ZeroStage

Hi guys,

I just wanted to know your oppinion about these strut bars

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Front...Q5fAccessories

Are they any good?

Thanks.

Cheers

S4GXL

as good as anything that looks like that.

my personal opinion of strut bars is that no matter the brand or price, it seems stupid that they make the ends pivot. i have the 4 point mazdatrix strut bar that is solidly welded and it makes a night and day difference. ive used the cheap ones on other cars in the past and they...sort of help. i cant help but question the logic in those pivoting strut bars. why leave out such a critical detail? they make the strut towers not bow together but do nothing to help body flex.

i guess if your on a budget why not, but think of what you want from your car. that said, i would much much rather buy a $20 strut bar from ebay than a $150 name brand JDM strut bar that has the exact same flaws.

ZeroStage

Hmm... What if i weld the ends?

The main problem here is that i'm just a student and i don't have much money to spend on some name brand JDM strut bar... or even the mazdatrix...

S4GXL

i would just go ahead and get one. for 20 bucks i would be a bit hesitant to suggest modifying it unless you are confident in your welding and fabrication abilities. ive used the ebay bars and havent had one break on me or anything, but fitment has always been suspect.

ZeroStage

Indeed, everutnhing that i've bought on eBay needed some modifications to fit in but thant's not much of a problem.

Well I guess I'm going to order them and see how good they are... Thanks for the help

Cheers.

S4GXL

this is from cusco's front strut bar. same gay pivot type as the ebay one.
like i said, i'd much rather spend $20 bucks and get the same thing.

Evil Aviator

Free lesson for the student: Only a moron spends what little money he has on something as completely and utterly worthless as a strut bar.

cmanns

I got one for liek 12 bucks, it seemed to make a difference but I had to remove it recently, seems the front end grips more at low speeds now, havent tried at high speed

Hypertek

iTrader: (3)

comparing ebay bars to cusco lol
The pivot part will not mater.. they all do teh same purpose of stopping the strut towers from twisting and expanding/compressing etc.

granted strut bars you will not notice a difference, its just that theres moral passion behind a guy who spends money on his parts, and the guy who takes cheap cuts because he wants to look the part. I know its hard to understand, but some see car tuning as an art.

justinpace

hmm if u have the tools to weld why not make one. i would also make it to go to the firewall and also hook up the the engine as a torque brace. much like the madatrix at 1/15th the cost

LAN

iTrader: (1)

buy that ****. it'll work.i have cusco, same ****

Hypertek

iTrader: (3)

just dont expect it to improve your car, like cmanns said, it will affect your handling, not always the best, since it stiffens up the chassis , it may induce less grip.

justinpace

+1
invest in better tires, you will see a gain there. sway bars and a nice strut/spring upgrade or coilovers. There are on going battles with coilovers on this forum. Generally speaking people say anything under 2k is worthless. However most of them havent owned coilovers under 2k so what do they know. Suspension takes balance. Dont just slap parts on here and there and expect it to help. Look into some post by Howard Coleman. And my opinion dont waste your money on those bars. Read, search, find proven set ups or try and make your own custom set up. At the end of the day its preference on how you like you car to handle. Some like it stiff, some not so stiff. Some like differnt rear to front spring rates. But one of the most important things is your tire. Its what makes all your suspension worth while so dont cheao out on them.

S4GXL

all of the above responses are vague and full of half truths.

justinpace

hmm, sorry i would like to see the difference with actual numbers from a skid pad on a stock car vs ebay strut bars. Then i will be convinced.

S4GXL

im not saying ebay strut bars do all that much. thats exactly my point. ebay strut bars have questionable design in how their endplates pivot, and so do high end JDM brands. my point is think about how they work before you throw away big bucks on a garbage part. ebay brands dont do that much and neither do any brand that uses the same design.

next time read the whole thread maybe?

S4GXL

oh btw i didnt follow my own advice and may i make a correction: your posts are the only ones that do make sense.

justinpace

Have been reading the whole thread. Which is why i made a small post on better solutions to invest in tires and something worth while, ect... I agree that cusco/ebay there is slight difference, which is why i suggest making his own much like the mazdatrix one. He said he can weld? (or knows someone) Bottom line i would not put a 20 dollar sway bar on my car. The steel can be made of different quality, different thinkness and strength and stiffness. I am merely saying do your home work before you decide to slap any part on.

S4GXL

i know

justinpace

Now you say you have the mazdatrix one, Is this the one that connects to the firewall and enigne? If so how do you like it. I plan on building one this spring/summer i may do my own write up. However there is a similar one somewhere on this forum.

S4GXL

when i put it on it was like a lightswitch flipped. half my car now feels utterly bombproof. i highly recommend it or a similar product to anyone.

ive used ebay bars in the past and while they do a little, now i know how little that is.