Strut Tower Braces?
 

Newbie to racing here......

Run the car at Sebring, and am wondering if you guys would advise a Strut Tower Brace. This is the 3.7 mile Road Course, so sweepers at 105-115 and sharps at 40 are the norm.

Do they make a big difference, and what do you guys think of the lesser expensive brands? There are some on ebay for 15 to 25 bucks, and look pretty nice made out of polished aluminum. Brands such as directcarparts, procarparts, and speedgogo.

Whaddya think and thanks.

dp

My opinion is you get what you pay for. I bought a $40 unit and that's about what I got. I am going to replace the junk with more sustantial parts and throw the rest in the trash. Luckily, it looks like I can use the mounts on each strut tower, just the bar and the ends are crap.

Ive never drivin a car with one on it (yet) but the word seems to be that they do help a LOT. It basically stiffens the front end of your car (chassis) where it is weakest.
If your racing anything other than drag, I suggest getting one. You will not be disappointed :)
PM Guru here on the forum or give him a ring at 905-896-5448 and talk to him. (hes away till the 30th of this month) He is co-owner of a company called CP Racing here in Ontario and they make strut tower braces for every gen rx7 PLUS tri-bars for every gen of rx7! Thats right, a tri-bar for a 3rd gen! :eek: Give him a ring, they are quality engineered and they aint expensive :)
Lates

I'd just save the money and keep racing. Seat time is way way more important than a 100$ gadget.

FWIW, I don't have a strut tower brace on my racecar.

PaulC

What does FWIW mean?

And Silkworm... you have a FULL racing cage in your car! ...thats why you dont have a strut brace :)

LOL..

For what it's worth

And still, seat time is more valuable IMHO.

PaulC

IMHO-in my honest opinion sorry could not resist.
I run R1 package bars. It seems pretty stiff.

Do strut tower braces help? Yes.

To what extent? That depends on the rigidty of the chassis.

Cars like the WRX may not benefit as much from the additional structural reinforcement of a strut tower bar as say...a 240sx or a RX-7.

I agree w/ the others who have said that you get what you pay for. Here is an example. When I owned a 240sx, I had the Cusco strut tower bars. With a car like the 240sx, the strut tower bars helped A LOT! I forgot how much I paid for the bars (somewhere in the $130+ area), but the bars are top notch quality! Bars are beefy and the welds are very clean and flawless. My best friend purchased a Pilot Motorsports strut tower bar for about $40 (He also has a 240sx). The bar was nowhere near the quality of my bar. The bar is not as "thick and beefy" as mine. Also, if you compared the two bars, there is an obvious difference. The mounting points from the strut tower plate to the bar on the Pilot Motorsports is small compared to the same mounting area on the Cusco. From a physics standpoint, this puts A LOT of stress on the bolts used to connect them plate to the bar.

Well, to make a long story short, I was right. The bolts had sheared in half! My best friend had to go to Home Depot to find bolts suitable in size to replace them. This was about 2 years ago. As to whether Pilot Motorsports has addressed this problem...I don't know. But this is just an example of you get what you pay for. So get a QUALITY bar.

BTW, I have since given my best friend my Cusco bars and he immediately sold his Pilot Motorsports bars. Hmmm....I wonder why?

My '92 Civic was helped a LOT by the strut tower bars (front and rear). It used to plow (understeer) like a piece, now it just understeers pretty bad.

I'd get 'em, it's more structural rigidity (which is most always good), and it's legal in the rules to add rigidity that way, so go with it.

Just get some. A bar is a bar for the most part. You'll feel the difference IMMEDIATLELY. Whether is be the front, lower front, or rear bars. You'll feel them all as they go in.

a stru tower bar will not really improve a stock susp setup since it is so soft. On a stiffer sprung car, that induces more chassis flex, they do help more. However, most people wouldn't know the difference because most people can't drive worth a %^$@#^%. The most effective out there is by racing beat and it ties together the strut towers and the firewall, with an option to tie the motor in as well. Beware though since this is not legal in most race/autocross classes. You can even get one for the rear towers.

Racing Beats "Tri Bar" is for FC's the question was asked by an FD owner
IMO the best off the shelf bar for the FD is the factory R-1 bar - it is Adjustable for pre-load, the later R-2 bars are not, but both are VERY solid. since it is a FACTORY OE part it should be leagal for any class the R-1s fit into.

A little-know fact about the SCCA SoloII rules for stock classes: Technically, it's illegal to use parts from an R1 or R2 on a Touring, PEP, or Base model (and vice versa), unless the "conversion is complete", meaning that you have to completely convert the car from one factory trim to another, to be able to trade parts between 'em. Doing a complete conversion is going to be tough if you have, say, a SUNROOF and you want to use parts from an R1.

Then again, I've never been to a SoloII where anyone got anywere near the level of scrutiny they'd need to, in order to protest an incomplete conversion. I've never been to the Nationals, though.

LOL

Doesnt strut tower bars prevent your front end from twisting? Because when you get into a turn, theres force upon your tires, wich bends the front end a bit (kinda like this / / and \ \ because theres nothing there from preventing the towers from bending but when you put the strut tower there...|-| the towers cant move) making your suspension sloppy. You add a strut tower bar to rigid up your chassis so that your suspension can do it's work! The same goes for the rear, you want stiff chassis and soft suspension (that's why autox'rs take off the rear sway bar isnt it?)

Tell me if im wrong.

I just put on one of those cheap ebay STBs on my otherwise stock suspension car.

It works wonders. It really did make a huge improvement. The whole car is much crisper. Turn-in improved dramatically, and the car tends to oversteer less.

Hey Martini:

Which one did you get? I "won" one for 14.99, the Procarparts one, and then they informed me of a manufacturing defect that will delay shipment for 2-3 weeks or so. I have the option to buy another and cancel this one..........guess they're all the same give or take.............

David

I got the procarparts "Bomz racing" one.

I had to put it on backwards to make it fit. perhaps that's what they are talking about.