vote strut tower brace or no???

[WMCCjames]

its a good hand support when your towering over your car trying to work on it.

LOL...you are right, it does have a use!!!

i had a 98 t/a that had more creaks than a 140 year old woman and the strut tower brace eliminated about 90% of them

[greenmachine]

the car feels more solid hitting speed bumps, doesnt creak as much but thats about it.

x2, my front end feels alot more solid with it on. helped a few rattles with me as well

[iroc85blu]

its a good hand support when your towering over your car trying to work on it.

[MyBadZ28]

The only real experince i have had with it making a big differance was on my mustang i think that without it the car would have been totaled. instead it bent the front end in front of it. So i have seen it save a car i guess.

[ZeeVert]

I believe there was an improvement in mine after I put one on. It's hard to explain, but I'm convinced that it reduced cowl shake. But I also have a convertible, and body stiffness sucks anyway.

I'm less excited about having it for appearance sake. I think it adds nothing there.

I've worked with suspension engineers on a number of programs, and the loads on the towers are pretty high. There is always a concern about inboard flex. (on the other hand, if it moved a lot, wouldn't the fender start touching the hood edge?)

The goods; it certainly can't hurt.

Bottom line... it's your car and your money.

[BP_Z28]

I say in 50/50...

If it was me..I would shed the $100 on something else instead of a brace

[hgffrank]

I think that on the 4th gens the STB isnt as big of a deal, but on the 3rd gens it seems we suffer from a lot more flex. Especially when considering drivers of my weight class. For typical street driving an STB isnt going to provide much benifit, but when you start dancing with the curves is when the STB starts to show. Most people think of them as a simple brace, but when you start thinking about driving on that unseen edge and the predictability of your ride, thats when the STB's become necessary. They are a great addition to help with predictability. Any flex at all is going to change suspension geometry and because of that, its more difficult to push the car to that invisible edge and maintain it. but once that flex is removed you can really push the car KNOWING where the edge is and KNOWING its not going to change. No it doesnt remove all variables, but to remove even one variable from the equation is a huge benefit in my book. I am one of the poorest people on this board probably and yet I have made it a point to get an STB for my car.

Most people dont remember the problems with 3rd gens especially in the early years. Did you know there is actually a GM TSB for the early 3rd gens which was to address stress cracks on the inner strut tower caused by tower flex. Did you know the only thing GM recommended is to weld up the crack and nothing more. Sure sounds like a half ass attempt to cover up a problem becuase they didnt want to admit that the car was a structural nightmare. The 3rd gens, ESPECIALLY the early years, NEED an STB. There are no doubts in my mind. After reading that one STB which is scary as hell, considering the stress crack is on a component which is vital for vehicle control and performance. GM designers should have taken the blame and fixed the problem properly instead of throwing a bandaid on it.

If anyone is curious of the TSB then go to firebirdnation.com and look for it in the tech article section where I placed it. Just search my username and you can find it that way too.

And one more thing, if GM had stress crack problems on the early 3rd gens, do you really think the rest are much if any better? Which the suspension rework for 4th gens I dont think they have the same issues, but I wouldnt be surprised if they do. GM has always had a habit of hiding problems instead of addressing them.

[klrlt1]

Make some power then worry about a stb. do subframes tighten her up a bit..

[zmanrc]

Have the Hotchkis polished one on the '01. Looks great. Car seems to follow ruts in the road a lot less after we installed it

i vote do it just because it makes the engine bay look a lot better i think. i doubt it does much if anything for performance

[Yoeasy69]

the STB does nothing for body roll, nor does it help with handling..

it is for high HP uses to help keep the car straight and the frame from twisting.

[Formula Z]

ive used strut bars on most of my talons/eclipses and have always liked them. not sure how much of a difference they make, but it cant hurt, plus i got mine for free. (thanks larry)

[lozanoa11]

new sway bars would be a better bet but they(strut tower braces) do look cool

They look nice to me!