Member Credit: Greg
Stillen Front Strut Tower Brace before install. The simple purpose of this ingenious device is to lock the tops of the shock towers together in the engine compartment. Result is the suspension “box” is complete, and the car corners much flatter than stock, with a greater degree of stability. This wonderful device can be ordered from Steve Millen Sports Parts in Costa Mesa, California.
Close-up of the Stillen strut ring.
Here is the hardware which ships with the bar. This hardware is not used in the 2002 Maxima application.
The install is very easy and should not take more than 30 minutes, which includes putting all of your tools away. First step is to use a 14mm socket to remove the 3 strut tower nuts on each side of the car.
Remove the strut rings from the bar, and attach each one to the shock tower. Tighten the nuts to 43-58 ft-lbs.
Center the bar on the strut rings, and install the supplied bolts, washers and nuts. I added some anti-seize compound to the bolt threads in case I ever have to take the bar off.
Tighten up each end. For clearance purposes, I used a 14mm closed-end wrench on the nut in front, and an 8mm hex wrench on the back side.
Here is the completed install.
Another angle. Even if this simple modification did not dramatically improve the Maxima’s cornering capability, it would probably be worth it to install just to see the look on people’s faces when you open the hood.
Stillen-supplied instructions for the FSTB.
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