strut bars

projectmx316 · Post by **projectmx316** » March 8th, 2006, 3:40 pm

hey all i was woundering if strut bars make a big difference in the handleing to our cars cause i found a package deal for thr frount upper and rear upper bars and i was woundering if they are worth buying. and what is the actual point of them

neutral · Post by **neutral** » March 8th, 2006, 7:40 pm

Some good reading on different opinions and experiences here...

http://www.mx-3.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.ph ... strut+bars
http://www.mx-3.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.ph ... 525#257525
http://www.mx-3.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.ph ... strut+bars
http://www.mx-3.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.ph ... strut+bars

from my own experience fwiw, I'm a big fan of em. Best susp. mod for the $.

projectmx316 · Post by **projectmx316** » March 11th, 2006, 4:34 am

thanks man well i ordered a package from ebay and they are adjustable so how do i properly adjust them?

neutral · Post by **neutral** » March 11th, 2006, 7:58 am

Install them adjusted to a neutral position. Park the the car on a flat surface. From the strut bar, remove the circular end plates and install those first on the towers torquing those nuts to 34-46ftlb/47-62NM/4.7-6.4kgm. Then install the bar to the end plates, adjusting the threaded ends so the bar mounting hardware doesn't push out or pull inwards against the strut towers. Then tighten everything down in that "neutral" position. Now go for a drive thru some familiar twisties and smile.

Tunes67 · Post by **Tunes67** » March 11th, 2006, 7:17 pm

When you go for your test drive.. make sure you arent carrying anything in the hatchback

Tunes67

projectmx316 · Post by **projectmx316** » March 12th, 2006, 1:56 am

does anyone have a pic of the rear one installed with the plastics cut out i would like to see how its done by a pro

neutral · Post by **neutral** » March 12th, 2006, 7:25 am

These pics are from another thread on the subject as posted by Nd4SpdSe. They should answer any questions for a clean install.

Nd4SpdSe · Post by **Nd4SpdSe** » March 12th, 2006, 9:30 am

Hey, i though those pics looked familiar

It's not done by a pro, just someone who wanted to install them and had some time

FYI, that's the Corksport rear bar

projectmx316 · Post by **projectmx316** » March 13th, 2006, 1:28 pm

thanks alot for the help they are supposed to arrive today so i can put them on before work and i can take my 40 mile trip to see how they really work i just hope they work great so i dont have to slow down as much around corner cause i noticed the car doesnt like to corner hard

Nd4SpdSe · Post by **Nd4SpdSe** » March 13th, 2006, 2:56 pm

projectmx316 wrote:thanks alot for the help they are supposed to arrive today so i can put them on before work and i can take my 40 mile trip to see how they really work i just hope they work great so i dont have to slow down as much around corner cause i noticed the car doesnt like to corner hard

On mine it was my first actual performance upgrade. The car was still completely stock and I noticed a significant difference in cornering with the front one installed.

netcom · Post by **netcom** » March 14th, 2006, 12:58 pm

neutral wrote:Install them adjusted to a neutral position. Park the the car on a flat surface. From the strut bar, remove the circular end plates and install those first on the towers torquing those nuts to 34-46ftlb/47-62NM/4.7-6.4kgm. Then install the bar to the end plates, adjusting the threaded ends so the bar mounting hardware doesn't push out or pull inwards against the strut towers. Then tighten everything down in that "neutral" position. Now go for a drive thru some familiar twisties and smile.

I will have to disagree with this statement. I have used many upper strut bars on many different cars and have found that preloading inwards on the bar is your best bet.
Remember that during cornering, most of the weight of the vehicle is on the outside wheels. Since the tire meeting the road is being pushed inwards, the top of the strut is being pushed outwards - preloading the strut bar inwards means less movement at the top of the strut.

neutral · Post by **neutral** » March 14th, 2006, 5:38 pm

When installing, I'm paranoid about over-preloading and affecting the camber. May be overkill but when I adjusted the bar-ends inward to tighten the bar fitment, I only snugged em as much as I could tighten by hand, and then locked the bar in place. How much preload would you say you've applied with good results? Might I not be getting everything out of these bars with my current setup?

netcom wrote:
neutral wrote:Install them adjusted to a neutral position. Park the the car on a flat surface. From the strut bar, remove the circular end plates and install those first on the towers torquing those nuts to 34-46ftlb/47-62NM/4.7-6.4kgm. Then install the bar to the end plates, adjusting the threaded ends so the bar mounting hardware doesn't push out or pull inwards against the strut towers. Then tighten everything down in that "neutral" position. Now go for a drive thru some familiar twisties and smile.
I will have to disagree with this statement. I have used many upper strut bars on many different cars and have found that preloading inwards on the bar is your best bet.
Remember that during cornering, most of the weight of the vehicle is on the outside wheels. Since the tire meeting the road is being pushed inwards, the top of the strut is being pushed outwards - preloading the strut bar inwards means less movement at the top of the strut.

ovendenk · Post by **ovendenk** » March 14th, 2006, 9:38 pm

netcom wrote:I will have to disagree with this statement. I have used many upper strut bars on many different cars and have found that preloading inwards on the bar is your best bet.
Remember that during cornering, most of the weight of the vehicle is on the outside wheels. Since the tire meeting the road is being pushed inwards, the top of the strut is being pushed outwards - preloading the strut bar inwards means less movement at the top of the strut.

do you drive nascar? just wondering because when you turn left, the centripetal forces are pushing the car towards the right side and when you turn right, centripetal forces are pushing the car towards the left side.

what i'm getting at is that the 'outwards' direction will change depending on which way you are turning, so a neutral preload is necessary for day to day driving. however if you only turn in one direction (ie. nascar), then ya the inward preload makes sense.

netcom · Post by **netcom** » March 14th, 2006, 11:04 pm

Actually, either way applies, it doesn't matter if you are turning right or left, the outside of the vehicle is leaning away from the turn (ie: turn left and the car leans to the right ; turn right and the car is leaning to the left)and therefore causing the same tire pushing in - strut top leaning out, peloading both struts inward works the same either way.

As far as how much to preload, I would always tighten by hand and lock the nuts in.

This is the best way to set strut bars.

And no, I don't race Nascar but I raced cars for seven years in the Atlantic Grand National Rally Championships and this is how everyone set their strut bars.

projectmx316 · Post by **projectmx316** » March 15th, 2006, 5:03 am

but what would be best for everyday driving and the ocasanal hard corners