Strut Tower Bracing

[lincster2]

Hey there... would like some feedback on this subject. It seems there are 2 differing types of stb's.. one with lateral adjustment the other without. My 2 stb's are the adjustable type, so which direction should the braces be? Pushing outwards or pulling inwards? or it dosen't matter..huuummm. I would think that pulling inward might be better. I'll try to adjust the braces over the next few weeks to feel what happens...any thoughts anyone? thanks

 

[K-Dawg]

I tend to think that having it under tension makes more sense, but that's me. You'll get mixed responses on this one.

If you can't tell the difference, then I guess it doesn't really matter.

 

[hawkeye18]

yeah, I think *technically* it's better to have the strut towers pushed out by the bar... but... like, if you aren't trying to get that extra .01 second off your auto-x lap time, it really doesn't make a damn bit of difference. putting a strut tower brace on there at all makes it 150% better, the difference is whether it's 150% or 152% better.

Does 2% really matter? I mean let's be honest here.

 

[K-Dawg]

What's the purpose of a STB? I was under the impression that they are to keep the strut towers from moving and changing suspension geometry. And I would think the outside tower is going to want to move "outward" during a hard turn, therefore decresing negative camber. So you'd want the brace to be under tension, pulling the tower "inward". That's my $0.02.

 

[hawkeye18]

As it comes from the factory, the SHO suspension setup is kind of like a bucket with the sides pointing in at the top (strut towers). When you turn, the tops of these lines are free to move as much as the sheet metal surrounding them lets them. When you put an STB on, it completes the shape, making it look like a trapezoid. This locks the shape together regardless of the loads placed on it (within reason, of course), so placing tension on the strut towers will help with that last few micrometers of movement, but like I said, unless you are doing ******** racing, you won't generally notice or care.

FWIW, I jacked thee front of my car up by the front subframe member, unloading the strut towers before I installed my front bar. Did it make it any better? Probably not. But it took all of like 30 seconds to do.

 

[SHOspazz92]

You can Fine tune the Camber with a Adjustable FSTB. In other words, If one front wheel is at 1.1* Negative Camber and the other is off by a few tenths of a degree (Say its at 1.4*), You can adjust the front strut tower bar to get them even.

-Sam

 

[yamahaSHO]

My personal thought is if you tighten/loosen the STB, it will have equal effects on both sides. I don't see how you could bring one side around without effecting the other.

 

[SHOspazz92]

My personal thought is if you tighten/loosen the STB, it will have equal effects on both sides. I don't see how you could bring one side around without effecting the other.

Exactly. Maybe how I explained it was bad. On Ashley's car, We had trouble getting the Camber even on Both Sides. We were able to adjust it so eventually Both Sides were measured at 1.2* Negative Camber. On side was at 0.9 and the other 1.5

-Sam

 

[lincster2]

Brace tunes

Here's my seat of the pants review of stb adjustments...pulling it inwards(under tension) seems to be better to me. Front brace...outwards pressure seems to understeer you know pushing plowing forward feel. Inwards(under tension) seems less understeery... less steering imput needed. Rear brace... I didn't notice too much difference between the two adjustments, but with the rear brace the rear end seems more active with the steering.... before the brace the rear just followed the front, now it feels like it got poked in the ass & wants to come around to the front... not as bad as a 911 or rear engined performance ride but a bit more lively. It's not a oversteering beast but a little more playful. So far it's been a good upgrade.

 

[RonPorter]

Since you already have the adjustable bar, do as others have said and crank it in to get more camber.

Or, sell them both to someone who thinks they are worth something. Under hard cornering the strut towers will tend to bend inward and increase negative camber anyway. IMO it's the "last" mod to do after you have done "everything" else to tighten the body & suspension, and need to shave off that last tenth of a second on you lap time with your track tires.

 

[hawkeye18]

ITT: Ron believes that every single SHO owner on this forum is singly interested in shaving that last tenth of a second off their Auto-X runs, and not just having it not handle like a marshmallow.

 

[RonPorter]

ITT: Ron believes that every single SHO owner on this forum is singly interested in shaving that last tenth of a second off their Auto-X runs, and not just having it not handle like a marshmallow.

Oh, I forgot!!

 

[llamaking122]

Since you already have the adjustable bar, do as others have said and crank it in to get more camber.

Or, sell them both to someone who thinks they are worth something. Under hard cornering the strut towers will tend to bend inward and increase negative camber anyway. IMO it's the "last" mod to do after you have done "everything" else to tighten the body & suspension, and need to shave off that last tenth of a second on you lap time with your track tires.

i agree and disagee with that statement. you want your car to be reliable when you go around the corner. but if you dont have the power it wont matter as much

 

[RonPorter]

i agree and disagee with that statement. you want your car to be reliable when you go around the corner. but if you dont have the power it wont matter as much

And/or sticky track tires.

 

[lincster2]

Squaty rear end

Here's some revised thoughts about the rear stb, when entering a corner the rear seems to want to sway a bit.... then about mid way into the corner it seems to squat down more than lean ...feels pretty flat, stable & solid. Before the brace the rear seemed loose & when cornering fast it would sometimes just let loose without warning & spin out. Now the rear feels very controlable & solid/firm. This comes as no new news to the more addicted performance nut but this is my first truly high performance machine. Had a '83 mustang 5.0 liter with a 5 speed stick but it was a convertible so it wasn't really a good basis for true all around performance.