Front strut tower bar

[voorhees]

I heard this is not a big performance mod. But since I got one cheap I was wondering how to install it. Should I jack up the front before I do it or just leave it in park to do it? Someone here knows how to properly do this.

[Huffer]

Flat, level ground. Put the car in park/brake.

Socket wrench off the strut top bolts, install bar & handles, and reinstall nuts. Torque to around 80ft/lb (not sure, I just tighten them until I can't budge any further).

Done. Easy peezy.

[Cajual]

The proper torque spec for the strut top bolts is 14.5 ft-lbs.

[Perdue]

Just do it with the car parked. As Cajaul stated, the bolts on those strut tops don't need much torque at all. If you go tightening them down a lot, you risk snapping them...that's a much more in depth repair than the 10 minutes it'll take to put that bar on.

[ivwarrior]

Just do it with the car parked. As Cajaul stated, the bolts on those strut tops don't need much torque at all. If you go tightening them down a lot, you risk snapping them...that's a much more in depth repair than the 10 minutes it'll take to put that bar on.

What he said. Been there, done that, it ain't fun.

[Huffer]

I'm a weakling then! :lol:

[voorhees]

Thanks for the info guys, its all set now. Now I got to put on my Ebay intake

[rougeben83]

Anyone preload their strut tower bar? There's people on both sides of the fence about it. Supposedly it helps the bar be more responsive by being pre-stressed before the loads even begin to transfer when you start turning aggresively...

[Perdue]

Anyone preload their strut tower bar? There's people on both sides of the fence about it. Supposedly it helps the bar be more responsive by being pre-stressed before the loads even begin to transfer when you start turning aggresively...I'm not sure exactly what you mean, but I never understood how the bars actually worked considering that they aren't solid. I figure you could weld the ends to the bar once it's on so that it wouldn't move, but still yet.

[Huffer]

Preloading a strut bar (from what I understand of the term) basically means adjusting it so that it's a tad bit shorter than the "perfectly fitted" size. Only a smidge.

All this does is make it tough to take it off again :lol:

Preloading is pointless on the strut bar - the bars are designed to either transfer or resist kinetic movement of the chassis, which they do, preloaded or not.

Swaybar install, on the other hand, is supposed to be done preloaded.

Note that the new Spec C has strut DAMPERS, not braces.

[rougeben83]

Preloading the bar mean you unweight the front wheels by jacking up the front from the center (this can be done by jacking that plate underneath the front swaybar) then tigthening the length of the strut bar and torqueing it down onto the strut towers. Supposedly, when you rest the car back down and put weight back onto the wheels, the strut towers push up against the strutbrace, putting it in compression ("preloading" the bar).

There are two sides that have argued to the effectiveness of a strut bar in a car in general. I'm just interested to know if anyone has taken this extra step, and if there are any consequences to it...

[rougeben83]

Preloading a strut bar (from what I understand of the term) basically means adjusting it so that it's a tad bit shorter than the "perfectly fitted" size. Only a smidge.

All this does is make it tough to take it off again :lol:

Preloading is pointless on the strut bar - the bars are designed to either transfer or resist kinetic movement of the chassis, which they do, preloaded or not.

Swaybar install, on the other hand, is supposed to be done preloaded.

Note that the new Spec C has strut DAMPERS, not braces.

Wait, I thought you SHOULDN'T preload a swaybar when you install it? It could lead to one side being higher than the other or lead to unpredictable handling when you load up one side (like at turn-in to a corner)?

[scottzg]

its debated whether swaybars themselves do anything. Preload seems pretty inconsequencial, especially when you consider that its gonna keep the towers locked in whatever position they are in when the topmount nuts are tightened

[Wiscon_Mark]

its debated whether swaybars themselves do anything. Preload seems pretty inconsequencial, especially when you consider that its gonna keep the towers locked in whatever position they are in when the topmount nuts are tightened

you mean strutbars, right Scott?

[scottzg]

its debated whether swaybars themselves do anything. Preload seems pretty inconsequencial, especially when you consider that its gonna keep the towers locked in whatever position they are in when the topmount nuts are tightened

you mean strutbars, right Scott?
yeah....

[Huffer]

Wait, I thought you SHOULDN'T preload a swaybar when you install it? It could lead to one side being higher than the other or lead to unpredictable handling when you load up one side (like at turn-in to a corner)?

I have always installed my swaybars with the wheels up on ramps. No ill effects, and no need for alignments afterward.

[rougeben83]

Right...swaybars are not loaded up when the wheels are on the ground; when the wheels are in the air (like when jacked up) it is similar to when the suspension is being loaded up at a corner (except not one side is being compressed, the other extended, but both sides are extended), so you're getting preloading - that is if you can even get the mounting brackets bolted on with the wheels fully extended.

[Huffer]

Why would people try and fit a swaybar like that though? So much work! :lol: