Ebay strut bars
 

For anyone who is planning on using one, expect two issues.

1. the holes that mount the plates to the strut tower may be "off". One of them i had to "persuade" to fit between the stud and the lip of the circle center.

2. the bar likes to barely hit the hood. I solved this problem with a hammer and a block of wood to avoid damaging the finish. This worked out well. Otherwise you hood will bulge funny if you shut your hood.

who was the vendor? So others can avoid him/

i am not sure, BUT tomorrow ill put up an installed picture of the bar to show the "style" since i would be sure that the bar can found in multiple communist approved dealers.

i wouldn't buy those, i'd just buy the corksport ones. hehe
Front

http://corksport.com/store/large/a5c...ar_-Front.html

rear
http://corksport.com/store/large/a5c...Bar_-Rear.html

For $178.00

i had the ebay one laying around. so i just went for it.

I wouldn't buy either.. anything that has a bolt on mounting point will "give" in the corners..

you want a solid bar.. kinda like the old Racing beat bar.

looks good, however something about the way the bar sits makes me not like its ability to withstand the flex.

the joints apear to be the lowest part of the bar which in turn would just cause for more flex. I would think.

from what i know about mechanics, i would say its probably pretty effective. The pin setup will allow for rotational forces, but a lateral force will be transfered through the pin without motion.

im talking about where the bar connects to the bracket.. that bolt there is what will allow that bar to "pivot" inside of the bracket.

i know what your talking about. google some information about statics in mechanics.

well I have personally tracked by marking and by observing wear marks in those bars after doing a course day.. the bars do pivot.

ill throw a grease pen on a few areas and see what happens

It'll pivot there and not provide as much rigidity as a fully welded bar. It'll allow movement of the strut bars in motion with each other, IE: it will allow the struts to move independently and the energy transfer will not be as high as with a solid bar. That being said it will transfer some energy, to the point where it will stiffen the ride and I believe (though I haven't validated the claim) will cause under-steer on the corners (unless you place a similar bar in the rear).

As for the mechanics direct forces applied to the pin will transmit IE: x-axis and y-axis will easily transfer through the bar. Unfortunately a lot of the energy being produced in the turns is coming from Moments, things which will not transfer through the bar. As the car moves through the corner, the inner wheel will have a tendency to raise while the outer wheel will have a tendency to plant. A larger sway bar (by that I mean a bigger moment arm, so the sway bar end links would be a better thing to upgrade before the bar) will counter this and transfer some of the energy from the outer wheel to the inner wheel and forcing it to plant the inner wheel with added energy. As you continue to go through the corner the body starts to roll. A larger sway bar will counter this as will stiffer springs however the way our car is set up (in stock form) leaves an incomplete "box" to absorb the energy that will deform the suspension.

Installing the strut brace bar will keep the orthagonal forces in check, however any rotational forces about the pin will not be kept in check. This is the main benefit of a welded bar. The solid bar in effect distributes all the deforming energy to the wheels. This means more grip and less body roll (assuming you have a suspension setup to handle it). A three point welded or solid bar will provide even more resistance to deformation and thus provide more energy to the wheels.

Of consequence the pins in both sides will only stop the deforming orthagonal forces for so long. For principle I'm going to assume that the y-axis is strictly vertical and are the struts. When one strut is forced to ascend the y-axis (during a high-g turn) the location of the strut bar will want to move up as well before the tensile strength in the supporting members exerts the equaling force to push it back down. With a hinged strut bar the other side of the car isn't deforming (nearly as much) and so the bar is able to move up with strut around the fixed point of the bar on the opposite strut. This does nothing to quell the energy that is deforming the location of the struts and is not transmitting that energy to the wheels. This however is not the case with a solid or welded bar.

Just some food for thought.

Did racing beat discontinue their strut bars? I can't find them on their website anymore.

I also have that crappy strut bar on my car. It rubbed on my alternator so I took it off. I have a sweet CP Racing 4 point rear strut tower bar though.