strut tower brace question

[Spln_Hrd]

me(96 tsi awd) or my brother(95 gst) were thinking of getting some strut tower braces after seeing how cheap they are on ebay. i was wondering what i need to look for to make sure i don't get a pos. i am not a fan of the look, i just wanted it because a friend put one on the front on his laser awd and said it got rid of alot of roll, i am not sure of the brand he got.

what do i need to look for in a strut tower brace as in for perfromance inhancement? i don't want an ugly one but the looks other than that mean nothing. are the ebay ones any good?

 

[bigemrich]

I am getting ebay ones. They can't be too hard to make or be effective. It is a bar that holds either side of the car together.

--Kyle

 

[Spln_Hrd]

i am thinking the same thing as you.

anyone used a cheap ebay strut tower bar?
also should i get the rear one to?

 

[speedracer91]

the rear has an upper and lower one.

 

[kahlilj]

I was wondering about those strut bars on eBay. Has anyone else purchased any? the sellers for my car (1G, 2.0L NT) are: Racing Accessories, Xtrememotor4race & Tuningpros. Anyone familiar with these vendors?

Anyway, their links are below. Let me know what you think:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...d=1,1&item=7992702623&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...d=1,1&item=7992319453&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...d=1,1&item=7992699511&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...&item=7989799310&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT

(i think the last one, MR, is Megan Racing. read lots of positive feedback on them!)

 

[Arod]

I can't imagine that a strut bar on the rear of a N/T car would make a huge difference. As they just have a straight axle and the struts don't do anything to keep the axle centered under the car or keep the wheels upright. All they do is push down. I'm not saying it won't make a little difference just not a huge difference.

 

[99gst_racer]

A strut bar is a strut bar. They all work the same regardless of brand or price. Some are of higher quality than others, but they all perform equally. Most people use the eBay ones.

I personally don't like them. I don't notice any difference with using them and it makes it more of a PITA to get to some parts of the motor. I was constantly removing mine to work under the hood. To me, it was more of a nuisance than a performance part. Just my .02.

 

[ColdAudio]

A strut bar is a strut bar. They all work the same regardless of brand or price. Some are of higher quality than others, but they all perform equally. Most people use the eBay ones.

I personally don't like them. I don't notice any difference with using them and it makes it more of a PITA to get to some parts of the motor. I was constantly removing mine to work under the hood. To me, it was more of a nuisance than a performance part. Just my .02.

I find it to be a bit easier on a 1G, especially if you get rid of everything you don't need beforehand, like A/C, ABS, battery in trunk, etc. Clean engine bay is the way to go!

Should one stick with the name brand ones such as Megan Racing or will the ten dollar ones be the same?

 

[chico904]

As said before, the ten dollar one will be just as good unless you are leaning more towards the appearance factor. In that case it's usually just the name stamped on, or just a sticker. I'd go with an ebay special.

 

[FORMONTOYA]

the 2g lower one is absolutely a useless waste of money. look underneath before you by it...the left/right lower control arm is already tied together. i did not look before i bought mine a long time ago. oh well, it was only $20.

jim

 

[PieEyedPiper]

the 2g lower one is absolutely a useless waste of money. look underneath before you by it...the left/right lower control arm is already tied together. i did not look before i bought mine a long time ago. oh well, it was only $20.

jim

*crawls under his car*

 

[kahlilj]

thanks for the responses folks. after doing some more research i'm inclined not to do anything with front end. based on 2 things: my own experience (i've noticed rear end sway on more than one occassion 2 times resutling in me spinning out & once causing accident); & an article i just read on RRE's site about front lowers stress bars not being that useful for 1G cars (makes me think strut bars wont make significant difference either): http://www.roadraceengineering.com/eclsuspension.htm

in addition, reading other's posts most seem to feel the rear strut/sway bars have been helpful. sooooo....has anyone bought from those vendors: Racing Accessories, Xtrememotor4race or Tuningpros?

 

[laserdsm]

I got the front and rear strut bars from ebay for like $23.00. works great

 

[TOAORM]

I bought the cheap ebay ones and they seemed to work good. I have never tried any different one so I can't really compare. But i took off the front strut bar one day and did notice a difference in steering around town, so I say go for it.

 

[kahlilj]

I got the front and rear strut bars from ebay for like $23.00. works great

which one's did you get? which vendor or brand of strut?

 

[laserdsm]

which one's did you get? which vendor or brand of strut?

how do you put a website link in your post i cant figure it out. ANYWAYS I tried to find the same deal that i got. but i couldn't. I did find both cheap (sold separately) SORRY
it was like $19.00 with $4.00 shipping. here is the exact same thing i got except front only instead of pair . Same price though. go to ebay then to item number #799211118

 

[kahlilj]

how do you put a website link in your post i cant figure it out. ANYWAYS I tried to find the same deal that i got. but i couldn't. I did find both cheap (sold separately) SORRY
it was like $19.00 with $4.00 shipping. here is the exact same thing i got except front only instead of pair . Same price though. go to ebay then to item number #799211118

inserting link is easy: copy link text, then paste in message box area. when you do make sure you have empty spaces before and AFTER the link text (i prefer to use an entire empty line).

cant find that item number in ebay. it says it does not exist (as opposed to "item no longer available" or similar indication that it was there at one time but no longer). are you sure that's the right item number?

 

[laserdsm]

sorry maybe i forgot a number




http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Stru...993240334QQcategoryZ33591QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem or something try this

 

[kahlilj]

sorry maybe i forgot a number




http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Stru...993240334QQcategoryZ33591QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem or something try this

kool... that is one of the ones i listed in my first message. thanks for your help

 

[96DsmTunr]

I have a Megan front tower brace because it was like 40 bucks and I needed to put my order over 100 bucks to get free shipping. I like it and it doesn't look to bad in the engine bay. It seemed to help a little bit but I think the Type Flex and RM sway bars did a little better job haha. If ya looking to style the megans look pretty kewl and come in blue/red/gun metal and silver.

 

[DIS1KRAZY]

I got a DC Sports one it works fine for me

 

[UnsafeAtAnySpd]

A lot of the cheap bars you can literally bend by leaning on them. I would think that these would tend to not aid in chassis rigidity very much.

 

[Hideki]

I know this is an old thread, but anyone here own the Carbing strut tower bar? It's north of $300, but it looks serious compared to the cheap Fleabay ones

 

[Wildman95GS-T]

If you do not like the cheep ones on e-bay and want a high quality strut bar, check out RRE, i don't think you will find a better one. The upper front is all you need

 

[96DsmTunr]

Who are using the rear tower braces? Do they help out very much? I have my Tein flex's on the way with edfc and I have rm sway bars.