GTSPEC Strut Bar not Seating properly? Wrong Brackets in package??

S

SCY7H3

Member
Location
Toronto, Ontario
Car
2012 FX35S AWD
Hey Guys,

I'm having a bit of an issue with a newly acquired GTSPEC Strut bar. It appears the brackets do not seat properly on my 2012 FX35...

As you can see in the photos, the area I am having a problem with is where the bracket sits on top of the strut tower closest to the fender. There's a "hump" which prevents the bracket from sitting flush with the strut tower causing a gap between the bracket and the strut tower. This does not look right or safe for the matter. The bracket should seat flush so that when i torque the nuts, it will torque properly and prevent the nut from backing out.

Has anyone else experience this issue? Could someone possibly take some good closeup photos and show me if their setup is the same or did Infiniti decide to change the structure at some point causing the GTSPEC bar to not work anymore?

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Yes, I had exactly the same problem with my 09FX. The bracket sat on that hump also. I mentioned it to a few others here and they said theirs was okay. I could not get a full nut on the strut tower bolts.
I was extremely upset with the fit. I finally ended up grinding some material off the radius part of the strut bracket and adding a flat washer under it on all 3 strut bolts so it would sit down flat
I found a picture:
IMG_1852_1.jpg
 
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Do you think the bracket is defective/incorrect? Or others have the same problem but don't see it?

Sent from my SGH-I747

---------- Post added at 08:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:52 PM ----------

Is there a gtspec rep on these forums that can help into this situation? I'm not quite thrilled with this...

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I just posted a pic in my last post.
It might be okay on some but I honestly think many people are not noticing it. I did see it on another guys FX and he had the same problem even though he said it was okay. I noticed it right away.

I think it is poor quality control from GTSpec.
 
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Mine was flush but was perfect length wise but then handy Andy bent the bar with his bare hands and made it perfect. Hehe
 
Time to get gtspec to send me new brackets..

Sent from my SGH-I747

---------- Post added at 09:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:04 PM ----------

Jdtrader, could you take some pics so we can compare? I want to see where the issue lies with the bracket.. I can't see Infiniti having variances on their strut towers lol

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Lol, so you had a bar issue and I'm having a bracket issue.. I think we should swap lol

Sent from my SGH-I747

---------- Post added at 09:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:11 PM ----------

It still would be great to see the bracket on yours and see how it sits flush..

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It would be good to see pics of others at that same spot, phantom you had exactly the same issue as mine and I had a 09 and yours is 2012, so I am inclined to think it is a quality control problem with GTSPEC.
 
The way we did it was put the bracket on first so it's flush after seating it the way you want it and then the bar put in after but seemed harder that way but the other way wouldn't sit right.

Daughter is sleeping on me. Can't take pictures.

---------- Post added at 09:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:18 PM ----------

My bar was like an inch too much. I agree their quality control sucks or it might have something to do with contraction expansion depending on when they make it and or when u put it on.
 
Makes me wonder now, is your bracket flat then bends upwards to where it meets the bar or do you have three bends, the second bend avoiding the bump?

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---------- Post added at 09:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:25 PM ----------

My bar looks a tad short too.. I think I know where the flaw is.. I'm just waiting on seeing other examples to confirm... I love how gtspec strategically took photos of their strut bar having the cables hide their brackets in key areas..

Sent from my SGH-I747

---------- Post added at 09:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:28 PM ----------

Btw, Happy Thanksgiving!

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Lol..

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---------- Post added at 11:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:38 AM ----------

That's what she said :)

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Looks like the bar is slightly too long. Can you loosen the bolts holding the bracket to the bar? Then move them as far in as possible to shorten it? Not much play, but it might be enough.

Good luck with GT Spec, they're just a reseller.
 
Pushing it wouldn't be enough to preload anything. Officially, you're supposed to install the bar with the front wheels off the ground. Then when the car is lowered, the strut towers will "push" in slightly and load the bar. I haven't tested the FX by removing my STB on the ground, but I know that when I did it on my 335, I couldn't reinstall the bar without jacking the car back up.

OP, maybe the holes were cut wrong. If the metal shifted while they were making them, it could cause this issue since they wouldn't be aligned. If GT Spec won't sent you a new bracket or brace, the washer idea would work fine. As long as the force is spread evenly and all the nuts are torqued evenly, it should be fine. But I'd wonder about hood clearance since that seems to be an issue on some GT Spec bars as well.
 
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