808rps13
02-10-2003, 01:18 AM
hey all... does anyone have this installed on their car? i know that a few ppl have them (FLB & RLB) on their S14's, but i don't recall anyone ever mentioning having them on their S13.
now i know that this should be a very simple bolt on install, say no harder than installing a strut tower bar, but... read on...
little info on the bars: i purchased both bars a few months back through the group buy on this board. the bars were advertised as Do Luck front and rear ladder bars, turned out that they were actually copies. the flat black painted finish, compared to the nice polished (chrome?), was the dead giveaway. some also mentioned the (poor) quality of the welds on the bar, i guess i got lucky b/c the welding on bars i received are good quality
i was able to get my hands on an actual Do Luck Front ladder bar (FLB) for comparison. the real thing and copy are identical (besides the finish). the copy bolts right up like the real thing(except for cars w/ Super HICAS, HICAS lines are in the way, even mentions it on the Do Luck Japan page).
Rear ladder bar (RLB): i wasn't able to do a side-by-side comparison of the rear bar, but Mav1178 (Alex Chang) provided me w/ some high quality close up pics of his Do Luck RLB (the real deal, uninstalled). IIRC, i don't think he ever installed it on his car (correct me if i'm wrong). from the pics it also appear that the copy is an exact duplicate.
many problems were encountered when attempting to install the RLB so i finally gave up for the time being. IIRC, in a previous thread on this board a while back, others who bought this bar also experienced the same problems. did anyone else besides the guy who had the bar modified (cut & re-welded) have success installing the RLB?
i'm beginning to question if there's an issue w/ the rear bumper infrastructure on USDM S13's that prevent the bar from being installed? IIRC, isn't there some difference in bumper reinforcements for the front bumper in the USDM vs. JDM cars? does anyone know if this also applies to the rear bumper and exaclty what the difference is???
FYI, i have a '91 hatchback, car's never had rear end damage (or front end, knock on wood), so that's not the problem. i was quite upset w/ the seller at first :mad:. not so much b/c they were copies, i could live w/ that, but b/c the rear bar couldn't be installed. the more and more i looked into this though, i don't think the seller was aware about the problems trying to install them on USDM cars... hehe, maybe it's just my car :D
now i know that this should be a very simple bolt on install, say no harder than installing a strut tower bar, but... read on...
little info on the bars: i purchased both bars a few months back through the group buy on this board. the bars were advertised as Do Luck front and rear ladder bars, turned out that they were actually copies. the flat black painted finish, compared to the nice polished (chrome?), was the dead giveaway. some also mentioned the (poor) quality of the welds on the bar, i guess i got lucky b/c the welding on bars i received are good quality
i was able to get my hands on an actual Do Luck Front ladder bar (FLB) for comparison. the real thing and copy are identical (besides the finish). the copy bolts right up like the real thing(except for cars w/ Super HICAS, HICAS lines are in the way, even mentions it on the Do Luck Japan page).
Rear ladder bar (RLB): i wasn't able to do a side-by-side comparison of the rear bar, but Mav1178 (Alex Chang) provided me w/ some high quality close up pics of his Do Luck RLB (the real deal, uninstalled). IIRC, i don't think he ever installed it on his car (correct me if i'm wrong). from the pics it also appear that the copy is an exact duplicate.
many problems were encountered when attempting to install the RLB so i finally gave up for the time being. IIRC, in a previous thread on this board a while back, others who bought this bar also experienced the same problems. did anyone else besides the guy who had the bar modified (cut & re-welded) have success installing the RLB?
i'm beginning to question if there's an issue w/ the rear bumper infrastructure on USDM S13's that prevent the bar from being installed? IIRC, isn't there some difference in bumper reinforcements for the front bumper in the USDM vs. JDM cars? does anyone know if this also applies to the rear bumper and exaclty what the difference is???
FYI, i have a '91 hatchback, car's never had rear end damage (or front end, knock on wood), so that's not the problem. i was quite upset w/ the seller at first :mad:. not so much b/c they were copies, i could live w/ that, but b/c the rear bar couldn't be installed. the more and more i looked into this though, i don't think the seller was aware about the problems trying to install them on USDM cars... hehe, maybe it's just my car :D