well, I finally got around to installing the Greddy front strut bar,
after much research I was expecting no change in handling.


WRONG!

for the comments Ive read about it providing little change, those were more factual, those stating it does nothing, either do not have one(and just keep relaying the same info they read from other non-users), have a crappy bar, or didnt install it right.

so this is how it went
after Church, Id thought Id swing by super autobac,
picked up the greddy front strut bar that ive been eyeing for a couple of weeks. so many negative posts about the front strut made me prolong my decision, but then I thought hey might as well try it out, and if it doesnt do anything, lesson learned and listen to the forum more often

I had to have the front end lifted during install to reach a bolt on the drivers side,
once installed I noticed the greddy logo is off centered, and wondered why it was like this, and a quick search on SL found out they were all like that. no sweat..

So I take the car out for a test drive, on the streets.. felt nothing.. at least anything I thought I mightve felt was chalked off as placebic. I was bummed, maybe what I read on the forums were true..

later on I take it out on the freeway... happy surprise moment number 1... speeding up on the on ramp during the turn accelerating the car felt level, it wasn't leaning like Im used to, steering wheel stayed still and the car felt more stable, no wobble in the steering wheel... this is pretty darn cool. By now Im happy with the upgrade, I was expecting no handling changes at all and iterally said out loud "hey! the car isnt leaning"

happy moment number 2.. when im on the freeway the steering wheel moves a little as I pass over bumps, but now the steering stays perfectly still no wobble wobble action...

and now third observation, the front end of the car felt more solid as Im driving at higher speeds, felt more block like rather than loosey goosey.

btw, these were observations Ive made driving on very familiar roads Ive driven on hundreds of times... SO there were changes I noticed.

The biggest improvement Ive noticed is when Im entering the onramp making a turn at high speed and the more stable steering wheel.

didnt change how the car handled completely like the rear sway did, but it did make the car feel more precise and stable when going fast , when going slow, I didnt notice anything, maybe just less steering wobble when going over little bumps. Also on a smaller note it seems the car doesnt rock side to side as much.

I can't wait to have the rear strut installed now!

thats all. Ill post pics later on.

EDIT: uploaded picture

dirty engine bay ftl


being a hinged bar isnt an issue, since the angle the where the hinges are set.. its not going anywhere.

 

ive always commented on here about the front strut bar making a difference. I noticed right away when installing my hotchkis front strut bar that my front end stayed down alot more than before! Good job!

 

i think it made different too

its kinda hard to notice but its little different handling

 

IMO its worth buying and installing, because it definately is not just for looks, it actually improves the cars handling at higher speeds.

 

i got my tanabe one a while back, and i totally felt a difference. but i also didn't pay that $100+ price tag because i bought it from a friend. I guess it's just a personal thing, some people feel a difference, some people didn't.

 

I saw the tanabe one but comparing the tanabe and the greddy, the greddy was definately more rigid and thicker. tanabe's was noticeably thinner so I opted for the greddy.

good to hear that the tanabe does the job too.

 

i had the most rigid strut bar EVER!!!! it was a custom strut bar made by i dont know why.. but that thing was a beast.. i had hard time to get it off :D:D:D so i changed to megan strut bar.. felt no difference... then when we changed my strut i took off the megan strut bar for a few days.. well.. i didnt felt nothing.... then after strut was installed.. i installed the strur bar back.. felt nothing... maybe i wasnt driving in those circumstances to feel the difference.. i dont know...

oh and.. megan racing is cheap.. and not that rigid.. when i got it installed.. everything was tighten up!! but i could push the middle down a little bit with my fingers....


well.. as i heard its not just megan strut bar.. try with your greddy... put two fingers on the middle and push it done.. is it moving?

 

they make a differences I'm glade you found out. .

 

RnB180... question: did you use the little risers that came with the bar? I used mine but with them, the washers don't thread 100% onto the chassis. just trying to see if everyone else used them or just bolted the bar directly to the strut tower without them

 

those arent washers, they're spacers. No I didnt use them, because it wasnt safe to use them, I had couple of mechanics install the bar and both agreed that the spacers were no good. It just wasn't safe enough, left too little threading left.

what I did do was lift the front end, placed the bar, attach the bolts, lowered the car, tightened the bolts, loosened the hinge, tightened the bolts even more, than retighten the hinge.

the bar was freakin, locked in rock solid afterwards, ...

 

yep the bar moves if I push down directly in the center with some pressure(unless you're working with heavy cast iron, flat aluminum will bend in the center across a flat bar), but common sense tells you just by looking at it, that the struts aren't going to move the bar that way, since the bar is angled out and flat, any motion the bars gonna have to work with is not up and down in the center of the aliminum shaft, its gonna probably has to prevent twisting, around the hinges and from the looks of it, it aint gonna twist very easily because the way its situated and where the pressure is placed. just look at the placement of the strut bolts and how the bar is flat and angled away from it.

it aint gonna bend the way the struts will naturally pull it.
it was already trickey to get the holes lined out on both sides, because there is very little play that the bar will give lined up with the bolts and this was before tightening them or lowered the car, so bar isn't going to shift anywhere. this becomes very apparent when you physically see and feel how the bar is installed.

is it better to have a bar that never flexes in the center? I dont think it matters much if the bar isn't going to bend the way its flexes anyway. Aluminum isn't made like iron, so lightweight has some trade offs.

is it better than not having one at all? Most definately.

 

I bought the Tanabe front strut bar too. I only noticed a difference because I installed the strut bar the same time I installed S-Techs and a rear sway bar, and I installed them withint the first week of owning the car. Of course i'll notice a difference, I did 3 suspension mods at once. But I do suppose the front strut bar makes a difference.

 

so how did you like the big upgrade?:D i want to hear some storys from you about this.

 

no big stories. everything that I noticed is in the first post.

cheers

 

I was doing some research and found the greddy tc here on motortrend\

http://www.motortrend.com/features/p.../photo_03.html

looks like they didnt use spacers either on their tc for the front strut bar.
However one thing I did notice is that the bar touches the brake fluid cap, does anyone know if it matters or not?

 

sorry i was talking to Air2TheThrown

 

I see,
anyhow after doing some research I noticed that a lot of the strut bars touch the brake fluid cap or sit very close to the container,

does anyone know if this will have a long term issue with the brake fluid container?

 

i felt the same 3 positive things as you had mentioned in your original post but i have the TRD and supposely it's abit more stiffer because it is one solid piece but it also goes to how one installs it.

 

They DC bar doesn't touch. the the way its designed it sits around the cap. you could try looking into that one. I think is the most solid one built. and looks the best.

 

no it will not hurt your cap I have had a strut bar on my tc for 3 years no problem it hits the cap a little