strut bars

[chrispy]

Is there really that much differnce between a Cusco tower bar, and lets say a pilot , to justify the huge price difference?

[Exar-Kun]

is there really a difference between a 50 dollar and a 200 dollar high-performance tire?

yes.the question is, is the difference one your can both notice, and take advantage of(or need, for that matter).....

just my thoughts.-chet

[yeswepromise]

don't be cheap. try and buy some quality.

[drnovascotia]

here's how I see it

Think of what a strut bar does. it's a simple piece of metal used to stop moving. I've been told by many people the biggest difference between a $50 one and a $200 one is the price, lol. It really is a simple device.

DrNoVaScotia

[chrispy]

there seems to be a wide aray of opinions when it comes to strut bars. I guess only trial and error is proof.

[Dano]

id go with quality...its a proven performer..y don't u hear of the really high horsepower cars using pilot or APC strut bars? havent seen any supras or RX7s usin pilot or APC bars...y is that?

-Dan

[Exar-Kun]

"it's a simple piece of metal used to stop moving"

sure, and a tire is just a pice of rubber used to take a car down a road....its true fundamentaly, but in actuallity theres a larger difference than you think.

heres a few pointers:-design. a good strut bar will have solid design structure, low bends, proper clearance for turbos, etc, allong with functional joints, and a good way of securing them. Many cheap bars use adjustalbe sleeves, wich are weak...just one example-materials- a good strut bar will be made of aircraft quality alluminum or other high-strength, light material, with enough to provide rigidity, but not much weight. Cheap bars may use heavy steel or other cheap materials.

those are juse 2 points you should think about before buying a cheap strut bar. Whoever told you the difference was the price is an idiot.-chet

[mike_do]

id go with quality...its a proven performer..y don't u hear of the really high horsepower cars using pilot or APC strut bars? havent seen any supras or RX7s usin pilot or APC bars...y is that?

-Dan

not saying that i dont' agree w/ ur opinion about quality is a better, but the reason that u usually dont' see ppl w/ high power supras and rx7's w/ pilot s/b is probally because most of the time when u can afford to mod out ur car to that extent u can probally for over another 50 - 150 for a strut bar. just my opinion

[Tai Mai Shu]

Ok, heres what I did, went over to ebay, typed in strut bar Nissan 240sx, came up with a bazillion, I mean all over the place, found my little 15 dollar one, plus shipping was like 25? was i worried if it will fit? sure, but I have had it in since then and it worsk great does its job. differance between that and my friends cusco one? non, atleast not notiable in the time trials. So there is my 2 yen. or so...im going to order my rear one soon.

[BadMojo]

For what it's worth, here's my take on the matter. If you buy something cheap, it might fit your car like a glove. Then again, it might not. If I buy something from a top tier manufacturer, then I *know* it's gonna fit. Companies like Tein & Cusco didn't get excellent reputations by making crappy parts that don't fit. I'd rather pay a few extra bucks than waste my time trying to cram a poorly engineered part in to my car.

[drnovascotia]

I agree with you about the fitting and reputation. However $40 shipped on ebay versus $150 isn't a few bucks more for someone in college who makes 200 a week. Thats three times the price, almost four. Ultimately you do get what you pay for though.

[mattback]

heres the deal

most metals you use for what a strut brace is used for will be fine.

most of them are overkill.

think of the side stresses tha a strut bar is gonna feel. really not that many. and it will just be flexes, not outright bends. the aluminum will be great forthat, regardless of its grade.

[Tai Mai Shu]

Might fit might not...mine fit fine...

[C-Kwik]

I'd say it depends more on the design itself. Strutbars tend to be simple in design. Most made to similar design types are made of similar materials and construction. I've owned both a Greddy Strut tower bar and I'm currently using a Pilot bar. The pilot bar uses a thicker extrude and cost me much less. The only complaint I had about the pilot bar were the fastening hardware. A couple bucks and a trip to the local hardware store solved that problem.

I'd say you will see a bigger difference if you went to a bar that is designed to be very sturdy such as a TRD front bar for a Toyota Supra.

Here's a picture:

http://store5.yimg.com/I/supra_1727_15295807

This would be much more rigid than the typical bar with endplates that can swivel. Of course a triangulated bar would be even better.