Ultra Racing vs. DC Sports front strut bar full review

gtman

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I love Ultra Racing products, let me get that out of the way first. I had them on my previous car and have purchased two bars for my CivicX. So why did I swap out the UR front strut bar for the new DC Sports bar? Two reasons. One for aesthetics and one for convenience.

The UR bar is great. It's a nicely made one piece steel bar. It helps the car feel a bit more precise with fast steering changes and makes the front end more solid overall. What bugged me about the bar was the white powder coat not really matching anything and the fact it made access to the brake fluid a bit of a pain.

Enter the new DC Sports bar. Like the UR bar, it's a one piece steel bar. It's finished in a cool looking sort of matte gunmetal. And it allows easy access to the brake fluid. So, I went ahead and ordered one from MAPerformance (great company btw and I had it in a few business days).

https://www.maperformance.com/colle...upper-strut-bar-2016-2019-honda-civic-csb5532

Ok, so lets get to it. UR vs. DC Sports.

For starters, the install. The UR bar was definitely an easier install. The reason being, the DC bar is an extremely tight fit over the strut tower bolts. Unlike the UR bar, the holes in the bar aren't slotted and it takes some trial and error to get it to go on.

I had to carefully use a rubber mallet to get it properly seated. After that it's a piece of cake as you just torque down the bolts. I reused the six stock ones.

Ease of install goes to the UR bar. One point to Ultra Racing.

As far as looks, to me anyway, with my Cosmic Blue, the DC Sports bar is the winner. The point goes DC Sports handily.

Honda Civic 10th gen Ultra Racing vs. DC Sports front strut bar full review IMG_20190612_113816-01

Honda Civic 10th gen Ultra Racing vs. DC Sports front strut bar full review IMG_20190612_113827-01


Honda Civic 10th gen Ultra Racing vs. DC Sports front strut bar full review IMG_20190612_113806-01


Performance-wise, as expected, both do the intended job well. That's a tie. One point each to UR and DC.

Finally let's talk about convenience and maintenance. The DC Sports bar allows easy access to the brake fluid reservoir. The UR bar doesn't. But the DC bar is lower and touches a couple hoses and battery cables that the UR bar doesn't. One the plus side, the DC bar does come with plastic sleeves that protect the hoses and cables but they aren't a perfect fit. Overall, a tie. One point to each bar.

The final tally? 3 points for UR and 3 points for DC. They're both top notch. It really boils down to personal preference. IMO, these are the two best bars available for the gen X Civic.

- gtman
 
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Shadowfighter

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I'm glad to see another one piece strut bar. Would the price possible give the DC bar the upper hand since its cheaper?

I have the UR bar and I love it but my car is white so I'm sure that helps with how it looks lol.

Thank you for the review.
 
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gtman

gtman

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I'm glad to see another one piece strut bar. Would the price possible give the DC bar the upper hand since its cheaper?

I have the UR bar and I love it but my car is white so I'm sure that helps with how it looks lol.

Thank you for the review.
Good point on the price. MAPerformance has the DC Sports bar on sale for just a little over $100.

With your white car the UR bar is a great choice btw.
 

Matthyahuw

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I didn't mean to push you to buy the DC Sports bar when I posted about it a couple times :confused1:

I did get it from MAPerformance as well...they were having a sale, plus a coupon code...couldn't go wrong! :cool:
 
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gtman

gtman

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I didn't mean to push you to buy the DC Sports bar when I posted about it a couple times :confused1:

I did get it from MAPerformance as well...they were having a sale, plus a coupon code...couldn't go wrong! :cool:
Not at all. I love the UR bar but the color bugged me. Been waiting for another solid bar to come along. I know people love their Tanabe, Sirimoto and Cusco bars but I've always used non-hinged one piece bars in my cars.

Since I was the one who started promoting the UR bar here way back when, I wanted to let others know this bar is equally good.
 


jscm

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For starters, the install. The UR bar was definitely an easier install. The reason being, the DC bar is an extremely tight fit over the strut tower bolts. Unlike the UR bar, the holes in the bar aren't slotted and it takes some trial and error to get it to go on.
this means you cant take advantage of the factory camber adjustments
 

ExVTEC

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I like the DC bar but I cant figure why it's not compatible with the type r.
 

FK7 Civic Pilot

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GtMan, thanks for the comparison. quick question, between the two, is there a noticeable weight difference between them? Trying to lighten my car where ever possible, so for me, saving a few ounces one way or the other would be a deciding factor if overall handling performance is equal.
2nd question, from the pictures, looks like there's a gap between the DC bar and the strut tower, are you still using the hatchback stiffener plates, or is that part of the fit and finish of the DC bar? Running a UR bar now, which fits flush on my car.
 
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gtman

gtman

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The DC bar is slightly heavier. As far as those hatchback plates, I have a sedan so none of those on my car. Last but not least, there's no gap; the bar fits flush.
 


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Looks nice. I went ultra for the rear as they seamed to be the only player. I think the my Tanabe works well for the front. People imagine m10 bolts at 80 ft lbs in the reinforced corners the weak point but at the mounts is the stiffest point. The weakness is going to be the lateral bar itself flexing. It's personal preference I suppose, I doubt someone could feel the difference between bars when behind the wheel.
 

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someone with a DC bar would have to confirm if this can also be done with their bar, but with the Ultra Racing bar having slotted holes, you can pull the guide pin to get additional negative camber without affecting the fit of the strut bar. photo below of the ultra racing strut on my car shows where the guide pin was ( hole centered in notch of plate ) I needed to adjust the camber after dropping the suspension 1.5”.

Honda Civic 10th gen Ultra Racing vs. DC Sports front strut bar full review image
 
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gtman

gtman

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someone with a DC bar would have to confirm if this can also be done with their bar, but with the Ultra Racing bar having slotted holes, you can pull the guide pin to get additional negative camber without affecting the fit of the strut bar.
No worries. I'm pretty sure all the 10th gen strut bars account for the camber guide pin in some way. The DC Sports bar has a larger 4th hole to accommodate the pin. You can see it in this pic:

Honda Civic 10th gen Ultra Racing vs. DC Sports front strut bar full review CSB5532_3_800x-01
 

DanMahoney26

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Sorry to bring up an old thread but thank you @gtman i ended up pulling the trigger on this. I’ve had sirimotos for the last 20,000 miles but I’ve wanted a one piece for a few months
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