F&R Strut tower bars, any suggestions?

[khilgers]

Well I'm finally starting on my project and so far I have coilovers and a front lip on the way. I want to focus mainly on the suspension for now until I have the $ saved up for a motor swap. What would you suggest for front and rear strut tower bars and do you have any links where I can buy them? I was looking into the Cusco ones, but what are the main differences between them?

[MainEvent212]

depends on who you talk to...i personally feel that a strut bar will/can only do so much for your handling, so any old thing will do...i have one of those ebay special's on my car and it works great...cusco is great too though...if u got money for it, go cusco, if not, go pilot...that's a cheap brand i believe...check ebaymotors.com if u really dont care that much...the things to focus on would be like shocks/springs (or coilovers), sway bars, bushings, and arms (tension rods, ruca, tie rods etc.) those are more important to have in good quality and they will effect your performance much more then strut bars

[SmithSR]

Order the Cusco strut bars from Phase2motortrend.

They are a sponsor(find link in right column) and that's where I order my Cusco parts from.

The differences in Cusco strut bars are listed on phase2's site. There are different diameters, shapes, and carbon fibre construction in some.

[khilgers]

What exactly does the shape of the cusco bar have to do with performance. Or is it just mainly for looks and personal preference?

[Naro182]

some of the lesser quality constructed bars will hit your motor if you replace the mounts, or have newer mounts.

with your s14 you have to check to see if you need to remove the speaker covers for the back strut bar. i think the cusco's go underneath but i would check on that...

[MainEvent212]

as far as rear bars go, i've always seen them stick out of the rear deck and you have to trim it to make it fit

and the fronts, well some might have clearance issues (mine would but i use stock mounts)

also...the shape of the bar has all to do w/ structural integrity (not that the car would bend the bar anyways...they'd have to be morons to make a bar that wouldnt even stand up to the stress when actually bolted to a car)

[khilgers]

Over the winter I plan on swapping in an S13 blacktop. So would I have issues with any of the cusco bars with the new motor and Nismo mounts?

[MainEvent212]

probably not...you want a bar that gives alot more clearance...another option if you have coilovers (i remember you do) that have camber plates *hence longer bolts in the top* ditch the nismo motor mounts, unless u actaully need to replace a motor mount anyways, and get one of those engine braces that bolts on to the strut tower

you need the longer bolts czu w/ a STB and the brace you wont have enough thread left for both

[PGBrian]

my opinion:a strut bar is a strut bar. you pay for the name that comes with it.now, there could be some that just plain suck as far as wuality goes.but the thing to look at is the fact that all it is, is a bar that connects the towers.there really isnt that great of a science behind it.i am thinking that the bigger bars might make the stiffening a little stronger, but probably not much to where you could tell.i have the cusco bars, front and rear.they work great and i have no complaints.the carbon fiber one is just for looks. i have had that and the regular one, so i know.the cusco rear tower bar for s14 goes below the rear speaker deck, so there is no modifying to do.the JIC and Nismo rear tower bars go above the speaker deck. there could be no modifying or if you want to keep the speaker deck cover, you will have to trim that a bit.you could even use a cusco and a nismo one together on the rear since one goes below and one goes above.

if you want to buy a pair of bars that will make a big difference, go for a nice pair of stabilizer bars (sway bars to american folk).i had cusco ones on my old s14 and i could feel the difference right as i left my driveway.on my new s14 i have a stock one up front and a GTR one in rear. wow the GTR bar is great. bigger than the cusco one!

anywho, goodluck with your car and i am glad you are doing suspension first.

[AZhitman]

I just bought the CP triangulated bars that attach at the strut tower and firewall.

[yashin]

If your going to get anything, get CP front and rears.

[silkk]

the cp tri-bars looks awesome

wish i had one

[pgt892]

I have the Cusco up front on my '97. It works great and I noticed a difference when it was installed. I am currently saving up for the rear. Also, I have a redtop and the nismo mounts and it fit with no problem. I also have the Project Silvia engine torque dampener and it fit the OEM strut threads with the Cusco bar no problem.

[ILikeMy240sx]

Strut bars are all the same as long as they are the ones that just connect the both towers...

The ones that make the difference are the type that also connects to your firewall (tri-bars) which perform alot better than the regular strut bars.. If you find the right kind these will be the same price as the expensive brand strut bars.

[Fenvy]

do not get anything from CP racing, you'll regret it shoudl you be one of the lucky ones.

do a search with my username with cpracing and you;'ll see the probelm I had with them...

I finally got the 4 point bar I order with them 2 months later and the 2 points that suppose to weld down your trunk DOES NOT line up

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws1/e...acing

that link is also cp racing on ebay, a rating of 93.1%. Keep in mind that ebay and paypal prefered seller must retain a 98%... tells you what kind of a company they are...



and that's the cusco 40d bar with sr20det + nismo mounts, fits fine

[ShadowKnight006]

Sorry to get a lil off topic but you know I was looking at the CP triangulated bars, then read about loveless prob. a while back. So I was thinking(insert "oh no" here), their bars don't look like they would be that hard to fabricated(ie reproduce yourself). I mean its really just a bunch of metal welded togeter at different angles right? Couldn't someone just measure the angles either from someone who has the real deal, or even maybe from a good pic (since no mater how you scale it angles are still the same right)?

[Fenvy]

that's a pic of cp racing bar I get, noticed the 2 points don't actually match up properly

in response to your question: I guess if they can't do it, and they suppose to be pros at it, we might have problems like that too? I dont know, I am sure it's cool to try

[ShadowKnight006]

Wow, after looking at that pic I wanna try to make my own even more now lol. Who knows maybe someone on NICO can come up w/ a better design and start making their own.

[AZhitman]

Loveless - How do you like your ER cooling panel?

Dumb question, but did you notice a difference with it?

I'm curious as to whether it's worth the $.

[Fenvy]

i felt absolutely nothing, the water temp does not tell me whether or not it's getting cooler

I personally think, with an aluminum block... I think it would be a smart idea to get everything little thing that resolves around cooling...

If you can fabricate exhausts, how hard is it to fabricate this piece of aluminum? I personally think it’ll work even better if the piece extent to the side of the headlights. If you make it I’ll buy one, and I’m sure many others on nico will buy it too!