front strut bar. Why SHOULDN"T i put one on???? Any ideas?

[wanna240now]

Alright guys. I have an s14. I have apexi coilovers, front tension rods, front and rear pillow mounts, and susp. tech. sway bars.

Is there ANY disadvantage at all to put on a FRONT and REAR strut bars? The bars are very high quality.

My concern is, a guy at the shop said the FRONT strut bar made things so stiff that he has understeer problems. (he has an s13 though) Does that make sense??? i cant figure out how that would hurt handling at all????

Has anyone heard of a NEGATIVE consequence of a front and rear strut bar?

thanks.

[tryiian]

s13`s are known for understeer. my best advice is get both bars, and play around with it. if you don`t like the way it handles, take off the front bar for more over and less under, and vice versa. but in all techinicality, it should be stiffer and more responsive (ever so slightly) with stb`s.

[importer]

First off, there is NO advantage putting a 'strut' bar in the rear, the car does not have struts in the rear !This is more for looks to impress people who don't know better !(makes you look silly to people who do know)Like the morrons who put 'strut bars' on the front of a 87 or later Supra.Like the 240SX rear, they are an upper & lower link suspension, and putting a brace between the top of the 'SHOCKs' will do NOTHING to stiffen the chassis!

Now, personally I would always run a strut bar on any car with struts.If by chance you stiffen it so much that it pushes, then there are other things to adjust/change to correct the problem, and end up with a better handling car.

The #1 thing to correct push:Heavier rear sway bar !#2, More negitive camber. you have adjustable camber plates, USE THEM !

Be aware of how much your tire choice makes. Case of point;A few years ago I was working over a Toyota Cressida.At first the car felt real predictable in a fast sweeping corner.Stayed flat, and would go into a mild drift under throttle.

Until I got rid of the Goodyear tires, and put an a set of Dunlop D60s.The tires stuck so much better that the car felt like a bloated whale !

Body roll, and wallowing became it's trademark until I revamped the suspension.

[skatanic28]

yeah youd probably only be picking up a front stb, havent seen too many for the s14 rear. if you think theres too much understeer, pull the front sway bar, or try running the stock front with ST rear. either way, an STB is not gonna change your setup too radically.

[Nameless EJ6]

Get a front strut bar and rear sway bar. That'll give you some improvement.

[S13 Charlie]

Importer-

If rear shock tower braces are for morons, then why does Nissan have one on the 350Z from the factory?

I did some sketches at my desk at work (yes I'm bored) and regardless of whether the suspension design is Mcpherson strut style (240 front), or Double-control arm (240 rear), the shock or strut transmits the vertical load experienced by the wheel into the body of the car, and can cause the shock tower to flex. Having a strut brace or shock brace would help distribute the forces on the shock towers across the width of the car, making the car more rigid, especially during cornering. Think of a cardboard box with one side open - you can push on the edge of the box and make it squish like this <> . If you take that same cardboard box and close it so it is a complete cube, and push on the same edge, it will be much, much harder to get the box to squish in the same way, if at all.

Larger sway bar in the rear will help the rear flatten out, especially considering how puny the factory sway bar is on non-hicas 240sx's...

-C

[wanna240now]

alright guys. First....i have an s14.

second.I already have Susp. Tech. Sway bars in FRONT and REAR. They are about the largest u can buy. I also have apex ws coilovers, and front tension rods.

These bars(if i use them) should basically be the last piece to tuning my suspension........right????

So.... Given my setup. i'm assuming the front and rear will do nothing but good.

And about that comment on the rear strut bar being useless.... That is a very interesting point. Never thought about it. However, i don't see how it CAN'T tighten things up. It will still prevent body roll in the rear....right?

thanks guys.... Good discussion.

[DriftingisLame]

The only thing that a front stur bar is going to do is keep the chassis flexing right? so if the chassis doesnt flex it will put more strain on the rubber, then the limiting factor is the tires...the strut bar is not the problem. It will improve handling unless the tires cant support them.

[gogg]

Putting only a front strut bar or only rear WILL unbalence your car slightly. It's probably the cheapest way to balence your car to your own preferance. You may like it, or you may hate it, only way to know for sure is to try it out. Personally though I wouldnt recommend putting just a front bar, 240s are more likely to understear under factory conditions.

[importer]

"I did some sketches at my desk at work"

Oh, do you work at some place that builds race cars, like I do ?

I think I just found the source of the joke about Chat-Room-Charlies.......

[mikeh16]

DOn't

"I did some sketches at my desk at work"

Oh, do you work at some place that builds race cars, like I do ?

I think I just found the source of the joke about Chat-Room-Charlies.......

Don't be lame. Build your race cars and be quiet.

Thanks,Mike