i have pretty good welding skills and was curious if i would get the same effect as an aftermarket strut bar, if i just weld a bar across the engine bar and trunk. I already have a design in mind, im not just welding a straight ugly bar accross.

 

YOu dont just weld on a bar... it has to be bolted to the suspension. You are stiffening it not the body.

 

Yeah, go for it. I am doing the same type of thing right now, but I am planning on having mine removable. If you do weld it directly to the strut towers it will be stiffer than anything that bolts on.

 

....uuummmm....no.

The strut tower bars limit the body flexing under suspension loading.

Your thinking is flawed.

 

thanks for the info

 

yea, just weld er up. it will be stiffer then the bolt on type. but rememeber, you might need to access the area below this bar, and you would have to cut it off if you do.
Shane

 

You are both wrong.

Like a sway bar, the function of a strut bar is to transfer loading forces from the loaded side of the car to the unloaded one. The strut bar transfers motion (flex) in the inside strut top to the outside strut top, keeping the two paralell with each other (and eliminating g-force-caused misalignment of the suspension). A strut bar that did not attach to the actual bolts on the strut top would be a total waste of effort. If you are turning hard enough to flex the actual frame of the car, the tires will let go long before you get significant deflection. You're just trying to control the strut top.

This is from the DC Sports web site:

You need to include the full strut top, including bolts, in any strut bar design.

 

you could make a 'stronger' version of a strut bar by making your own somehow, maybe thick tubular steel, but just make sure to use the same strut mount template as a normal strut bar and make it solid, 1 piece, not a 3 piece and it will be really stiff and most effective.

 

...nice post but wrong again.


It is VERY easy to put enough tire on a car to make the chassis flex enough to distort the suspension geometry.

the strut bars and strut tops perform different functions.

many strut tops contain NO organic materials and thus have the 'flex' capability of the slop in the bearing....and that's IT.

The strut top attach bolts just make installing and attaching the strut bar to the chassis easy.

many race cars have welded strut bracing.


AGAIN...flawed thought process.

 

um yea, the Uncle is never wrong dont mess with him

Shane

 

...yeah. That's amazing. Do you want your cookie now, or later? If you had bothered to read the quote from the DC Sports web site (a company which might know a bit about suspension and frame technology -- just a bit) you would see that a proper strut bar controls BOTH frame and strut top, because the strut top does indeed exhibit movement.

Please explain to me the role that "bearings" play in a strut tower assembly. Please include diagrams and exploded figures showing this role.

We're discussing a Subaru here. In this particular model, there is a LARGE PIECE OF RUBBER (certainly "organic") that is part of the strut tower assembly, and is indeed the damper at the strut top. It is this piece we are seeking to control, because it is much more likely to exhibit movement than the actual chassis wall itself. Am I going too fast for you? Do you honestly believe the body of the car will distort more than the piece of rubber with bolts stuck through it will? My guess is that the strut tower assembly will divert a few mm, while the actual strut top might deform as much as a centimeter. Which movement is more important to control?

Please demonstrate how these bolts are just there to make the attachment easy, by removing yours and then driving the car. That will prove definitively that those bolts are just there for decoration, and don't exhibit any type of movement that you might want to control with an actual strut bar.

Many race cars have TUBE WELDED FRAMES, ROLL CAGES AND COILOVER SUSPENSIONS. Comparing race cars to our beloved, factory-made Subaru is about as useless an analogy as any I have ever heard or seen on these fine forums. A racing setup bears no resemblance to a factory, streetable daily driver.

I'd give you credit for the same, but I'm not sure any actual thinking is taking place.

 

oh and even race cars have chassis and body roll buddy, gravity and g-force is stronger than a small piece of metal on rubber.

 

wow a good conversation going on here


i have seen a street/ralley car here in so cal with a plate on top of the strut housing, on the frame go to the fire wall

it was welded on

 

meilers is partly correct here. A strut Brace helps distribute the force being put onto the Strut Tower during cornering. When cornering hard, weight is pulling out on the strut tower which can eventually wear your car down (this could take quite a long time to happen). A strut bar helps the strut towers share the load. Taking weight off each strut tower can also prevent Negative camber.

I would also like to add that a Triangle design Strut brace (for the rear of course) will be superior to just having the single bar. A Front Strut bar is not really necessary unless you are doing serious racing. Dont try to make your own unless you're a professional. Hope this helps.

 

I don't see how I am "partly right" when everything you've said agrees with everything I've said 100%. You install a strut bar across the strut tops to prevent the change of angle across the top that would lead to negative camber, a camber change that is transmitted through the bolts and strut top. If you wanted to do the job right, you'd run a bar between the bolts as well as weld extra bars to the strut chassis and the firewall assembly -- but you would want to do it right, or you'd be redirecting the force to areas of the car not meant to handle the forces. Again, in a civilian automobile that isn't going to be taking corners at 149mph, you are never going to flex the car that hard (especially not with 8.5-inch wheels max, no matter how sticky the tires) to make such a strut "cage" necessary.