I installed the OBX Type-GX for the front yesterday and I'm not happy with it. Brackets are poorly made and bend easily. Installing/adjusting it was a whore. Is this the case with most front strut bars? Can't "twist" to adjust the bar (like the rear) to get enough tension pushing the strut towers outwards.

Anyway, I'm looking for alternatives/recommendations. Please post pics of the bar you use, name of bar and price.

Thanks in advance.

i reccomend www.roadraceengineering.com they make a greta strut basr for $99 that is actually functional and not cheap ebay crap. I'm planning on getting one soon.

I have a Neuspeed bar that goes along the firewall. Can't find a pic though.

APR Flex Control Bar, $150, www.9secondracing.com. The ends are available in anodized blue or red.



More info here - http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=223859

my95tsi said:

i reccomend www.roadraceengineering.com they make a greta strut basr for $99 that is actually functional and not cheap ebay crap. I'm planning on getting one soon.

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what exactly about the ebay cheapies make them "non-functional"?
excluding our obx above that is seemingly non-adjustable.

DGajre777 said:

Yeah, I want to know this too. The ebay cheapies do the same thing most other strut bars do, they tie the chassis together to prevent flex.

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yea mine cost 15 bucks shipped on ebay 4 yrs ago.. and so far it is handling great.

Heres mine...


Its a Road Race Engineering one, have it on the rear too.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mega...33591QQitemZ8067269764QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V

Megan bars. Look and feel pretty sturdy. Hope you didn't want installed pics

There was a thread on here a while back saying how those "adjustable" strut bars do no good, something a long the lines of flexing; and the proper ones are the one piece solid design with no place to adjust and what not. Sort of like sway bars. From what I know the only ones that are like that are the discontinued neuspeed, and the DC sports.

Here's my Stillen front bar... Bolts in really nicely and is extremely soild, but you can see the black mark where the bar hits the hood right near the oil cap and timing cover... I can't tell if it's causing any problems or not...

theycallmebruce said:

Can't "twist" to adjust the bar (like the rear) to get enough tension pushing the strut towers outwards.

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That's a painful, roller-coaster of a sentence.

First, the bar would only be under tension if it is pulling the towers inwards. Pushing out on the towers would put the bar in compression.

Second, you want the bar to hold the towers in, so you want it under tension. The purpose of the bar is to keep the outside wheel from gaining positive camber in a turn from the top of the tower bending outwards.

So, you have the correct physics term -- i.e., tension -- but it sure sounds like you are installing the bar in such a way to make it cause problems instead of help.

- Jtoby

jtmcinder said:

First, the bar would only be under tension if it is pulling the towers inwards. Pushing out on the towers would put the bar in compression.

Second, you want the bar to hold the towers in, so you want it under tension. The purpose of the bar is to keep the outside wheel from gaining positive camber in a turn from the top of the tower bending outwards.

So, you have the correct physics term -- i.e., tension -- but it sure sounds like you are installing the bar in such a way to make it cause problems instead of help.

- Jtoby

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so are you suggesting that a custom shop-made strut bar without proper know-how would not be beneficial? it would seem that a custom shop-made bar that not only attaches to the two towers but also to the firewall would be "more" beneficial than the usual two-point strut bars.

with such a custom-made bar, one could request a certain type of material used, the thickness of the tubing, the amount of hollowness of the bar, the number of bends in the tubing, the angle of the bends, etc...

Do they do anything? I have one sitting here brand new that i got for free but i am reluctant to put it on because it just gets in the way when wrenching. I will only put it on if several people can confirm a noticeable difference in handling. If not, it's up for sale.

RedTurboEclipse said:

There was a thread on here a while back saying how those "adjustable" strut bars do no good, something a long the lines of flexing; and the proper ones are the one piece solid design with no place to adjust and what not. Sort of like sway bars. From what I know the only ones that are like that are the discontinued neuspeed, and the DC sports.

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The APR one that I have is not adjustable. The bar bolts on to the ends with bolts.

jtmcinder said:

Second, you want the bar to hold the towers in, so you want it under tension. The purpose of the bar is to keep the outside wheel from gaining positive camber in a turn from the top of the tower bending outwards.

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From everything that I have read, I always thought that the front bar pull the towers in (pulled inwards) and the rear bar should be pushed out/outwards to keep the rear wheels as flat as possible during cornering.

Are you saying that if the bar is adjustable both the front and rear should be installed the hold the towers in??

Both the front and rear should be under tension, because, in both cases, they are supposed to keep the upper end of the outside suspension from pulling outwards. The assumption behind STBs is that the lower arms of the suspension are sufficiently braced, so the lower end of the outside will not push in. This is actually true for the rear of a 2G AWD, because that great, honking subframe is quite solid. It is not true in the front, which is why a lower front stress bar is equally important. (RRE makes the only OTS lower front bar that I know of and I like it a lot.)

- Jtoby

ps. DSMunknown: I don't "suggest" things; I say them bluntly and usually explain why. There are plenty of threads about triangulated STBs which is where I have commented on such.

Mine...runs up along the firewall and connects on the bolts(one on each side) directly to the rear of the strut tower bolts

what brand is that?

Zex4g63 said:

what brand is that?

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looks like a Neuspeed, which they stopped making a few years ago

RamenPride said:

looks like a Neuspeed, which they stopped making a few years ago

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Yup, it is. I should've said that when I posted the pic...sorry about that

Always looks good when it flows with the color scheme of the car...

jtmcinder said:

Both the front and rear should be under tension, because, in both cases, they are supposed to keep the upper end of the outside suspension from pulling outwards. The assumption behind STBs is that the lower arms of the suspension are sufficiently braced, so the lower end of the outside will not push in. This is actually true for the rear of a 2G AWD, because that great, honking subframe is quite solid. It is not true in the front, which is why a lower front stress bar is equally important. (RRE makes the only OTS lower front bar that I know of and I like it a lot.)

- Jtoby

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Interesting. So to have a good setup, one would need front and rear upper strut bars and a lower front bar.

Bingo. But to complete the thought, stay away from lower rear bars for 2G AWDs. They are totally worthless for anything other than ballast, same as any brace with a curve or a piece that goes up and down or front to back.

- Jtoby

My RRE isnt adjustable in front, just in back, its one SOLID pipe in the front

Why is the lower rear bar useless on 2g awd? But not on fwd?