The first time I drove a front wheel drive VW with a prepared suspension, it left an impression I would never forget. There are several items which contribute to the taught reactiveness of a car. On a Macpherson suspended type suspension, the tops of each suspension is housed in a support tower built into the chassis. Keeping these towers aligned during hard cornering is essential in maintaining the proper geometry under lateral loads against the car.
The bar ends then slips into each of the bracket ends and a retaining pin is inserted to lock it into place. The pin is easily removed and the bar lifted out should one need the extra cargo space.
One way to maintain the integrity is to install stress bars across the tops of those towers.
I initially installed the Autotech stress bars both front and rear. Although, The Autotech stress bars arevery fine products, I opted ultimately to use a different bar on the rear towers. This post will cover the rear stress bar installation.
I initially installed the Autotech stress bars both front and rear. Although, The Autotech stress bars arevery fine products, I opted ultimately to use a different bar on the rear towers. This post will cover the rear stress bar installation. The Autotech Rear Stress Bar clasps the tops of the towers and requires no drilling or permanent alterations in the rear. It also is adjustable. No two towers are exactly alike so no single bar will fit all Corrados. The Autotech allows you to adjust the length of the bar so that you do not pre-stress the towers. What I didn't like about the Autotech is that it is not easily removed. If one needs to fold down the seat to transport larger items, the bar impedes the storage area to accomodate larger packages. It is designed to mimimize cargo interference as long as the rear seats are kept up. However, occassionally, I need to fold the rear seats down. I'll reuse the Autotech rear bar on my Golf A2 16V. The Corrado shares the same A2 platform and therefore many parts are similar and interchangeable between the two models.
I opted to use a custom made stress bar that was manufactured by a fellow Corrado enthusiast in the SoCal Corrado Group. His design is identical to the rear stress bar that was once sold by performance tuner Turn-2. Unlike the Autotech design, this bar mounts to the sides of the shock towers and uses Heim Joints at each end. It can be tuned to eliminate prestress just like the previous bar. However, unlike the Autotech bar, this one is easily removed without the use of tools. Just pull the pins on each end and lift out the bar.
I opted to use a custom made stress bar that was manufactured by a fellow Corrado enthusiast in the SoCal Corrado Group. His design is identical to the rear stress bar that was once sold by performance tuner Turn-2. Unlike the Autotech design, this bar mounts to the sides of the shock towers and uses Heim Joints at each end. It can be tuned to eliminate prestress just like the previous bar. However, unlike the Autotech bar, this one is easily removed without the use of tools. Just pull the pins on each end and lift out the bar.
The brackets are mounted using screws into the shock towers. This required drilling into the towers themselves. I opted to direct the screws from inside the wheel well into the cabin compartment. However, this isn't necessary and the instructions suggest all of the work occur from inside the car. I opted to install them from the wheel well inward just to ensure that I maintained shock clearance inside the suspension tower. I found it was not necessary as there was plenty of clearance for spring and shock movement and the protruding screws and bolts did not interfere.
Once the screws are inserted, then the powder coated brackets can be bolted on. I used Lock-Tite to ensure they did not come loose.
Then I trimmed the carpet with a sharp Xacto blade to allow the brackets to protrude through the carpet liner into the cabin area.
The bar ends then slips into each of the bracket ends and a retaining pin is inserted to lock it into place. The pin is easily removed and the bar lifted out should one need the extra cargo space. The craftsmanship of this product is amazing and it is polished to a mirror-like finish. It looks stunning in the luggage area and is still very functional. My friend charged me $99 for the bar and all the necessary hardware. It is a bargain compared to other bars. However, like Turn-2, I was saddened to hear he no longer makes them.
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