easy question.. search function dosen't work.. sorry if its a repeat

Do strut tower bars really work? like the ones that go on the engine bay and trunk? or are they all there for aesthetic reasons? i've been hearing mix opinons so i would like to hear from those with some experience.

 

i believe that they do work, they do not have a huge effect but it is noticable. spend your money accordingly. a good sway bar will affect handling far more for far less money.

my .02
-Scary

 

http://e30m3performance.com/myths/St...bar_theory.htm
Good read.

 

This is again based on the fact that your car actually has real struts and the upper location mount and it's motion or lack there of can have some effect on on the actual suspension motion. If you like many on this group have a Honda group car that actually uses shocks and not struts and the upper mount is just simply a locator of the damper and spring and has nothing to do with the upper control arm's ability to have motion and therefore does nothing to stiffen the suspension itself. In the case of a shock mount to shock mount bar like a 88-00 Civic & CRX, Integra, etc., then the value is much less of a deal than on a strut car. Then it is just basically additional side to side chassis stiffening. If you have joints or spherical bearings in your cross bars as many do, you have yet a gain greatly reduced the ability to stop motion again since you have built in a pivot point.

I know I get quite a bit of function in my rear shock mount bar on my CRX, I mount my shoulder harnesses there for opening lapping days.

 

shouldnt' be too hard to make your own
for the cost of a DIY strutbar....I'd put one on

 

I did my own and I'm very happy with it:

Used 1/4 12x6 steel, cut in half and notched for the top of the damper. Two lengths of 1" ID conduit (strong enough, trust me). This weighs 8lb and cost me $10 and a few hours of time.

 

Yeah, I'll second the DIY rear stut bar. I'm very happy with mine, and it only took me an hour max. On the other hand, I picked up a cheapo strut bar from Ebay for the front, and I felt barely any change in handling characteristics.

 

Since the OE GSR front strut bar doesn't clear the GC upper mounts, I will be running without one for a while. I bet I will not be able to tell the difference.


[Modified by SPiFF, 1:54 PM 4/5/2003]

 

I ran an autocross without a front (stock 99 Si) bar and I couldn't tell the diff.

 

Granted, this wasn't on an FF honda.

But when I bought a cheapo $9.00 STB off ebay for my FD, it made a huge improvement.

 

imo for a strut bar to be any good on a honda it need to bolt to the upper control arm not the top of the shock

 

I still don't think that's going to help much at all. Where the UCA connects to the tub is nothing but a hinge. Any impact is absorbed by the damper/spring. The arm is going to do nothing but go "up." These bars are pointless for the double-wishboned Hondas, but the bar companies certainly have been making a fortune selling them, I'm thinking.

Mike-who feels strongly that they are useless, but still wonders why his car came from the factory with one.

 

They do work on "true strut" cars, like 91-94 Sentra SE-R's. That is, if you put one on in the front it will add more understeer

Jon
(stiffen the rear, not the front!)

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by getfast &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">They do work on "true strut" cars, like 91-94 Sentra SE-R's. That is, if you put one on in the front it will add more understeer

Jon
(stiffen the rear, not the front!)
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Very true in my experince too. I just put a $20 ebay FSTB on my flexy SE-R 2 weeks ago. Turn in response feels a bit better, but it does feel like it's pushing more now... Too bad no one makes rear strut tower bars for it.

Andrew

 

Strut bars are definately worth it, but I don't think that you will benefit unless you have a modified suspension. Anything that you can do to stiffen the chassis will make the suspension work the way that it was intended. As long as you have chassis flex, then you can't make the most out of your suspension.