Innovative 94-97 Accord & Odyssey Traction Bar Kit

Innovative 94-97 Accord & Odyssey Traction Bar Kit

If your CD5 or CD7 Accord picks up the inside front tire and hops its way out of a launch, the problem is not your tires. The factory front crossmember lets the lower control arms move under load, and everything you do to the engine just makes that movement worse. The Innovative Mounts competition traction bar replaces that crossmember entirely on the 94-97 Accord, 95-98 Odyssey, 96-99 Isuzu Oasis and 97-99 Acura CL, and ties the front suspension into the chassis instead of letting it flex.

What It Is and Why It Works

This is a full crossmember replacement, not a bolt-on brace that hangs off the stock one. The bar drops in where the factory CD5, CD7, CE1, RA1 or YA crossmember came out, and two adjustable steel radius arms tie the front lower control arms back to the bar. Each radius arm carries a race-grade spherical (heim) joint, so you can dial in preload or simply take the slack out. Tying the lower chassis legs together at the same time is what actually stiffens the front end. Innovative says the result is more traction and no wheel hop, and for front wheel drive drag and road racers, quicker 60-foot times and higher cornering speeds. Those are the manufacturer's claims and nobody has published independent numbers, but the mechanism is straightforward: less unwanted lateral control arm movement means the suspension geometry stops changing while you are launching or loading the outside front.

The practical upside on a modified Accord is the packaging. The bar is slim, so it gives extra front clearance, clears all the factory headers, and works with full size or half size radiators plus larger downpipes and manifolds. That matters if you have an H22A or H23A in the bay and a turbo manifold trying to occupy the same space the stock crossmember used. It works with automatic and manual cars equally, so an F22B daily and a swapped race car use the same part number. The bar and the radius arms are powder coated for corrosion resistance, which is worth something on a part that sits at the lowest point of the car.

Be clear-eyed about the trade. A spherical joint has no rubber in it. Everything the front suspension does, you will hear and feel more of once the compliance is gone. This is a stiffer, louder front end, and that is the point. Anyone describing a traction bar as a comfort upgrade is selling you something.

Specs

Fitment

The Odyssey and Oasis rows are not a typo. The first generation Odyssey and its Isuzu-badged twin share the RA1 platform with the CD Accord and use the same front crossmember, which is why one part number covers all four vehicles. On the Acura CL side, this bar is confirmed for the four cylinder 2.2CL and 2.3CL; we have not verified the V6 3.0CL, so ask before you order one for a J-series car. The bar also fits a swapped chassis, so an H22A or H23A conversion does not change the part number.

What to Know Before You Buy

Two things about the contents surprise people. The radius arms are in the box. Innovative sells radius rods separately only as replacement parts under 59710-RADRODSONLY, not as an add-on you need to buy alongside the kit. And the kit ships with a transmission underside brace that you do not need if you run the 29740 front torque mount, because that mount bolts to this bar and does the same job better. If you are buying both at once, expect a spare brace in the box.

This is not a Saturday afternoon bolt-on. You are removing the part the front suspension hangs from, so the car has to be properly supported and the alignment has to be redone afterward. Innovative recommends a professional install, and on a thirty year old Accord we would agree with them, if only because the crossmember bolts have been sitting in road salt since the Clinton administration. Soak them, and have a plan for the one that rounds off.

Ground clearance is the other honest note. The bar sits where the crossmember sat and Innovative calls out extra front clearance in the design, but this is a lowered-car part on a car that is usually lowered, and the radius arms are the lowest thing up front. If you scrape driveways now, you will still scrape them.

Get the most out of it by pairing it correctly. The 29740 front torque mount is the single best companion because it kills the remaining fore-aft engine movement that the traction bar cannot address, and it mounts to the bar. If you are running a serious F22B or H-series build, a set of Innovative engine mounts in a matching durometer finishes the job, because a rigid front end with soft engine mounts just moves the slop somewhere else.