PRODUCT DETAILS
Cusco Front Strut Bar - EF Honda Civic & CRX (Non-ABS)
Does your EF Civic or CRX start feeling inconsistent up front once you push it? This is a simple, effective fix. It's a front upper strut bar that bolts to your factory strut tower studs and ties your left and right towers together. Your EF runs a MacPherson strut front end, and those towers take a real beating under cornering and braking, they actually flex and walk around relative to each other. This Cusco bar links them so they stay put, which helps your alignment stay closer to what you dialed in at home instead of whatever the chassis decides to do mid-corner.
When You'll Actually Feel It
Here's when people usually reach for one of these. As long as your EF is stock-ish, you probably won't notice the towers moving. But throw on sticky tires, stiffer springs, or just start driving the car harder, and the front end starts feeling vague and inconsistent. Think turn-in that changes from one lap to the next, or a little extra wiggle when you trail brake into a corner. That's the towers flexing under you, and tying them together settles it back down so the front end responds the same way every time.
What It Is (And What It Isn't)
Let's be straight about what you're buying, because it's easy to expect too much from a strut bar. This is chassis reinforcement, not a suspension redesign. It doesn't replace your control arms, bushings, or mounts, and it's not going to transform the car on its own. What it does is add a solid link across the top of your strut towers so they quit flexing apart, and on a light chassis like the EF, that's a real, noticeable improvement in how consistent the front end feels. Just know it's one piece of the puzzle, not the whole thing.
The Cusco Build
This is Cusco's Type OS layout, and it's well thought out. You get an oval-section aluminum main bar with steel brackets that bolt down onto your tower studs. That oval profile isn't just for looks, it's stiffest in the exact direction that matters for bracing one tower to the other, so you get the rigidity without a bunch of unnecessary weight. Cusco finishes it with a polished shaft and blue end plates, so yeah, it looks like a Cusco under your hood. More to the point, it fits and bolts up the way you'd expect from Cusco, and we still run these exact bars on our own cars when we want a clean, proven brace that goes in without any install drama.
Important: Non-ABS Cars Only
Read this before you order, because it's the thing that trips people up. This bar fits non-ABS cars only. ABS-equipped EFs have hard lines and ABS components sitting right where this bar wants to mount, and that turns into a real clearance headache fast. So double-check that your car is non-ABS before you buy. If you've got ABS, this isn't the right bar for your setup.
Installing It
The install is about as simple as it gets. You pull the upper strut mount nuts, set the brackets down onto the studs, and torque the nuts back to Honda spec, that's the whole job. One thing to check while you're in there: if you're running a non-factory intake, aftermarket ignition parts, or anything brake-related up near the towers, take a look at clearance first. Any bar that spans the engine bay can crowd that area, so it's worth a quick look before you button it up.
Specs
- Type: front upper strut tower brace
- Design: Cusco Type OS
- Main bar: oval-section aluminum with steel mounting brackets
- Finish: polished shaft with blue end plates
- Mounting: bolts to the factory front strut tower upper mount studs
- Fitment: Honda Civic and CRX EF chassis, non-ABS only
- Cusco part number: 308 540 A
Fits These Cars
- Honda Civic (EF chassis), non-ABS
- Honda CRX (EF chassis), non-ABS
Note: Cusco Type OS front upper strut tower brace for the Honda Civic and CRX EF chassis, non-ABS only. It bolts to the factory strut tower upper mount studs and ties the left and right towers together to reduce flex under cornering and braking, helping the front end feel more consistent and hold its alignment, especially on cars with sticky tires, stiffer springs, or harder driving. This is chassis reinforcement and does not replace suspension arms, bushings, or mounts. The bar is an oval-section aluminum main shaft with steel brackets, finished with a polished shaft and blue end plates. Fits non-ABS cars only; ABS models have lines and components where the bar mounts, so confirm your car is non-ABS before ordering. Also check clearance if you run a non-factory intake, ignition, or brake components near the towers. Cusco part number 308 540 A. One strut bar per order.