Next issue that the instructions didn't seem to mention... the brake piping...
the rear left side brake pipe is in the way of the "L" brace. I had to bend it out of the way a little. The next dilemma was whether to sandwich the brake pipe between the brace or make it go below it. After some thought, I decided it was best to not bend the brake pipe any more and to just sandwich it between the brace instead. What I needed to do though was add some foam padding between the brace and the brake pipe to prevent rattle noises and to prevent damage to both parts.
Once these issues were taken cared of, I regreased the rear sway bar bushings and bolted everything up. As I said earlier, the mounting brackets are little plates with a nut attached to it so that you can slip through the larger hole you drilled in which you hold it in place while you insert the bolt on the outside and bolt the brace in place.
The bolts that came with these used braces were a little rusty, so I spent $11 on some quality stainless steel bolts, washers, and lock washers of the same style.
The easy ones to do were the fronts! There's already an existing oblong hole at the front end of the frame rails. You just simply reuse those holes and drill another hole that's 18mm big 44mm (centre to centre) away from the existing holes. Of course it's still recommended that you do a test fit then mark the holes first before drilling.
One thing I had to be careful with the front frame rails... it doesn't hang very low, so it's not very far from the floorboard! What this meant was, I had to be careful not drilling too far in, or I risk drilling through the floor!
I did a quick measure and determined that I could only drill to the 11/16" step, no further to the 3/4" step. So this meant I had to finish up making the hole slightly bigger with a Dremel grinding stone.
And of course, the obligatory "overall" shots
Front (lower arm bar already had for years):
Driving impressions:
When driving normally, the back end of the car feels MUCH MUCH more solid. No more hollow noises going over bumps, less suspension clunking. It's hard to describe, the noise differences, because it's quite subtle and so it's hard to know what you're missing if you don't have these braces! But as far as actual feel, the suspension is more compliant and supple over pot holes and cracks. The shocks actually dampen better now without the unnecessary metal movement/play that makes things worse. Less vibrations = GOOD.
The front end seems a little more solid too. It maybe in my head, but the movement in the engine doesn't seem to transfer as much vibration shocks to the chassis any more. It also seems that torque steer is LESS when I'm taking off from a standstill at full throttle!
As far as handling, it seems a little more flat, so I think my cornering speeds are slightly higher now. Overall though, I didn't have to adjust my driving for the changes. The AutoExe lower arm bar made a bigger difference in handling since it ties both sides of the "U" shaped front crossmember together, which prevents the each side of crossmember from folding in against each other, thus maintaining suspension geometry better which in turn allows greater predictability, control, and handling