fateexceeds
Contributor
There has been much debate here and on another Mazda forum about the usefulness of the CorkSport strut tower bar for the 2010 Mz3, with many people speculating that the bar is unnecessary or is simply "engine bay bling" since the 3 is already so rigid. I've been driving with the CS bar for a week now, so I've been able to experience some diverse driving situations (highway ramps, twisty back roads, city streets, even a tight spiral ramp exiting a parking garage). Conclusion: anyone who says it's just engine bay bling hasn't driven with one installed - you will notice an improvement in handling!
I think this goes without saying, but the bar is very high quality and looks great. The install should be very easy, but I did run into a problem even though the car was parked on a flat, even surface (i.e. my garage). I couldn't get one of the holes in the strut to line up properly with the bar on the passenger side (which was caused by the strut moving out of position when I removed the bolts, not by the bar), so it was very difficult to thread two of the bolts and impossible to thread the third (the bolts on the driver's side all easily hand threaded). The solution was to simply jack up both sides of the car, which allowed me to pull the strut where it needed to be for the holes to align.
As always, CorkSport's customer service and communication was excellent. The bar had been out of stock when I ordered it in May, and I promptly received an email informing me that they expected the bar in stock on June 11th. My bar actually shipped on June 3rd, more than a week earlier than quoted, and it arrived on June 10th. Thanks CorkSport!
I think this goes without saying, but the bar is very high quality and looks great. The install should be very easy, but I did run into a problem even though the car was parked on a flat, even surface (i.e. my garage). I couldn't get one of the holes in the strut to line up properly with the bar on the passenger side (which was caused by the strut moving out of position when I removed the bolts, not by the bar), so it was very difficult to thread two of the bolts and impossible to thread the third (the bolts on the driver's side all easily hand threaded). The solution was to simply jack up both sides of the car, which allowed me to pull the strut where it needed to be for the holes to align.
As always, CorkSport's customer service and communication was excellent. The bar had been out of stock when I ordered it in May, and I promptly received an email informing me that they expected the bar in stock on June 11th. My bar actually shipped on June 3rd, more than a week earlier than quoted, and it arrived on June 10th. Thanks CorkSport!
