is strut bar a strut bar is a strut bar?

[boOmbaa]

jus wanna kno if it really matters what kind of strut bars or sway bars you get.. I can get a APC strut bar for bout $100 (can) sounds good to me.. or is it a better idea to get a nice and expensive one?.. talk to me!! (its my first post):)

[Takumi]

APC? You mean the same company that makes HID-looking bults, M3 mirrors with the LED lights, LED lighted exhaust tips, and shall I say it.....ALTEZZA lights? Man, you're better off with cheaper Pilot Motorsport or PDM Racing bars for $50 a piece than pay $100 for A Piece of Crap..I mean American Products Company. A bar is just a bar. Just try to spend as less as you can. If it fits, use it. However, if you're THAT anal about the weight of the bar and how they're welded and constructed, as well as being absolutely sure it'll fit w/o drilling holes, then get a more expensive bar. Keep in mind, a strut bar isn't gonna be a replacement part like say...your shocks, springs, exhaust, etc. It's an additional part. So it won't hurt to get a cheaper bar if you feel it works. No matter what price the bar is, they're all made to do one thing, stiffen up the chassis.

[Da808aZnRaVr]

well the way i look at it is that u get what u pay for...others may not feel that way but thats jus what i think...for 100 bucks u might as well get somethin a lil better than APC...i got my tanabe sustec front strut bar for 110...ive heard of some strut bars that bend...of course u could always go with somethin u know that is hte shiet...like my nismo rear strut bar...payed bout 260 for it but that strut bar is the shiet...well thats jus my 2 cents

[Takumi]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">ive heard of some strut bars that bend</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>

That's ridiculous. To my knowledge, the only way a strut bar WOULD bend is if you get in a car accident or you do something nuts with your car, like off roading (God knows why you'd do that), anything where your chassis would flex way more than it was intended to. Now think about it. You daily drive your car, you take a few fast turns. If your chassis isn't falling apart, I can't see how a strut bar WOULD bend. You've gotta have some really shitty upper mounts for that to even happen and it wouldn't be entirely the strut bar's fault for the abnormal chassis flex. It's illogical for that to happen with daily driving and aggressive sports driving.

[HippoSleek]

Yeah - I got the PDM bar and it looks just like a more expensive Cusco model. &nbsp;Generally, a tube of Al is a tube of Al.

On the other hand, APC might be trying to make a bar that looks like more than just a tube of Al. &nbsp;In other words, it's hard to make a &quot;bad&quot; STB, but if anyone can, it would be APC <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=';)'>

[uuninja]

Yeah you really get gouged on any &quot;JDM&quot; stuff. I bought a cusco rear STB for about $70 in Tokyo. The stuff gets marked up quite a bit by the whole import/export JDM thing. Quallity the fit and finish seems a bit better but then it is brand new as opposed to my pilot stb that has been on my car for 2 years.

[misnomer]

A strut bar is a strut bar is a strut bar.

Some may be a bit lighter, some may be a bit stiffer, but honestly, screwing up a strut bar is like screwing up a hammer. It's not easy to do <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':p'>

[Takumi]

So basically making a strut bar is like boiling water. There's a small chance you'd mess that up. It's just the way it fits and how much room it has between that and the hood. With the extra money spent on a more reputable brand, you get a simple piece of mind unless you know for sure the cheaper brand fits. Then go with the cheaper brand.

[burgy240]

I got mine from obx and it fits great. &nbsp;Striffens up the chassis and does the job great. &nbsp;I got mine for like 51.00 off ebay. &nbsp;Looks great too(I didn't care about looks though) &nbsp;The only reasons to buy a more expensive one would be 1) fitment(mine fits great) 2) piece of mind(it's justa strut bar though) &nbsp;3) &nbsp;looks(if it's just for looks then who cares!) and 4) &nbsp;weight( now this is a real reason to maybe buy a more expensive one. &nbsp;I don't have a need for a carbon fiber bar or a light weight one so to me it didn't matter. &nbsp;The choice is up to you.............just don't ask if you need to preload the car first before install. hehe

[tnord]

well, yes they are all made to do the same thing, but i think there are differences, while they all might be made of aluminum, there has to be different grades of aluminum just as there are different grades of steel, so some bars might be a bit stiffer than others, fitiment is a self explanatory issue, so i think that there are differences between bars, but they are probably somewhat miniscule

[sykikchimp]

Personal experience.
I bought the $40 strut bar from PDM for my 90' S13. Never got to use it b/c the engine mounts were wrong. Sat the engine too high. Then I sold the car, and kept the bar b/c I figured it would fit on ANY s13.. WRONG. I now have a 92, and the bar doesn't clear the Fuel rail. suck. I didn't pay attention to the site.. 89-90 only... oh well. I asked don about fitting it to the 92' and he said I could bend it so, I might try that temporarily, until I can get my new one.

You could tell the bar itself was not the quality of the cusco, or nismo bars, etc. The mounts are free floating, and having bolts in the end of aluminum isn't awe inspiring. From what I could tell it was fairly soft aluminum too. When tightening down the bar, when it hit the fuel rail, it got a pretty nice little nick on it. The bar is hollow as well, so no real weight issue.

I haven't used the cusco, but this is the one I'm getting. It has solid connection to the plate with pins, and they are one size. No adjusting to do. It's also skinnier than the PDM one. so more hood clearance. I like the appearance of the cusco bar better too. I want to get the Cusco Triangle bar in the back. That'd look sweet, and be functional! <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>

Also the cusco for example is suppose to fit ALL s13's. period. Plus I can get it in Carbon Fiber and it'll look SUPER sweet.

Overall they are right. They all do the same thing. And honestly, for $40 from PDM you can't go wrong. Even if you don't like it. Woopty-do. $40.. 2 oil changes.

edit: &nbsp;Just a note. &nbsp;I highly recommend PDM-racing for parts. &nbsp;Don is a Grrrreat guy!

(Edited by sykikchimp at 5:42 pm on Feb. 5, 2002)

[IceTekGuy]

Rollhard performance, they have em front and rear for our cars for 80.00$

can you beat that, for a stick of aluminum?
i dont think so

[240racer]

If you are concerned about how stiff your stb is then just use two $50 ones instead of one $100 one. &nbsp;That way it will be super stiff. &nbsp;

[bing]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Quote: from burgy240 on 2:40 pm on Feb. 5, 2002
I got mine from obx and it fits great. Striffens up the chassis and does the job great. I got mine for like 51.00 off ebay. Looks great too(I didn't care about looks though) The only reasons to buy a more expensive one would be 1) fitment(mine fits great) 2) piece of mind(it's justa strut bar though) 3) looks(if it's just for looks then who cares!) and 4) weight( now this is a real reason to maybe buy a more expensive one. I don't have a need for a carbon fiber bar or a light weight one so to me it didn't matter. The choice is up to you.............just don't ask if you need to preload the car first before install. hehe
</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>

burgy240... i got front and rear of ebay, the obx ones, so they're okay???

i'm still waiting but should be here soon...

[DSC]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Quote: from 240racer on 5:49 pm on Feb. 5, 2002
If you are concerned about how stiff your stb is then just use two $50 ones instead of one $100 one. That way it will be super stiff.
</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>How would you do that???

[240racer]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Quote: from DSC on 7<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':0'>2 pm on Feb. 5, 2002
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Quote: from 240racer on 5:49 pm on Feb. 5, 2002
If you are concerned about how stiff your stb is then just use two $50 ones instead of one $100 one. That way it will be super stiff.
</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>How would you do that???</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>

You could just use them piggy backed by bolting the brackets together. &nbsp;I have never looked at doing it for real, but the thought just came to me since everybody was arguing about stiffness. &nbsp;When I finally get to adding some support to the towers, which are pretty good from the factory, I am going to attach them to the firewall and use some traingulation. &nbsp;I don't like the pivots on stb that you buy, it seems to reduce the effectivness. &nbsp;There is a twisting force (moment) at the top of the tower and having the pivot on the bar doesn't allow it to resist that. &nbsp;I sometimes get carried away with trying to make a production street car into a real race car, so I'm sorry to those who don't care. &nbsp;I feel that I have a fair amount of experience with race cars, but I haven't done much with racing street cars yet. &nbsp;Hopefully this summer will change all that. &nbsp;

Adam

[Omega]

iv seen ones for the 240sx go on ebay for 17.99... so if they are all the smae that sounds #### good to me...

[transient]

There have been many arguements over whether you should pay a lot for a strut tower bar. Personally, I figure if you're fine with having a cheap bar on there, get a cheap bar. If you would feel better having a more expensive strut bar then get one. It's probably not going to make that much of a difference, but you'll feel better about it.

Personally, i'm going to get a carbon fiber Cusco bar.

[sykikchimp]

I like the STB's you see on S2000's. &nbsp;Those things like insane. &nbsp;Like two bar's about 4 in's apart w/ bracing in b/w. &nbsp;with the massive endplates that look like they're stonger than the friggin block.. &nbsp;They're kinda scary. &nbsp;Wish I had one <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>

[cmathews]

I am going to add my two cents because I used to own a honda civic and these are a hot topic there.

Front drive cars **MUST** have a good front strut tower bar. Rear drive cars are not as overstressed, however. I will go with a cheap front bar. On the other hand, I will spare no expense on the rear one as it has been shown to be a vital upgrade on our car. Think of a strut tower bar as another spring. How much did you spend on your springs. To get your money's worth out of them, buy a better STB. STB's change the spring rate of your chassis. This is important for the springs and suspension to be able to do their job properly.

You will generally get what you pay for.

[wizdom]

Maybe APC will make an LED strut bar. &nbsp;Is that why you're lookin' to get their STB!!?