Does anyone have the torque specs for the upper front strut area where the strut bar are bolted down and the 2 bolts in the middle of the front upper strut bar? Is it also ok to leave the car on the ground when removing/installing the strut bar?

 

I don't know the specs, but I do know that you want the weight of the car on the wheels whenever you install a strut-tower brace. The idea is to hold the tops of the towers inwards, not push them outwards, so you don't want the suspension at droop when you tighten the bolts.

It's a general rule that you always have the weight of the car on the wheels (i.e., the suspension should be at static ride height) whenever suspension-related bolts are being tightened. If you have a car with bonded-sleeve-rubber-sleeve bushings, such as just about any other Mitsu, this becomes very important, because it's how you avoid a preload on the rubber inside the bushing which not only acts as a non-linear and underdamped spring, but can rip if twisted too far. The dreadfully serious go so far as to loosen and retighten every bolt whenever they alter the car's ride height. In the everyday world, these people are known as nerds. In autocrossing, however, these people are often known as National Champions, instead.

 

That was very educational! I've searched around on this already and they all say I can remove/install the front strut bar without jacking the front up but you reassured that for me.

Now if I could get the factory torque specs for front strut bolts...

Thank You!