Hemi Joints on a Strut Tower brace bad???

[NJSHO]

I came across this website saying how hemi-joints on a strut tower brace can **** some of the effectiveness of the strut tower brace.
http://www.rogueengineering.com/Mer...een=PROD&Product_Code=RE_CF_STB&Category_Code

I could kinda see how it would give the towers a degree of freedom to move front to back. Has anyone else ever heard this? Discuss.

Edit: I know a bar welded between the strut towers is probably the cheapest and most effective upgrade, but Id rather have something that is removable.

Edit2: Its Heim Im sorry

 

[yamahaSHO]

Not sure what a hemispherical joint is, but I do know what a heim-style joint is.

 

[Power Surge]

I gotta say... unless you are a professional driver in a full boogie race car where a half degree of suspension adjustment can cost you a race, I really don't think it's that critical. Just having ANY kind of brace that helps stiffen the car is better than nothing. I don't see the need for a $1000 brace in an SHO.

 

[JEM]

I gotta say... unless you are a professional driver in a full boogie race car where a half degree of suspension adjustment can cost you a race, I really don't think it's that critical. Just having ANY kind of brace that helps stiffen the car is better than nothing. I don't see the need for a $1000 brace in an SHO.

This is true, but...

a) The Rogue E36/E46 brace is only $350, not $1000.

b) If you want a really effective brace, triangulate it. Tie some diagonals back to the firewall. I've always thought the hood-strut mounts or thereabouts looked like a pretty good spot for that.

 

[NJSHO]

I’m not looking at the company for their brace, but rather their statement. If I could do my own design, or find at least filter other braces I see on the market, that is the goal. If the choice between spending 50 bucks extra to get a brace w/o HEIM joints vs. one with I want to know if the extra $$$ is worth it.
Many sanctioning bodies don’t allow triangulation or it bumps you up a class (plus Im looking for a rear brace.) Im not planning on doing any ******** racing but if I decide its nice to not have to go back and undo things. Good info none the less.

 

[Shoaz]

If what one wants is just to prevent motion along a single axis, then heim/spherical joints do that wonderfully while eliminating binding and allowing off-axis freedom of motion.

If one wants to just generally increase rigidity by keeping things from moving around as much as possible in any direction, then a more solid (e.g., welded) connection may be better.

But a spherical connector won't fatigue or crack over time because things are moving around.

So IMHO it's a just a tradeoff in what you're really trying to do. Personally I like the idea of an STB with spherical rod ends because it'll absolutely keep the towers from deflecting in or out (and therefore reduce camber changes, which is what you want), but still allow any other flex. I agree with your assessment that if you're building a full tube-frame race car that's a far different animal than trying to reduce camber changes on a tracked production car. And then there's everything in between (like a nice triangulated setup, whatever).

It ain't one-size-fits all by any means.

 

[SinisterSHO]

Not srue if its relevant to this at all. But I know I have read somewhere, here or SHOtimes. A friend strut bar isnt going to do as much as you would think on these cars, due to the strut towers being so close to the firewall.

 

[hawkeye18]

Keystone Powedercoating's STB uses Heim joints. I thought they were quite weird when I first saw them but they're really pretty damn sturdy. It's a very good bar, and at $150 is pretty cheap compared to the ones I saw!

 

[hawkeye18]

Not srue if its relevant to this at all. But I know I have read somewhere, here or SHOtimes. A friend strut bar isnt going to do as much as you would think on these cars, due to the strut towers being so close to the firewall.

No offense meant to you, sir, but that is . When I purchased my STB it made one **** of a difference. I was shocked. It increases steering response by eleventy billion percent. Or maybe not that much, but it is VERY dramatic. Don't believe me? Go buy one. Don't believe everything you read on SHOtimes! Most of it is the opinion of one person (the author of the article).

 

[SHO Continental]

Keystone Powedercoating's STB uses Heim joints. I thought they were quite weird when I first saw them but they're really pretty damn sturdy. It's a very good bar, and at $150 is pretty cheap compared to the ones I saw!

Cheap $25 neon bar ftw.

Although my rear STB retails for $160, well, back when Bob G made them.

 

[hawkeye18]

I saw a video once of a guy who ran his SHO with a $25 neon bar and no hood (so you could see it). The bar often was more of a "U" shape than straight. It was not pretty, and was certainly not tying the strut towers together!

 

[SHOspazz92]

"Hey man! That thing got a Hemi?!?!"

"Naww, But my Strut tower bar does!!!"

-Sam

 

[SinisterSHO]

No offense meant to you, sir, but that is . When I purchased my STB it made one **** of a difference. I was shocked. It increases steering response by eleventy billion percent. Or maybe not that much, but it is VERY dramatic. Don't believe me? Go buy one. Don't believe everything you read on SHOtimes! Most of it is the opinion of one person (the author of the article).

I never said it didn't do anything. Just not as much as it could on other cars.

 

[hawkeye18]

Well that I can agree with. But it does still make a very noticeable difference. I will once again recommend the KP bar. It's heavy, but it for damn sure isn't going to bend.