Skyraider

Is the front strut tie bar an effective addition or is it more eye candy under the hood? I'll be installing the front springs next weekend and since it's apart I'm curious if it worth the bucks?

Gordon

pyroman131

So far, the general consensus is that strut bars on the xB don't do much for the car. It's mostly a placebo: persons feel the car handles better after installing it.

I'm certain that if you drove your car to the limits of its cornering capabilities, you would notice an increase in handling with the strut bar. But for daily driving, I would not recommend it.

Instead, you would benefit more from installing a sway bar. TRD's rear sway bar is an excellent addition for noticeable handling improvement. For a few dollars more, you can purchase the Hotchkis Sway Bar package which includes both a front and rear sway bar designed to work together. The reason I would recommend the Hotchkis is for the weight: it's lighter and stiffer than the TRD bar.

TrevorS

iTrader: (1)

I have a front tower strut brace and I agree with the above. It surely doesn't hurt, but for normal driving, it's hard to conclude it provides much benefit. Whereas a rear sway bar provides decided benefit !

Skyraider

Thanks for the input folks. I had imagined that it was more eye candy for a DD, more effective for perhaps a full on racer. Guess I'll spend the money on something else, namely the rear sway bar!

Gordon

TrevorS

iTrader: (1)

Enjoy dude! The rear sway bar makes a dramatic difference -- once you install one, you'll wonder what took you so long ! If you also installed lowering springs (don't have to be a deep drop), it's a completely different car !

kingofthecrate

iTrader: (1)

The front strut bar makes a tremendous difference in body flex and anyone that tells you different is full of it. Will that make your car handle better? possibly.. However it WILL make your car feel like its built more solid.. thats good enough for me to have that feel when going over bumps, or train tracks, or driveways at an angle

AAG

iTrader: (1)

My personal experience after adding the TRD front strut brace is that it does help slightly. I had my TRD shocks/springs/rear sway bar prior for over 2 years and finally found one on ebay for a reasonable price to complete my TRD suspension.

The front end did tighten up a bit and turn-in improved. What shocked me about it was it almost completely got rid of my a-pillar creak (never took it in for the TSB, didn't want the dealer effin with my car).

Is it worth the price? I personally would not pay msrp for it, luckily I found one on ebay bnib and won the auction at $95 shipped. Well worth it at that price. It doesn't make a huge difference like the rear sway bar, but there's def a noticeable difference there.

kingofthecrate

iTrader: (1)

Thats the mod I want to do next but I am not sure if I want to go hotchkis for front and rear sway or just the rear.. Is TRD the only ones that make the rear sway?

xbdition

This thread is old, but thought I'd add my two cents. I just installed an ebay strut bar, and I'm quite pleasantly surprised by the difference it has made. I was very skeptical about it doing much, but was hoping for some tangible difference. It has tightened up the steering and does make the car feel more solid. Well worth the $40 shipped price.

If the TRD bar works better because (at least looks like) it is a more solid unit, I'd feel confident in buying it, save for the high price.

roggie_76

When I test drove my 2011 xB (trd: sway, strut, springs & 19s) back to back with a stock 2012 last week there was a huge difference. Mine was much more solid than stock. Definitely not as comfy, but it felt a bit more connected to the road.
With that being said, I'm sure that was all of my add ons working together. And only one of those items might not make as big of a difference.

dubeexb06

I will be doing my install of my strut bar tomorrow !!

The tighter the better !!!!