Cobalt

Cobalt Strut tower Brace

[5/5/2008] Reviewed by: Pete Dooley - petedooley421@yahooo.com

Applicable to: '99-'05 1.8 liter

One-piece chromed front suspension strut tower brace.

Arrived nicely boxed and fully wrapped in bubble rap. Product was undamaged and very well finished. Instructions were included and easy to follow.

Installation was simple with no problems except the backing plate was drilled incorrectly and required some filing and grunting to align. Some lines on the firewall needed to be moved around for the brace to fit in place (noted in the instructions). Tightened up the front end and really helps eliminate some of the shaking and loose feel when hitting bumps at all speeds. Got mine on sale (about $175) and I feel it is worth the money for the added structure and firmness it gives the car. I am happy!

Difficult to remove without leaving damage

Cobalt Polished Stainless Steel Shock Tower Brace

[7/19/2007] Reviewed by: Bruce Rosen - bruce.rosen@nist.gov

Applicable to: '90 - '97 1.6 liter 1.8 liter

This is a stainless steel brace that goes from each front shock tower back to the firewall just to the right of center near the top edge of the firewall. It also includes a support piece that fits between the back of the firewall and the flat panel that extend out from the back of the firewall. To install you must drill a few small holes in the firewall and in the flat panel behind the firewall. Thus if you remove it you must leave some small holes in the car.

I installed this as a replacement for a Freedom shock tower brace that just crossed over from tower to tower. This new unit, since it ties the shock towers in with the firewall support, creates a much tightened up front end.

Only drawback I've seen with the unit is that in stiffening up the front of the car it transfers some of the vibrations into the rest of the car that were previously absorbed by the flexing of the front components of the car. This has resulted in a few rattles showing up in the interior of the car (when you hit larger bumps) that were not there before, but I see that as a small price to pay for the tighter handling feel it gives the car.

Difficult to remove without leaving damage