Note that it only took about an hour, but if you are a marginal do-it-yourselfer, I don't know that I would tackle it (you will need to find a speedshop that knows what nutserts are. My dealer had NO clue). If you are a fair mechanic with access to some tools, go for it!

1 - Get the front of the car up on ramps (or jackstands). 2 - Remove the std cross brace (appx 1" tube at base of firewall), 2 bolts. 3 - Use the 2 bolts to temporarily hold the new brace in place. 4 - Notice that there are 3 holes in the mounting plates at the fwd end of the brace. - Two holes are oval in shape, one round. The oval holes will be used. 5 - One set of oval holes will line-up with a hole in the engine-mount crossmember. Notice that a nutsert fits in this hole. (Inner hole, on horizontal surface of crossmember) 6 - Using the outer oval holes as guides, mark the crossmember for drilling. 7 - Remove the brace. Now for the HARD part - Originally TMS said they would send a nutsert insertion tool that buyers could use then return. After having the first 2 broken, they ended that program! So, I asked Will for advice on how to do it, and this is a modified version of that: 8 - Drill the outer holes in the crossmember (this takes a metric size, sorry, actual size not available to include in the message. Just get a drill that fits in the holes already there...) 9 - Find a piece of steel or aluminum 'strap', appx 1/8" thick, >1/2" wide. - Drill a hole in this near one end that a bolt from a nutsert will fit in - Put a flat washer on the bolt, put it thru the strap, then screw on the nutsert until finger tight (wide end of sert against strap). 10 - Clamp the lower 2/3 of the nutsert in a vise (not too hard). CAREFULLY tighten the bolt, holding the strap still, until the nutsert begins to swell near the strap. - DO NOT swell it too much or it won't go in the hole. - The idea is to get the sert tight enough against the strap that it would not spin if you removed it from the vise and continued to tighten the bolt. 11 - Remove this assembly from the vice and go under the car. Use a hammer to drive the tapered-end of the nutsert/bolt into the crossmember. Be sure to get the sert all the way in so the strap is against the crossmember. 12 - If you have one, use an impact wrench to tighten the bolt initially, which will swell the nutsert against the inside of the hole in the crossmember. If you don't have an impact wrench, use a ratchet, but make the first few tightening strokes very quick (jerk the handle briskly) to prevent slipping of the sert against the strap. - Be sure to tighten it enough that it will hold, but don't be King Kong and break the bolt (obviously, I guess). - Once the sert is squished in place, unscrew the bolt. You should see the face of the sert fairly flush against the bottom of the crossmember. 13 - Repeat for the other 3 serts then bolt the brace in place. - They don't provide them, but I would put a flat washer between the lock washer on the bolt and the plate on the brace, as the oval holes are quite oversize.

Now, how does the brace work? Well, I don't know that I can tell a huge difference, but I 'think' the car feels a tad tighter, especially when turning under load (ie my driveway is a tight turn from a level road to a fairly steep incline, and I don't think the car flexes as much).

I did run it on the track yesterday and the car seemed very tight in front. I guess that if you plan to spend a fair amount of time on track, I would definitely recommend getting top and bottom front braces, just to tighten things up.

Hope this 'how to' helps.

Don Wentz

Don sent me an update with some feedback. Here it is and I hope it's useful.

Don, I just wanted to give you a personal thanks for your tech hints on installing a x-brace. I tried installing that darn thing three times before I down loaded your instructions. The key for me was the "impact wrench". If one doesn't have one of these tools, I think it would be almost impossible to do. My first pass at your instructions, I thought 'I didn't need to start up the compressor, I'll just use a regular ratchet wrench.' Well, that was a dumb idea. I ended up getting stuck in the middle, so I turned on the compressor and with a few bursts the rivet nut gripped and took hold.

The only two comments I have if you ever update the instructions 1. give an approximate 'length' for the strap...I was a bit confused at first (1/2" wide x 12" long x 1/8" thick)

2. you might want to emphasize the need for the impact wrench or caution people that my not using it one runs the risk of getting stuck in the middle with a spinning rivet nut.

Bob Bacigal 96ti Active, ACS suspension and shift kit (and now a x-brace thanks to Don)