Miata Mailing List: April 1993, Message #54
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   From: (none)
Subject: Technosports Track Bar
   Date: (none)

i installed my Technosports Track Bar this weekend, so i thought
i'd summarize for those who might be interested.  i recall someone
else did this a while ago, but i figure it's always good to have
another point of view...

i ordered mine last, it seemed to take several months to arrive, and
by the time it did, it was too cold to lie on the ground to install it,
so i decided to wait til spring.  as another person mentioned, it arrived
"packed" loosely in the box, with no packing materials to cushion it
and a couple loose bolts rattling around.  the installation instructions
arrived separately by mail, about 2 weeks later :-)

anyway, installation was relatively straightforward.  they SAY you can
install it without raising the vehicle, that may be possible, but it's
a LOT easier if you raise the rear on jack stands.  it's pretty obvious
where the parts go, either from the directions or if you've seen the
picture in the ad.  the two attaching brackets seem to bend a little
when you torque down the bolts, so you can't fit the bar and spacers
between them - i had to bent the ears apart a little to get things to
fit.  i also had to fiddle with the bracket placement to get the cross
bar to fit; initially, they were too close together for the minimum
bolt spacing.  finally, a clamp the holds a heat shield to the exhaust
pipe was oriented so it interfered with the bar placement - i had to
loosen it and rotate it upwards out of the way.

on my first try, i noticed that there was practically no clearance
between the cross bar and the exhaust.  testing proved that the
exhaust would vibrate and hit the bar when starting the car or when
going over bumps, making an annoying clunking noise.  i was able to
adjust the driver's side mounting bracket downwards slightly to gain
about 1/8" to 1/4" of an inch, and now it's okay.

Question:
has anybody installed this in conjunction with an aftermarket
exhaust system?  i'm wondering if it will still fit when i install
a new exhaust system (i'm thinking about the new Borla performance
exhuast).  there sure isn't a lot of clearance, but i guess it depends
on where the pipe bends, etc....

Conclusions:
it's hard to say what effect this thing has, since i installed it on the
same day as i removed the hardtop, which also affects body stiffness.
however, it *seems* to be an improvement.  other reviews have suggested
this, so i'm willing to believe it.  in any case, it was another way
of spending money on, and time with, the car, and Everyone Knows that
this is important in developing a good person-car relationship with
your Miata.