I got tired of the crappy rear strut tower braces

bmoha2 · 05-08-2008, 04:34 AM

Every time I would tighten it down it just compressed more and more. Crappy design. I added braces to the top to eliminate any flexing. I know, I know it's kinda overbuilt but now it is very functional! I did both sides of the rear strut tower like this. I am not sure what gauge of steel I used but it was a little thicker than what the strut tower brace itself is made of. There's a little bit of surface rust, I should have cleaned it off a little better before I painted it.

romeen · 05-08-2008, 06:39 PM

Pictures?

I agree, pretty much all of the STB's I've seen for our cars are not very functional at all. This summer I wan't to weld the "hinges" where the bar is bolted to the mounting plate which should help a little bit. I would really like to make a triangulated front bar but I don't know if there is room for one.

RipperXX · 05-08-2008, 11:06 PM

still see no pics? But yea I bought some just for the brackets.

bmoha2 · 05-09-2008, 05:13 AM

Not sure what is going wrong with my picture posting, I haven't run into this problem before

asian312 · 05-09-2008, 07:03 AM

Not sure how much STB affect handling, but if I were to get one it would be a solid, non-adjustable design like the DC Sports or APR

romeen · 05-09-2008, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pagosa dsm

I have a 1st g,but I made front and rear 3 point strut bars. Take a look at my gallery

Nice work.

Although it seems like it would be better to have a mounting plate to distribute the force over the entire top of the strut tower as opposed to just a single bolt. I think the 2G's have a more crowded upper firewall making a triangulated bar more difficult. Did you do the welding yourself? Lookes good.

Did you notice a difference in handling, steering response, etc. after the install?

pagosa dsm · 05-09-2008, 07:15 PM

Thank you for the compliment.I know what you mean about the single bolt to the fire wall.The fire wall only had 1 bolt hole. The strut bar does not seem to move around .I did the fabbing on the bar,My friend is a professional welder.He tig welds all my mods.I am really lucky to have a friend that welds. I have done a lot of suspension mods on the car, every little bit helps.

bmoha2 · 05-09-2008, 07:37 PM

I think the Talon feels like a wet noodle without the strut tower braces installed.. I kinda like that the rear strut tower brace can be tightened in place. the front one can't be rotated in place. I do like the dc braces I think that if they would have been available when I got mine I would have bought them instead. They also look a lot lighter than the solid aluminum braces I have.

dsm-onster · 05-09-2008, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pagosa dsm

I have a 1st g,but I made front and rear 3 point strut bars. Take a look at my gallery

Yes. Excellent design to me. I love them. They can't move because there's no adjustment. And MULTIPOINT tacks. It turns into a roof truss when force is applied! Good job in static mechanics.

DGajre777 · 05-09-2008, 07:56 PM

You could get something like this. I have a polished bar like the one below for the rear and an APR bar in the front.

PieEyedPiper · 05-11-2008, 01:01 PM

Dee, how is that bar any more rigid?

It appears that the bar's mounting plates are built with two welds that run perpendicular to the load on the bar itself. I would imagine it would not take much for those thin pieces of metal to bend or flex.

DGajre777 · 05-11-2008, 02:02 PM

I've tried to bend those pieces of metal and they don't bend. I haven't done any testing on those, but I prefer one metal piece running perpendicular to the mounting plate than 3 or 4 metal pices between the bar and the mounting plate. Just a matter of preference, I guess.

Slippi84 · 05-12-2008, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DGajre777

You could get something like this. I have a polished bar like the one below for the rear and an APR bar in the front.

I have both the front and rear of that style. They're pretty rigid for ebay specials.

UofACATS · 05-12-2008, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PieEyedPiper

It appears that the bar's mounting plates are built with two welds that run perpendicular to the load on the bar itself. I would imagine it would not take much for those thin pieces of metal to bend or flex.

Looking closer, it looks like the two mounting points are L shaped, meaning they won't flex when tension is applied.

PieEyedPiper · 05-13-2008, 02:29 PM

It is hard to see (I still don't see it). But if thats the case then the flex would probably be minimal. Good call.

The front one looks plenty sturdy for a cheapy bar.

DGajre777 · 05-13-2008, 05:54 PM

The front bar has the L shaped bracket where the base of the L is welded to the base. The rear one doesn't have it welded to the base. It is just a piece of metal welded without the L base.

Slippi84 · 05-13-2008, 11:23 PM

WHich ones are you taking about cause both my L braces ae welded???

DGajre777 · 05-14-2008, 06:11 AM

Your rear bar looks exactly like the same one that I have. Have you noticed any difference during turns without the rear bar? I get a noticable difference without my front APR bar, but I don't think the rear one that I got from eBay does anything. Ofcourse, my suspension setup may be different that yours.

Slippi84 · 05-14-2008, 06:46 AM

I wish I could be more helpful with this but I did a full overhaul. I have a full coilover system and both bars since last time I drop so of course it's gonna handle diffrent.

pagosa dsm · 05-15-2008, 08:52 PM

just linking my pictures

front strut tower brace

DSM Jeff · 05-16-2008, 04:07 AM

pagosa dsm- how does the rear strut bar attach at the bottom of the body? Is it bolted through or is there a hat channel style piece? Looks really nice.