Introduction
In this tutorial I'm going to walk you through the installation of the MAXpeedingRods Front Traction bar for the 88-91 Honda Civic Hatch, Sedan, Wagon and CRX. This tutorial will be very similar for most Front Traction bars a crossed multiple platforms. Some bolt in the factory tow hook location and some like the MAXpeedingRods Front Traction bar will bolt into the frame.
The Front traction bar cost $148.00 but as of this tutorial its on sale for $129.00 on MAXpeedingRODS website. To save you a little money I found it on Amazon for $112.00.
Unboxing
The packing wasn't the best, it had thin strips of foam surrounding the traction bar
There was a bag of all the hardware, but because the traction bar was not very secure everything flopped around in the box and all the hardware was out of the bag and just hanging out in the bottom of the box.
With that being said the traction bar wasn't banged up and the paint wasn't chipped.
Quality & Build
As you can see the welds look pretty nice, the quality isn't bad at all. For the price its a really good deal. Its made of steel and weighs about 22 lbs. The original traction bar weighs about 30 lbs., so you are saving about 8 lbs.
With this design you have to remove the factory tow hooks. I would have liked to see this designed with not only the frame mounts but also the tow hook mounts. As you can see the tow hooks are built into the traction bar.
Installation
The first thing you need to do is jack up your EF and secure it with jack stands. You also need to remove both front wheels.
Removing the shock fork and loosing the sway bar links will help to remove the radius bars from the lower control arms.
Next you need you remove the 4 bolts that hold the OEM traction bar to the frame.
Once you drop down the OEM traction bar you will need to unbolt the factory tow hooks, because the MAXpeedingRods Traction bar has tow hooks built into the bar.
There are 3 bolts on each tow hook
You will have to use the factory traction bar bolts to install the MAXpeedingRODS tracking bar. 2 Bolts on each side
The next step you will put the radius rod together and adjust them accordingly.
Now loosely install the radius rod.
The purpose of the radius rods are to keep the wheels centered in the wheel well. Before you tighten the radius rods you need to make sure they are adjusted to the appropriate leighs so that your wheel hub is centered in the wheel well.
The fitment is perfect and after a quick drive it feels strong and very reliable.
As you can see It doesn't hang lower then the oil pan.
Also allows more room for turbo down pipe and better clearance for a B Swap.
I hope this tutorial will help you and you choose to purchase the MAXpeedingRODS EF Front Traction Bar.
Here is also a video tutorial
