lx and the cat is higher. also you said you have front and rear tie bars but i didn't see them in the picture or am i thinking of something else?? sorry for all the questions but i want to put every peice that could help my car handle on.
__________________ "I like anything that is fast enough to do something stupid in"
#36 STS Detroit SCCA
The Tanabe Sustec UnderBrace uses the holes that the Spoon lower tie bar would use, so no. No need to either since the Tanabe connects the same points that the Spoon would. I guess you could put on the spoon first and then the Tanabe, but it wouldn't fit perfectly and you would need longer bolts. Nah, just use the Tanabe.
The EX cat might get in the way, but I doubt it. There's more than enough room above the UnderBrace and under the sway bar. My Progress sway bar is an earlier version of theirs, so I might have a problem with my Random Tech. cat (which I haven't installed yet) hitting that. We'll see though...
I do have front and rear tie bars. The rear one is part of my rear sway bar from Progress. The front one is the Tanabe. hehe... It basically does the same thing that a front tie bar does, but better. It connects 4 points to each other. Not just two points.
I know this thread is like 2 months old, but I was just searching stuff. Doesn't that thing scrape on speed bumps because my midpipe of my exhause near my cat scrapes all the time over speed bumps or over steep driveways. I love the way the bar looks though, and it looks hella rigid. Probably helped alot on handling. I don't know where a front tie bar would be though. I'll do some more searching...haha.
I'm lowered with Hayame's (anout an inch up front and two inches in the back) and I don't scrape over speed bumps. I'm not sure how close it is though? I go over some pretty big speed bumps too...
The tie bar would span the points that the Tanabe Sustec Underbrace connects to. Either the front ones, or the rear ones. I think most front tie bars for our cars span the front points.
DIY: Tanabe Sustec UnderBrace 
When I was under the car today I saw a lot of little usless pieces up front that I could just tear off and/or weld off and/or bolt off. A vibration damper on the sub-frame for example that looks like it weighs at least 5lbs. Oh yeah, I need camber kits too. Oh yeah, coilovers too. Duh.
