Front Upper Strut Tower Bar
 

The product in question is:
http://www.procarparts.com/store/dis...XXXX-FRUP-STBX

Its only $39.95 US on the site, but there's a $15 documentation fee if I have it shipped to Canada, which to me doesn't make any sense.

Is this product any good and is it available through a retailer that's a little friendlier to the folks up North?

Why don't you just goto the dealer and buy the strut bar for the Protege5? You can also find Ractive strut bars at almost any auto shop that'll fit your car. It's the same as a protege5 strut bar.

Cuz its probably 3-4 times the price of the one procarparts.com which is at 39.95 USD.

go to mazdastuff.com and get it there. It is 99.95, but is a nice strutbar and is worth the money. As you know, you get what you pay for.

Matt is right, you get what you pay for. A $40 brace probably isn't going to brace much at all.

Besides, a front strut brace alone won't give any dramatic change in handling. It is, however, a good complement to some good sway bars.

You'd be surprised what a big difference the strut bar makes... even the P5 one. I took mine off yesterday (I was bored and was messing around under the hood) and tried it without the bar.

Also, you'd be surprised just how cheap the Ractive bar would be... even in Canada. I'm not sure what the exact price is but in the Toronto area they go for under 80 bucks. And if you happen to shop in some of the asian performance shops they are even less... and if you are asian, chances are there is no tax either... ;)

strut bar
 

damaster, I'm in the same boat as you. If I buy the ractive I have to hack into the cruise control mounting bracket to make it fit.
Forget about going to the dealer in Canada for a P5 strut bar because the bar is one price and then all the mounting hardware is sold seperately and you'll end up paying over $250.
On U.S. side they sell the whole thing under one part number for $99.95.
The poor sedan guys get screwed again!

ESsedan01, do you know if the one on procarparts.com requires hacking of the cruise control mounting bracket? and how much hacking does the Ractive one require?

There's gotta be other Canadian sedan owners on this board that have successfully installed an inexpensive non-OEM strut bar or are we asking too much???

The one on mazdastuff.com is sold out... not sure what brand that is. Does that one require hacking of the cruise control mounting bracket as well???

by the way, here's the one on mazdastuff.com:
http://www.mazdastuff.com/product.cfm?ProductID=972

I don't think this one will require hacking as it looks like the p5
strut bar exactly, just in yellow. And we have cruise control as standard equipment

Yeah, I know of a few sedan owners that installed the ractive which mounts very similar to the carparts.com one. If you take a look at the brass coloured bracket that holds the cruise control sits on top of the passenger side strut tower you will see what I'm talking about. The way these mount it has to sit right on top of the strut tower as flat as possible.
I was going to buy the P5 strut bar from another member until I found out the mounting bracket just for that one side is $60.00.
The one you you found at Mazdastuff is the one that comes complete with the mounting hardware.
I will probably end up going with the Ractive and cutting the bracket.

They send you a silver one, it is the mazdaspeed one, which now replaces all the MP3 parts. And it requires you to order the one with the cruise control brackets. But it is the same price for the one with cruise control. So if you aren't in a rush put an order in with them and they will be more than cooperative. I have dealt with them on a few things and they are great with customer service.

Who does this? For clarification

mazdastuff.com ... as he mentioned in his earlier post above

Front strut tower bar
 

I have been trying to find a bar as well. Mazdastuff (& other dealers)m have told me they are on National backorder, not sure when they will be available. Does anyone have an opinion on the Corksport bar? I know they are on backorder as well (redesign) bu they at least tell me about 3 weeks. Cost - $59.00 HAPPY TRAILS!