Strut bar - need purchasing advice
 

Hi all,



Upgrading the suspension on my current vehicle sometime next week. I have KYB excel struts, mounts, and boots on their way and should arrive either today or tomorrow. Got a great deal on partsgeek for just $388 for everything. I was wondering if i should purchase front and rear strut bars to go along with the whole suspension upgrade? I found a set for $160 off shark racing and figured while i was putting on new struts i could also throw on strut bars for extra support.



Now i'm not a racer but i thought it could be a cool hobby to look into for down the line. I really only use the car for normal driving, nothing really too aggressive. I was wondering if i should make the investment? Or since i don't really use the car for anything other than normal use would it just be a waste of money?



Thanks guys,



Andrew

No, I've seen zero actual proof that these things do anything.

What do you mean "do anything"? Like they add additional support to the car? They don't improve overall handling?



Or is it more that for my particular car, only pushing out like ~140 HP and a 4-cylinder, i wouldn't really noticed the difference?

Hm...can't seem to find one that's not made from some general purpose aluminium. I was really looking for steel. Okay thank you! I'll be holding off on this one for a while!

A lot of OEMs include them on higher performance vehicles, and all purpose build racecars have cross members installed. Hell, even my little 89 deuce has a factory strut beam. That doesn't mean it's required, but there is an undeniable science to it.



That said, most are soft, flimsy, cosmetic feces. :inot: For the rear on my Tib I'm contemplating having something fabbed out of steel tubing so I know for certain its functional. Like you've found, most of the one for our cars are just generic home depot hex tubing attached to an aluminum mount. iirc there was a thread back in the rdt days about the various front bars and how to locate one that's functional. :search:

+1 to what tibbi said. If you are talking about welding in an actual triangulated roll cage, or even just welding in some steel cross beams, that would make a difference.



A thin piece of anodised aluminium loosely bolted between your strut towers will do exactly zero for the car. Even if it was making a difference (it isn't), there is still WAY more slop in the rubber strut bushings, rubber control arm bushings, power steering, and the driver's seat itself. Take care of them first before we start chasing 0.01% improvements in chassis rigidity.

but when you pop the hood they look cool :thumbup: And they make a perfect place to put stickers. :beercheers:



I had one on my Accent, I have no idea if it even worked, but for the $100 or so I spent on it I didn't care.

...you wanted to add steel to your car? You just like extra weight?

They aren't worth paying more than $30 for. Anything else profit. I found one for my Accent that was $25 new. Dual bar and steel. The OEM Gen Coupe one is only about $40 total.

Bought one for $90! As far as performance gains i'm thinking it to be the equivalent of red calipers or racing stripes. So i figure 2-3 MPG and 10-15 HP lol :P