Strut tower braces

[spec2speed]

Ok, I know there are quite a few threads on this already, and I believe I've read just about every one over the last hour... However, I just need advice on a couple things:

1. Some threads say that neither the front or rear brace does much good, except for looking good. Others say there is quite a noticable difference in stiffness. Discuss....

2. Price seems to be all over the map. Cheap ones on ebay (which I don't want), to Corksport, to AutoExe. Is there really a difference in performance? For the price, I think CS is definitely the best value, but at almost double the price, is AutoExe that much better? Or is it pricier due to it having to come across the Atlantic? Discuss....

Right now my MS6 is bone stock. I don't plan on getting springs or struts for it anytime soon, so if I do put these on, they would be the only suspension mods on the car for a while. I'm also planning on adding an SU rear motor mount and possibly a rear sway bar in the near future. Is it worth getting the front and rear strut bars? And if so, are the Autoexe worth the arm and leg price or is Corksport the way to go? All the advice is very much appreciated.

 

[zinger002]

Ok, I know there are quite a few threads on this already, and I believe I've read just about every one over the last hour... However, I just need advice on a couple things:

1. Some threads say that neither the front or rear brace does much good, except for looking good. Others say there is quite a noticable difference in stiffness. Discuss....

First off I dont track my car as of yet so i have no concrete evidence to back up stock vs both front and rear braces.

I have the CS Front tower and rear frame braces. I feel like they make a very very very small difference to the handling of the car. Compared to spirited driving stock and with the braces i think my car may have improved, but then again i have no physical evidence to back this up.

2. Price seems to be all over the map. Cheap ones on ebay (which I don't want), to Corksport, to AutoExe. Is there really a difference in performance? For the price, I think CS is definitely the best value, but at almost double the price, is AutoExe that much better? Or is it pricier due to it having to come across the Atlantic? Discuss....

Well the design and materials change. Strength will change with these factors. The least amount of bends with the straightest run will be the strongest bar. I'm sure the cs bar is not super sturdy since its (i believe) aluminum and has some funky bends to it, but i bought it because visually i knew it would fit my front mount piping setup.

Right now my MS6 is bone stock. I don't plan on getting springs or struts for it anytime soon, so if I do put these on, they would be the only suspension mods on the car for a while. I'm also planning on adding an SU rear motor mount and possibly a rear sway bar in the near future. Is it worth getting the front and rear strut bars? And if so, are the Autoexe worth the arm and leg price or is Corksport the way to go? All the advice is very much appreciated.

In terms of the sway bar this will be a massively noticeable upgrade compared to the strut tower braces because it directly affects suspension components, unlike the braces which are just an attempt to stiffen the frame in which the suspension components reside. If i was you the motor mount and sway bars would be higher up on my list of things to do after installing both of the tower/frame brace bars myself.

Hope this helps.

Mike.

 

[batou079]

I track and do canyon runs, for just under a year now since getting my MS6... i track every few months and canyon run every few weeks. So i have experienced these conditions from a stock car and during its mod progression up to now. lol, was just on a Malibu Canyon run today! so fun.

1. It is hard to legitimately prove that either the front strut or rear brace actually help for our specific cars. I have yet to see any company offer any sort of factual stress testing. I believe they would have to affix stress measuring devices to the strut braces to see if any pressure is building during cornering situations. Making quantifiable results is even more difficult due to the MS6 construction is already pretty rigid. The 6 frame, with thicker beams, additional bracing throughout, and the fact that the front strut tops are integrated into the firewall. Firewall rigidity is pretty damn solid and practically acts as a giant cross member. The rear section is quite solid due to the corner braces already, and the way the rear brace bolts in is just above the frame of the car, which i believe is already the most rigid part of the car...

I have the Corksport strut brace, and rear interior brace and honestly cant tell the difference in track/canyon situations. 10x more obvious of a difference when i lowered on performance springs due to spring rate and lowered center of gravity. So ummm... *shrug* id say other priorities are prolly more bang for buck until you start wanting a bit more flash under the hood. Then again, someone may just pop in with some factual data to prove otherwise, lol.

2. about cost vs quality... Zinger is dead on. It comes down the materials and engineering design. Ebay bars are all usually soft metals, funky designs with bolts holding the bar to mounts creating really weak joints... aka damn near useless for any car at all. The Corksport one is indeed pretty light, built out of aluminum. However their engineering and construction design are pretty straight foward and solid, no bolted together joints to mounts, just solid bars which immediately makes it more useful than ebay crud. AutoExe i believe is constructed out of steel. So it is the heaviest of the bunch, but its construction is as solidly built as Corksports... so the harder material MAY offer a little better support at the cost of much more weight than the CS one... again, if such bars do anything for our specific cars.

If you plan to canyon drive or track, id definitly go with other priorities first. Swaybar, SU RMM, brake pads/calipers/bbk, wider wheels/tires, short shifter, cooling solutions, engine monitoring or tuning, etc etc.

sorry to talk so much, hope you find some of that info helpful.

 

[emitch]

I would agree with the responses so far...I have also been told by a very very savy car guy (Tony at AWR) that since our shock towers are so far back and nearly at the firewall, that strut tower bars on our specific cars dont do much if anything at all. After market struts/shocks, lowering springs, some adjustable sway bar links and some sticky tires will make the car handle like its on rails. Just my opinion.

 

[zinger002]

To be honest, im a ricer because i bought the CS bars because of how they looked. I didn't think they would do too much.

 

[spec2speed]

Thanks so much for the info guys. I think maybe my hard earned money is better spent on the SU RMM and the swaybar. I think I'll go with the mount first as its an easier install. I think SU has these on back order at the moment. Anyone know where else I can get one of these? I'm not too keen on getting the AWR mount, since I've read its not a great fit, and CPe is just too darned expensive.

Once again, thanks for the expertise.