first of all, does a strut bar make a difference? its hard for me to believe that it can be so beneficial to suspension. i have a stock suspension right now, but plan on putting on some trd srpings and rear sway. how much will a strut bar help in both stock and modified situations? also, which is the best strut bar out? im leaning towards dc just cuz of the name.

 

i have stock suspension with DC bar. according to the butt dyno, it feels no difference but for 70$otd it look good in my hood.

 

i was thinking the same thing, springs,sway and strut. im sure the sway and springs make a better ride, the only reason i want the strut is for looks.

 

if comfort, nothing beats stock suspension

( springs - higher spring rate ) + ( thicker sway bar ) = stiffer ride

 

I beg to differ... the front strut bar tightens up steering and helps it respond more quickly.... it doesn't reduce body roll much though...

I actually bought the hotchkis strut bar and trd rear sway bar at the same time, but installed the strut bar first to see if there was any difference...I felt it immediately! Maybe I'm just sensitive to these things though...

 

you will really only feel a diff if you push you car enough so your chassis is flexing. taking a normal corner at 10 mph is not going to do it. A bumpy on ramp at like 70 or so you should notice it. For me the car was more predictable when full traction around a turn was not avail.

 

^ yeah what he said...I guess I just drive aggressively quite often...

 

The strut bar is a very minor performance difference, but it looks good.
The sway bars are more performance driven, but you can't see them unless you are really looking for them.

 

The strut bar, is a performance mod. It prevents body roll going around turns aggressively. Of course the sway bar would be a better mod performance-wise, but it makes sense to get both.

strut and sway > just sway.

There is a noticable difference with the strut bar installed if you corner aggressively. The sway bar will just make it even better.

 

I just installed the DC Sports Front Strut Tower Bar in my '06 Scion tC. I drive the streets and parkways of NY everyday and i feel the difference. Anyone who lives n NY and drives on the Southern State Pkwy will feel the difference with that strut bar installed. I think it was a great investment for me. Of course i'm going to get the swaybars and coilovers also.

 

Well said. I was there Easter weekend coming from the Hamptons and I too have the DC Sport Bar. I'm glad to see I'm not alone in feeling the difference.

 

a strut bar does practically nothing for body roll, that is not its real purpse. When the chasis flexes (especially on a macpherson strut/unibody design) the strut towers move in relation to one another. This means that your camber is affected since the tower moving changes the camber. This, in turn, effects the traction component since your tires are no longer aligned properly with the pavement. Tying them together with a strut bar reduces this effect, thus helping out front end handling.

On the tC, the strut towers are practically part of the firewall, so they are tied together a little more than some cars stock. Now, before someone goes on about how sheet metal is so weak and provides little support (like I have heard before), we are talking tensil strength more than bending strength, so there is some support there in this area. However, a strut bar will help even more.

So the effects are probably not gargantuan for the tC, but they are there when you start pushing the car.

So in the area of alignment control in turns, the strut bar is helping. In the area of body roll, you are looking more at a sway bar. That is the main purpose of sway bars, to remove some of the independence in the suspension to prevent body roll. Too stiff will get rid of a HUGE amount of body roll, but will also make the car start to handle worse over bumpy surfaces.

 

where's the cheapest place to get the dc strut bar from?

I can't imagine people wouldnt feel the difference from using a strut bar. i drive the merrit parkway a good amount and in massachusetts we have a lot of curvy roads. i cant wait to buy a strut bar.

 

My only suspension mod is to lean into the turn.

 

ditto

 

IT is always so pleasant to hear real advice given on a suspention forum. Some had part of the answer, some were a bit misguided. Engifineer was right on the money

Rick

 

ENGINFINEER IS ALWAYS ON THE MONEY

 

Nobody knows the cheapest place to get one of these puppies huh? DC Front Strut bar

 

That's just because he beat me to it!

 

Sorry I'm real late on the repost guys. I haven't been on in a while. I got my DC Strut Bar from ebay actually. $79!!!