Strut bar question. - Honda Prelude Forum

kennethmina · 09-12-2002, 01:05 AM

Hi, maybe this is a stupid question to y'all.. but please i really don't know.

OK, what is the difference between TOWER strut bar and strut bar (Non-tower) IN TERMS OF the performance and advantages?

Which one is better? tower strut or just strut???

Thanks

merlindavis · 09-12-2002, 01:32 AM

hehe, you got some of the terms wrong... only one of them is called a strut bar... here's what you got:

strut tower bar, strut bar - like it says, goes on the strut towers... this is the one you most commonly see, unless you're in the habit of looking underneath cars...
sway/anti-sway bar, anti-roll bar - this is the one that goes down below... usually don't see these as often, unless they are factory, on an autox car, or someone just wants all the suspension/handling parts they can get their hands on... non of these is bad...

total of 4 bars... with these 4, by changing thickness and adding/removing them, you can drastically change the handling of a car... neither one is really better, as they have to work together to get the best handling... if you're only planning on picking one or the other up, head on over to the autox forum and post this question there... i can pretty much gurantee you will get a detailed answer for what you want out of it...

Satan_SRV · 09-12-2002, 07:45 AM

6 bars.

You left out the lower tie bar, which is also a strut bar. It connects the lower strut towers together...although I have no clue if one can fit on the front, but companies like DC sell the the rear lower tie bar

kennethmina · 09-12-2002, 01:41 PM

Oh I see, so let's make this question in short.

What do people usually get?

Strut tower or just strut?

Coz I am planning to get one (cheap one) from ebay but they have strut tower bar and strut bar. Which one will you get?

Thanks

brendon2k · 09-12-2002, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by kennethmina
Oh I see, so let's make this question in short.

What do people usually get?

Strut tower or just strut?

Coz I am planning to get one (cheap one) from ebay but they have strut tower bar and strut bar. Which one will you get?

Thanks

First get a front stut tower bar. It helps improve chassis stiffness quite a bit or at least feels like it. Most people have just a front strut tower bar. The rear ones can be cheap on ebay too and it you don't have anything you need to put between the wheel wells in the back you can put on of those in. People usally don't mess with the sway bars until after they have a good shock/spring combo as well as front and rear strut tower bars.

EDIT: strut tower bar and strut bar are the same thing people call them either.

U.K VTEC · 09-12-2002, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Satan_SRV
...although I have no clue if one can fit on the front, but companies like DC sell the the rear lower tie bar

Yes you can, my car has one fitted.

merlindavis · 09-12-2002, 03:10 PM

heh, forgot about tie bars...

Si4WS · 09-12-2002, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by U.K VTEC

Yes you can, my car has one fitted.

You got any pix of that?

whiteflash · 09-12-2002, 10:15 PM

ok, i was shopping for a front strut tower bar too and wondering what's a good brand. some look pretty flimsy. i assume neuspeed's non-hinged model to be one of the superior ones? should we stay away from pilot, ractive, dc, etc?

U.K VTEC · 09-13-2002, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Si4WS

You got any pix of that?

I'll try Saturday, but it'd be better on a lift to see it.

I'll see what I can come up with.

U.K VTEC · 09-14-2002, 10:03 AM

Ok, here's what I managed to get :

The bar is a little bent because of those damn speed bumps

But at least they hit the bar and not the exhaust, so it adds a certain degree of protection as well as aiding handling

SLICK96 · 09-14-2002, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by whiteflash
ok, i was shopping for a front strut tower bar too and wondering what's a good brand. some look pretty flimsy. i assume neuspeed's non-hinged model to be one of the superior ones? should we stay away from pilot, ractive, dc, etc?

Neuspeed, Cusco, & Spoon make VERY good stb's. Go w/ one of them.

J

U.K VTEC · 09-14-2002, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by SLICK96

Neuspeed, Cusco, & Spoon make VERY good stb's. Go w/ one of them.

J

I have GAB bars front and rear and they are good quality bars. Nicely made and do the job well.

SLICK96 · 09-15-2002, 04:13 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by U.K VTEC

I have GAB bars front and rear and they are good quality bars. Nicely made and do the job well.

GAB, too. I totally forgot about these, b/c not too many Lude contemporaries have these babies.

J

whiteflash · 09-20-2002, 11:26 AM

thanks, i decided on neuspeed's polished bar & it matches well with my polished aem cai. can't say i can tell a huge difference, though. haven't driven it hard yet, though. maybe then i'll feel it. i felt it was necessary after i put 18's on my lude. spoon would've been nice but for $100, can't beat neuspeed.

brendon2k · 09-20-2002, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by whiteflash
thanks, i decided on neuspeed's polished bar & it matches well with my polished aem cai. can't say i can tell a huge difference, though. haven't driven it hard yet, though. maybe then i'll feel it. i felt it was necessary after i put 18's on my lude. spoon would've been nice but for $100, can't beat neuspeed.

ahh 18's don't really help performance unless your new tires are a lot better than your old ones but then you new tires is what helped you. i dont notice what difference you can notice on suspension components unless you are pushing your car. i think the front end feels much stiffer with less chassis flex with a fstb.

Absolut · 09-20-2002, 08:49 PM

I noticed that alot of my understeer went away after the installation of a FSTB.