Do the ebay strut bar kits work, or are they to small and flimsy to make any real difference?

 

I was skeptical too, but I ordered anyway. I doubt the front is as effective as others, but the rest look solid to me.

 

They work, just not as good as other, less cheap brands...

install one and pull it up in the middle of the bar... it'll flex... others don't do that, or at least less...

If it's one of those ebay mugen replica things... I guess those are stronger, but I guess you mean the cheap 4-bar kits that look like the tenzo-R bars?

 

I had the c-pillar bar on my old EF and some of my creaks and squeaks from the rear hatch disappeared. Works for me I suppose.

 

Guess the "type R" knockoff bars works a bit too then?

 

considering that STB's are pretty much useless anyway, why spend 300 bucks on a set that'll be 5% stiffer than a $30 set when it doesn't really matter how stiff they are anyway?

i don't think i'll ever believe in strut tower bars doing anything but burning people's money...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bad-monkey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">considering that STB's are pretty much useless anyway, why spend 300 bucks on a set that'll be 5% stiffer than a $30 set when it doesn't really matter how stiff they are anyway?

i don't think i'll ever believe in strut tower bars doing anything but burning people's money...</TD></TR></TABLE>

If they don't do anything, why are they stock on the ITR?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bad-monkey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">considering that STB's are pretty much useless anyway, why spend 300 bucks on a set that'll be 5% stiffer than a $30 set when it doesn't really matter how stiff they are anyway?

i don't think i'll ever believe in strut tower bars doing anything but burning people's money...</TD></TR></TABLE>

Strut bars surely work, but i am just skeptical on the ebay ones since i know they will be much less stiff than a good brand.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JohnnyWash1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If they don't do anything, why are they stock on the ITR?</TD></TR></TABLE>

why are they on a GSR, why aren't they on a bb6, why are they on a X, and not on a Y?

be that as it may, and i'm not second guessing honda's structural calculations, but i doubt that a bar placed that close to the firewall, on strut towers that aren't deflecting much in the first place, are doing anything besides taking up space.

sure they're on an ITR or a GSR. have you driven with the bar removed? notice any difference? i haven't, even during "turn in" on a tight A/X course where these things are supposed to make the biggest difference.

i'm not saying they are total trash, i'm sure they might add SOME (tiny, miniscule, almost incalculable difference) rigidity to the chassis, but to spend ANY money on them, let alone 350 bucks for a set is a waste of money.

put em on a mcpherson **** car and you might have a case. but the strut towers on a double wishbone aren't seeing the same kind loadings that a mac strut strut tower sees.

but hey, i don't wanna suggest that i know how to spend anyone's money except my own. also, this is one of those discussions that can never be empirically won, since calculating the benefits/uselessness of a STB are difficult to quantify.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bad-monkey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

why are they on a GSR, why aren't they on a bb6, why are they on a X, and not on a Y?

be that as it may, and i'm not second guessing honda's structural calculations, but i doubt that a bar placed that close to the firewall, on strut towers that aren't deflecting much in the first place, are doing anything besides taking up space.

sure they're on an ITR or a GSR. have you driven with the bar removed? notice any difference? i haven't, even during "turn in" on a tight A/X course where these things are supposed to make the biggest difference.

i'm not saying they are total trash, i'm sure they might add SOME (tiny, miniscule, almost incalculable difference) rigidity to the chassis, but to spend ANY money on them, let alone 350 bucks for a set is a waste of money.

put em on a mcpherson **** car and you might have a case. but the strut towers on a double wishbone aren't seeing the same kind loadings that a mac strut strut tower sees.

but hey, i don't wanna suggest that i know how to spend anyone's money except my own. also, this is one of those discussions that can never be empirically won, since calculating the benefits/uselessness of a STB are difficult to quantify.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

Good reply

I'm not saying they are the end-all-be-all of suspension mods, however, I do believe a few well-placed bars can help a limp chassis achieve rigidity under extreme loads.

 

I had one on my old GTI, and it seemed to be okay.

 

I wanna get like those cheapy type r ebay ones just to get rid of the creeks and rattles in my hatch area....

 

i bought them for my old ef hatch.. ithey didnt do to much.. i never really noticed a different... although it might have been a bit tighter handling but then again it could be all in my head...

anyway.. it was funny since they fit perfectly on my ek later on...

i doubt they do much.. they are not rigid enough to really do much... sway bars on the other hand... those are

 

i've been wondering about this a lot lately too...it seems that within reason, a piece of aluminum is a piece of aluminum. i'm sure the brand name ones are better, but i'm also sure i would never spend 20x the $$$ for something that works 20% better.

 

well you get wat you pay for i suppose....

 

I bought one of those kits and put it on my EF hatch. I'll say it made a huge difference in handling. I had the 4 tie bars (upper and lower, front and rear) but the rear upper tie bar was weak, I was able to bend it slightly before I installed it. I always wondered how much a name brand set would improve over these... Oh well, as stated, they work but maybe not as well as others brands.

 

how much did the entire kit run you?