Are the ractive strut tower bars just rice? Would they do ANY more than the $8 strut bars on ebay? Out of all those under $20 bars on ebay, which ones the best?

 

Um...they sell Ractive parts at the Circut City here..which sells audio/tv/cds..etc etc. So i'd hafta go with the fact that its rice. But hey man, whatever floats your boat, dont let some people over the internet stop you from getting something you like.

 

if it improves handling, its not rice. And Ractive has been around since the early 90s IIRC. But i would go with Tanabe or Cusco or something High quality.
tanabe FSTB are like $110

 

Exactly.

If its for function, and not looks, its not rice.

 

true...but..ive had very good luck with ebay strut bars..which cost about 1/15th as much..and are basically the same thing.

personally..ive got an ebay bar on all my cars...as far as i can tell the ones i got are all the same..but from different ebay companies. avoid one called drivinggear..they are morons and fucked up my order. make sure they have a picture and specs on it..such as weight and what its made of.

pat

 

Honestly I don't want anything big written on the bar so I'd rather not have the ractive. Id rather just have a solid polished one.

My next question is should i go with the one that has the full circle on both sides and bolts up to all 4 bolts (my guess is this one would be more stiff) or the one that just bolts up to two? Or does this not even matter?

 

this whole "rice" thing is getting a little overboard, Its going to get to the point where every little mod anyone does to their car is considered "rice" i always considered cars that were "all show n no go" ricer cars but some of you people think that if you paint your rims black or you get a fancy bodykit, that your a ricer, imo the ppl that think that way are ****** ingorant

 

i agree 604Ryder
all show and no go sucks..but if it performs..leave it alone

 

I got mine from drivinggear. I guess I got lucky, since my order wasn't messed up. Tough luck, brah.

 

I consider cars with pointless mods to be rice. What I've been asking pretty much from the start is if these parts are just going to add a showoff look to my car or if it will perform enough to be worth having. Is it a waste of weight?

And maybe this doesn't qualify as rice, but i think it is dumb for me to pay more money on a product that has "Ractive" painted on it if it will do the same than one that doesn't have anything written on it.

I also know from reading other threads that this bar won't be as good as say a cusco, but my car already feels pretty stiff up front and since its just my daily driver/cruiser and not my autox/race car, I cant justify spending an extra $100.

 

they wouldnt send mine bc they didnt like my address..even ho i told them many times that it would work..then when i finally got it it was one for a fd..i had to send it back at my cost..they did finally get me the right one tho

 

if you like it do it....if you have to ask other peoples opinions on a mod ur planning on doing (wether they think its rice or not) your probably rice
the way i see it, its your car, eveyone has their own preferences, do what you like and **** everybody elses opinions. boom

 

being insecure enough that you require peoples opinions on what is rice and what isnt is ghey.....and rice......and pathetic....have you no personal opinion?

 

how would i have a personal opinion on something ive never used? Its not that im insecure (i don't think), its the fact that im ultra cheap . If I can save $100 and get similar performance i will. I thought i explained this in my last post but apparently not.

 

yes..get a cheapo strut bar from ebay..they make a surpirsing difference in handling, and hell its only 20 bucks...

 

i have two ractive bars i'll ship you one of them for $55 to your door...I like mine it does make a difference....

_trevor

 

Maybe it's just me?
When it comes to my fc, I don't **** around!
$20.00 wont even fill my gas tank!
My luck the damn thing would bend, twist, snap or not fit properly... That would just **** me off!
Multiply that number by six or more, save up and get something worthy of the 7!

To answer your question about the $20- strut bars.... NONE! "In my opinion of course!"

-Blake

 

I'm of the opinion that if something is worth doing - do it right. I had every intention of spending the $110 on a "real" strutbar. I saw that Ractive made them, and read about the ebay bars. To be honest I did a bit of shopping around and had a look at the ractive one. To my surprise, their strutbar was well made, fit with no issues, and looked alright as well.

I have no doubt that the Cusco or RB bars offer more stiffness, but with a piece of this nature - how much more? Would that extra stifness be noticable on a street driven daily driver? In the end I opted for the Ractive unit - and it cost about $40.

Here it is:



And I'd do it again.

I can feel a difference, and there were no fitment issues. I took the $70 I saved on the bar and put it where I would notice a difference - the brakes.

Oh - and there is no tacky "Ractive Performance Yo!!" across the bar. It comes with a sticker you can put on the bar if you want - I opted not to.

 

d00d you totally have to get those $300 JIC carbon fiber strut bars.. nothing else compares

 

Summary:

The Driving Gear/Megan Racing e-bay bar works, but requires some fitting.

The Ractive bar mounts about 1" further forward, giving more clearance over engine accessories.

The others cost way more.

 

Don't mention Tanabe to me right now. My cars previous owner took a silver vinyl strip and laid it across the whole side of the car, both sides. He cut out "Tanabe Racing Development" in it. He used a razor blade on the car.

 

On the topic of strut tower braces I don't beleive you can gain much from the higher end companies as far as "stiffness per dollar" but they are better than say "autobacs/Ractive" type brands. But If it isn't a major company they are more prone to making products that appeal to Ricers. Like those "dragon" intake filters and the "cheap" cone intakes. Which are make cheap and "look" better when all it is is a pos paper filter with some shiny finish or plastic adornments to make you think your cool. I'd say for the most part companies like Ractive are making their money off of the ricer crowd.


Santiago

 

But Reactive strut bars React with your cars strut towers on a molecular level and form an impenetrable bond between the two.

 

LOL I hope that was an attempt at humor.

 

More like a success at being retarded..