Where can I find a set of front and rear Strut tower bars for my 1992 s13 fastback?
I dont really care what they look like, as long as they fit well, and make a noticeable difference in handling.
Looking to buy cheap, WELL FITTING STBs!!!
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Bobby12many
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BuLLeTdrift
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Bobby12many
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BuLLeTdrift
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Bobby12many
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BuLLeTdrift wrote:i just installed some Megan Racing STBs today. perfect fit, and a NOTICABLE diff in steering.
You installed this ? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...=WDVW
Looks nice, you have any pics?
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BuLLeTdrift
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even if you have both front rear strut bar, front and rear tie bar, don't expect your car to handle great...
I don;t think you know what you are getting into...
this is taken from team-integra.net, hope it helps
Quote »I see it all the time, people talking about all sorts of different bars claiming their Integra has superior handling to a McLaren F1. Well at least they have the power of possitive thinking on their side.
It's important to know exactly what types of bars are available and what their functions are. There are 6 different types of bars available for the Integra, 4 of them to stiffen the chassis and 2 to dictate cornering balance. This article covers the 4 strut/tie bars which work to stiffen the chassis. Information on the other 2 bars can be found in my Sway Bars article.
The main purpose of these bars is to brace the chassis at critical points. Normally during hard cornering the chassis will twist and flex due to the immense amount of force generated by 2600 lbs of metal wanting to move in a different direction than you are steering it. What this translates to is sluggish handling, and the chassis will end up playing catch up with itself.
All opposing forces to the chassis however come directly from the suspension components, so the solution is to brace both ends of the suspension together. If the bars do their job, the chassis will be held tightly together, and the forces that were once flexing the chassis are now going into turning the vehicle. This results in more responsive handling, and the vehicle will be able to make sudden changes in movement much quicker.
1. Front Upper Strut Tower BarConnects the front strut towers in the engine bay. The most popular bar that enthusiasts purchase mainly because of it's effect to the looks of the engine bay. Be wary though, just because it looks nice doesn't mean it will perform. For front-heavy cars such as ours the chassis will undergo the majority of flexing in the front and a quality bar on top is a must. The Integra GS-R and Type R come stock with this kind of bar.
2. Rear Upper Strut Tower BarConnects the rear strut towers in the trunk. Same effect as the front upper bar. The JDM Integra Type R comes with this bar stock.
3. Front Lower Tie BarConnects the lower front control arms. The least popular bar due to minimum availabilty and that it's the only strut/tie bar that you cannot show off. Not only that, but for lowered cars ground clearance can be an issue as it will have to hang down further than anything else under the car. There are only a few companies who offer this bar for Integras. Neuspeed makes a front lower tie bar for the non-vtec Integras while Spoon and Cusco make one for all applications, thanks to member b18c2 for the info on that.
4. Rear Lower Tie BarConnects the lower rear control arms. Also a popular bar due to it being visible from outside the car and will stiffen the rear without taking up space in the trunk. The problem I see with most Honda/Acura drivers is that they all have those shiny DC Sports bars which are too flimsy to actually do anything performance-wise. If you are not going for the rear upper strut bar due to trunk space issues at least get a good quality tie bar to make up for it. The Integra Type R comes stock with this kind of bar.
Quality bars to look for would be Mugen, Spoon, Neuspeed and Comptech. Bars to stay away from that will have no effect on performance would be DC Sports, APC, OBX, and any cheap no-name brand.
While all of these bars combined do a great job in stiffening the chassis and increasing cornering response, they still won't prevent body roll or "leaning" of the chassis. They also will not change the cornering balance of the vehicle. I've heard people say that a strut bar will "minimize understeer" however this is not true. The chassis may be held together tightly but it is still free to shift it's weight upon cornering. That's where the 2 other bars I mentioned earlier called sway bars come into play. More information on that can be found in the Sway Bars article. [/quote]Quote »Otherwise called anti-roll bars, sway bars will make the most dramatic difference in your Integra's handling characteristics. The main purpose of sway bars are to reduce body roll. Sounds simple, but the effects of simply reducing the body roll of a vehicle are many.
A sway bar consists of the main portion which attaches directly to the chassis by bushings (allowing the bar to twist), and lever arms which connect to both sides of the suspension through end links.
When one side of the suspension compresses, the lever arm moves downward causing entire the sway bar to twist so the lever arm on the opposite side also attempts to move the same direction and compress it's own side as well. This resistance to movement increases the spring rate of your suspension when cornering. When both sides of the suspension are equal, the sway bar will have no effect. Here is a chopped down and simplified diagram of how the sway bar works.
Of course no sway bar is perfectly rigid, differences in suspension travel on opposite sides of the vehicle will still occur, so a sway bar can be thought of being a big spring. The bar is able to bend and flex as needed.
There are many benefits from a sway bar's effects of resisting opposite suspension travel.
The most stand out benefit that everyone talks about is the ability to change a vehicle's handling characteristics. Excluding the Type R, our front-wheel drive Integras come stock with pretty heavy understeer. This characteristic can be observed during accleration through a hard corner. The vehicle will have a tendancy to "plow" forward not turn as well as desired by the driver. Most will suggest that this can be solved with a larger sway bar in the rear. But why?
Roll stiffness determines the cornering load at any given end of the vehicle. In a corner, with a stiffer front and flimsy rear, centrifugal force will throw the majority of the weight of the vehicle to the rear. This will cause the chassis to lean upward in front, removing weight from the front wheels and effectively losing turning traction. With both a stiff front and stiff rear, the weight is balanced properly on both ends, and neutral handling is achieved.
Another side benefit is steering response. The further the body rolls, the longer it takes for the vehicle to become stable into a turn. With less body roll, steering response is greatly increased as the car will set in to a turn much quicker with less suspension travel. The quicker a vehicle finishes it's suspension travel, the quicker it can respond to new steering inputs by the driver.
Honda's suspension geometery is also subject to change depending on the height of the chassis in relation to the axle. When body roll occurs, changes in toe and camber also occur. This is okay to a degree, but when suspension travel has reached an extreme level, you can bet your suspension geometery is not where you want it to be for optimum handling performance.
Lastly, reducing the body roll will help the driver to maintain balance in the ****pit and concentrate on driving. The centrifugal forces of the corner are already pulling on the driver hard enough, when the car leans over the driver is then also subject to the force of gravity.
[/quote]
I don;t think you know what you are getting into...
this is taken from team-integra.net, hope it helps
Quote »I see it all the time, people talking about all sorts of different bars claiming their Integra has superior handling to a McLaren F1. Well at least they have the power of possitive thinking on their side.
It's important to know exactly what types of bars are available and what their functions are. There are 6 different types of bars available for the Integra, 4 of them to stiffen the chassis and 2 to dictate cornering balance. This article covers the 4 strut/tie bars which work to stiffen the chassis. Information on the other 2 bars can be found in my Sway Bars article.
The main purpose of these bars is to brace the chassis at critical points. Normally during hard cornering the chassis will twist and flex due to the immense amount of force generated by 2600 lbs of metal wanting to move in a different direction than you are steering it. What this translates to is sluggish handling, and the chassis will end up playing catch up with itself.
All opposing forces to the chassis however come directly from the suspension components, so the solution is to brace both ends of the suspension together. If the bars do their job, the chassis will be held tightly together, and the forces that were once flexing the chassis are now going into turning the vehicle. This results in more responsive handling, and the vehicle will be able to make sudden changes in movement much quicker.
1. Front Upper Strut Tower BarConnects the front strut towers in the engine bay. The most popular bar that enthusiasts purchase mainly because of it's effect to the looks of the engine bay. Be wary though, just because it looks nice doesn't mean it will perform. For front-heavy cars such as ours the chassis will undergo the majority of flexing in the front and a quality bar on top is a must. The Integra GS-R and Type R come stock with this kind of bar.
2. Rear Upper Strut Tower BarConnects the rear strut towers in the trunk. Same effect as the front upper bar. The JDM Integra Type R comes with this bar stock.
3. Front Lower Tie BarConnects the lower front control arms. The least popular bar due to minimum availabilty and that it's the only strut/tie bar that you cannot show off. Not only that, but for lowered cars ground clearance can be an issue as it will have to hang down further than anything else under the car. There are only a few companies who offer this bar for Integras. Neuspeed makes a front lower tie bar for the non-vtec Integras while Spoon and Cusco make one for all applications, thanks to member b18c2 for the info on that.
4. Rear Lower Tie BarConnects the lower rear control arms. Also a popular bar due to it being visible from outside the car and will stiffen the rear without taking up space in the trunk. The problem I see with most Honda/Acura drivers is that they all have those shiny DC Sports bars which are too flimsy to actually do anything performance-wise. If you are not going for the rear upper strut bar due to trunk space issues at least get a good quality tie bar to make up for it. The Integra Type R comes stock with this kind of bar.
Quality bars to look for would be Mugen, Spoon, Neuspeed and Comptech. Bars to stay away from that will have no effect on performance would be DC Sports, APC, OBX, and any cheap no-name brand.
While all of these bars combined do a great job in stiffening the chassis and increasing cornering response, they still won't prevent body roll or "leaning" of the chassis. They also will not change the cornering balance of the vehicle. I've heard people say that a strut bar will "minimize understeer" however this is not true. The chassis may be held together tightly but it is still free to shift it's weight upon cornering. That's where the 2 other bars I mentioned earlier called sway bars come into play. More information on that can be found in the Sway Bars article. [/quote]Quote »Otherwise called anti-roll bars, sway bars will make the most dramatic difference in your Integra's handling characteristics. The main purpose of sway bars are to reduce body roll. Sounds simple, but the effects of simply reducing the body roll of a vehicle are many.
A sway bar consists of the main portion which attaches directly to the chassis by bushings (allowing the bar to twist), and lever arms which connect to both sides of the suspension through end links.
When one side of the suspension compresses, the lever arm moves downward causing entire the sway bar to twist so the lever arm on the opposite side also attempts to move the same direction and compress it's own side as well. This resistance to movement increases the spring rate of your suspension when cornering. When both sides of the suspension are equal, the sway bar will have no effect. Here is a chopped down and simplified diagram of how the sway bar works.
Of course no sway bar is perfectly rigid, differences in suspension travel on opposite sides of the vehicle will still occur, so a sway bar can be thought of being a big spring. The bar is able to bend and flex as needed.
There are many benefits from a sway bar's effects of resisting opposite suspension travel.
The most stand out benefit that everyone talks about is the ability to change a vehicle's handling characteristics. Excluding the Type R, our front-wheel drive Integras come stock with pretty heavy understeer. This characteristic can be observed during accleration through a hard corner. The vehicle will have a tendancy to "plow" forward not turn as well as desired by the driver. Most will suggest that this can be solved with a larger sway bar in the rear. But why?
Roll stiffness determines the cornering load at any given end of the vehicle. In a corner, with a stiffer front and flimsy rear, centrifugal force will throw the majority of the weight of the vehicle to the rear. This will cause the chassis to lean upward in front, removing weight from the front wheels and effectively losing turning traction. With both a stiff front and stiff rear, the weight is balanced properly on both ends, and neutral handling is achieved.
Another side benefit is steering response. The further the body rolls, the longer it takes for the vehicle to become stable into a turn. With less body roll, steering response is greatly increased as the car will set in to a turn much quicker with less suspension travel. The quicker a vehicle finishes it's suspension travel, the quicker it can respond to new steering inputs by the driver.
Honda's suspension geometery is also subject to change depending on the height of the chassis in relation to the axle. When body roll occurs, changes in toe and camber also occur. This is okay to a degree, but when suspension travel has reached an extreme level, you can bet your suspension geometery is not where you want it to be for optimum handling performance.
Lastly, reducing the body roll will help the driver to maintain balance in the ****pit and concentrate on driving. The centrifugal forces of the corner are already pulling on the driver hard enough, when the car leans over the driver is then also subject to the force of gravity.
[/quote]
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Bobby12many
- Posts: 152
- Joined: Mon May 26, 2003 5:58 am
- Car: 240sx, 300zx, Evo
Loveless wrote:even if you have both front rear strut bar, front and rear tie bar, don't expect your car to handle great...
I don;t think you know what you are getting into...
this is taken from team-integra.net, hope it helps
I would also like to challenge this statement with this article from team-integra.net
thanks for the info, but I know what I am getting myself into.
I am just looking to burn a few bucks on some little mods while I search for a suspension setup.
BTW, EVery post I see you make seems like it revolves around your Integra....
Bobby12many wrote:thanks for the info, but I know what I am getting myself into.
I am just looking to burn a few bucks on some little mods while I search for a suspension setup.
BTW, EVery post I see you make seems like it revolves around your Integra....
your point being? it has 4 wheels, 1 engine, 1 transmission, much like the 240sx although the suspension is different, 6 bars are also available for the 240sx, much like the integra. Since nico does not have detailed information on strut/tie/sway bar I figured that I could do what little I can to help you but I feel my effort has been taking granted, you are, almost, offended? I upgrade/installed 5 bars possible out of 6 on my integra and I speak from experience. Do you have a problem with me take reference to my integra? If so, please disregard my post.
And, what I would like to know is, how many posts of mine did I really make reference to my integra? Do you have problems with hondas? I personally do not pertain to brand loyalty but to each of his own.
