Rear Strut Bar - Question

[csnow]

I found a rear strut bar for sale. I know they don’t surface very often, so I was going to buy this one. Before I shell out the coin, I was wondering if they actually do anything. I wasn’t sure if they provide any additional rigidity with regards to body flex or is it just for looks.

 

[Keros]

It won't do anything measurable or noticable on a MkIII. I've had people argue it to the teeth with me, but studies show that science and physics is better than a butt dyno.

 

[Poodles]

How most are designed, no.

 

[IJ.]

nyet

 

[csnow]

Thanks guys. I will pass on it then.

 

[hvyman]

Also if you really want to waste money on them there on ebay usually all day.

 

[IJ.]

Never seen anything more than anecdotal "I installed one and my car handles xx% bettererrrr"

The "problem" with them is as designed they're just a hinge, grab a cardboard box open the ends so it's a tube hold the bottom on the floor so it can't move then push on a side and watch what the top does.....
(think of each top corner as the strut bar single bolt mount and the top sheet of the box as the bar itself, verticals as the strut towers and the floor of the box as the chassis)

Put a gusset in each corner and repeat, MUCH stiffer.

Most strut bars are designed to be removable/adjustable and this is where they fall over.

 

[hvyman]

I had one and forgot about it until one day i opened the hood and noticed that one of the nuts fell off for the bar going across. So i removed it and forgot i removed it. I like corners too

 

[csnow]

Also if you really want to waste money on them there on ebay usually all day.

This is the rear strut bar, not a front. Those arent sold on eBay. This rear strut bar was from a vendor long gone many moons ago. Regardless, it looks like a waste of money so I will move those funds elsewhere.

 

[hvyman]

Rears are on ebay as well just not as often.

 

[Fuzz420]

I heart the "placebo" effect

Plus they look cool :icon_razz

 

[Poodles]

If you like hacking your rear panels and losing the functionality of putting the seats down and putting large objects in the back...

 

[Fuzz420]

If you like hacking your rear panels and losing the functionality of putting the seats down and putting large objects in the back...

good point, but i only have the front half of my interior so that was a non issue for me atleast.

I will say this though, my bar has marks in the middle from the hood hitting. The bar might be flexing or the hood could be collapsing we'll never know

 

[steve1479]

Honestly I can't say if it has done anything. I have both a Cusco front and rear STB. I installed the rear properly by marking out two ovals in the panels and using a jigsaw to cut them out, then put a rubber grommet in place around it so it doesn't look so harsh. The panels don't sit the same way with the bar in place either because of the added height of the mounts so you usually end up forcing the screws in the hold it.

Like I said, I really don't think it's done anything towards the handing & performance of my car, I mostly got them for looks.

Our cars have a double wishbone suspension, if you had say a Honda civic, you'd most likely notice a big difference with a STB as they only have lower control arms (the older one's atleast) allowing the strut towers to flex alot more during turns.

 

[fixitman04]

took the bar off my celica and noticed a huge difference, but it is the factory triangulated bar that also bolts to the firewall. i like many others here dont think it would work on our cars, or any others for that matter, unless they are triangulated to some other point on the body.

 

[A. Jay]

These would do more:

Just a random google pic, don't know what car it goes on.

Here's a front one on an mkiii:

(posted without T701jz's permission :naughty

 

[IJ.]

Double A Arm car, plot the force vectors then tell me how a normal strut bar does anything and I'll be convinced.

The braces back to the firewall are bolted into the .9mm sheetmetal and again are just pivots so nope can't see them adding any measurable stiffness to the structure.

 

[A. Jay]

Double A Arm car, plot the force vectors then tell me how a normal strut bar does anything and I'll be convinced.

The braces back to the firewall are bolted into the .9mm sheetmetal and again are just pivots so nope can't see them adding any measurable stiffness to the structure.

Ugh... force vectors... they give me headaches. The only vectors I can deal with are in C++ lol.

Damn, I thought that finally someone on here had a working one. Just had a thought, maybe it's 'cause it's not neccessary (?). I remember that you don't have any strut tower bracing, or do you but it's "stealth"? lol

 

[IJ.]

Do a search on the Group A race cars if you want to see braces that actually work
(I don't run any as I don't believe extra chassis stiffness is needed on road tires)

More pics here.

 

[A. Jay]

Do a search on the Group A race cars if you want to see braces that actually work
(I don't run any as I don't believe extra chassis stiffness is needed on road tires)

[THUMB]http://www.turbosupras.com/images/Group%20A/Group%20A%20Engine%20Bay%201.jpg[/THUMB]

More pics here.

Thanks for the link, good stuff. It also reminded me that I had another contribution to make to the "supra owner" thread in OT.

Now this is a rear strut bar:

:biglaugh: