what does a Strut bar do?

Makes the body more stable during turns and less body roll...

AKA Better handling

aight thanks

your welcome

the strut bar makes the struts move less up and down, where a sway bar keeps the struts from moving side to side. Thus better handling around turns. (if i remember correctly)

well what keeps the sway bar from swaying? :D

bolts. :lol:

well actually, a strut bar ties the struts together to stop the strut towers from flexing durring hard cornering. Sway bars are actually anti-sway bars. They tie the left and right sides of the suspension together to reduce body roll.

i have a pet peeve with strut bars. i haven't seen a tC in person since they aren't out in dallas yet but from the pics, the strut towers look like they are built close to the firewall. if that's the case, a strut bar is NOT going to give you any noticeably better handling. They are nothing more than a bar to lean on when your working on your car. Now if you have something like a fox body or an old 280Z, then yeah, a stut bar would be worth the money since the strut towers are located so far away from the firewall.

my $0.02. :)

i have a pet peeve with strut bars. i haven't seen a tC in person since they aren't out in dallas yet but from the pics, the strut towers look like they are built close to the firewall. if that's the case, a strut bar is NOT going to give you any noticeably better handling. They are nothing more than a bar to lean on when your working on your car. Now if you have something like a fox body or an old 280Z, then yeah, a stut bar would be worth the money since the strut towers are located so far away from the firewall.

my $0.02. :)

you would actually be surprised at how much flex you have around the firewall

I have a evo fusion on my elantra, and i noticed a difference...

I HAVE A NEUSPEED STRUST BAR ON MY CIVIC AND I DEF. NOTICE A DIFFERENCE

I just had Hotchkis sway bars installed. Would it be wise to put on a strut bar too? Any noticeable difference if I get the strut bar too? :?:

just stating my opinion on strut bars when they are located so close to the firewall. i bet some of you guys would notice a difference in 2-3whp on the butt dyno huh? :wink:

well actually, a strut bar ties the struts together to stop the strut towers from flexing durring hard cornering. Sway bars are actually anti-sway bars. They tie the left and right sides of the suspension together to reduce body roll.

yup, the strut bar reduce body flex(as in the car :lol: , not you) in hard turns, but does not reduce body roll. sway bars connect one side of the wheel then to the chassis then to the other side of the wheel distributing the weight almost evenly to both wheels instead of only the outside wheel in a hard corner. which gives it more balance and thus less body roll.

as for my civic, i have front and rear strut bars, and front and rear tie bars. they did ok by themselves. i did notice better steering response. i have a 92 civic dx. didnt come with factory sways... :cry:

just stating my opinion on strut bars when they are located so close to the firewall. i bet some of you guys would notice a difference in 2-3whp on the butt dyno huh? :wink:

LOL :lol:

http://www.mcgeorgeparts.com/PartPictures/24395%20tC_TieBar_311x233.jpg

Reduce chassis flex on your Scion tC with the Hotchkis Tuning strut brace.
The Scion Hotchkis Performance three-piece brace rigidly links the top mounting points of the two front MacPherson strut towers. The extruded brace has a brushed aluminum finish.

Ok, I've gotta ask... I just picked up my xA and the question is: do brands matter? Obviously, the material/style are important, but has anyone had any luck with any particular brand? I'm looking at something around $100, so possibly the JIC Type-I or ScionFx....

yup, the strut bar reduce body flex(as in the car :lol: , not you) in hard turns, but does not reduce body roll. sway bars connect one side of the wheel then to the chassis then to the other side of the wheel distributing the weight almost evenly to both wheels instead of only the outside wheel in a hard corner. which gives it more balance and thus less body roll.

as for my civic, i have front and rear strut bars, and front and rear tie bars. they did ok by themselves. i did notice better steering response. i have a 92 civic dx. didnt come with factory sways... :cry:

prolly the best and simplest answer you could use. The swaybar acts almost like a spring between the left and right sides of the suspension. Some are even available as adjustable in order to change how much load is present. the only thing i can add to the strut bar is correct installation. once you loosen up the bolts for the strut assembly. You should set your bar in place and reinstall the nuts back into place loosely. Once you get to this point you should next lift the vehicle up so the front wheels are no longer on the ground. At this point is when you should take the time to tighten the bolts on top of the strut tower bar clamping it in place tighten to suggest torque spec. now the bar is correctly preloaded to keep the strut towers from turn in. if you have a bar now take it out to a out of the way area where you can have some spirited cornering. then do my recomendation, tell me its not a positive experience. cornering characteristics will actually change. love to hear your experiences with the change. Happy cornering.............. also we0 have a 92 Cx H/B shop vehicle with oodles of suspension Mods so i know how much fun your prolly just getting into with your civic.


BTW not recommended for pizza delivery drivers...

^^ yeah, the chassis should flex a tiny bit towards the center of the car when you lift the front wheels up(if i am correct) so it might be a little bit easier if the strut bar you are installing is nonadjustable.

hehe, i am not very good at all at explaining details... :cry:

and the adjustable sway bars?? i think you are refering to BMW. correct? man, they make some good stuff :)

BTW not recommended for pizza delivery drivers...

well, actually the strut bars and tie bars are the only suspension mods. i didnt go into the deep end. something simple to satisfy my hunger. 8) this is my daily driver for work, not for autocrossing(if it was for autocrossing. i would get more into suspension mods)

8)

i have a pet peeve with strut bars. i haven't seen a tC in person since they aren't out in dallas yet but from the pics, the strut towers look like they are built close to the firewall. if that's the case, a strut bar is NOT going to give you any noticeably better handling. They are nothing more than a bar to lean on when your working on your car. Now if you have something like a fox body or an old 280Z, then yeah, a stut bar would be worth the money since the strut towers are located so far away from the firewall.

my $0.02. :)
I've read that the front strut towers on the tC are directly connected to the firewall and A-pillars to keep them from flexing. I doubt that a strut bar would make much difference, if any, on the tC. I'll probably end up getting one at some point just for looks. I certainly wouldn't get the dealer one (too expensive and doesn't look cool enough.)