Strut braces

[Jay 535i]

Do these things achieve anything on the road?

[califblue]

Do these things achieve anything on the road?

engine Bling/Eye candy..if your pushing it that hard on the road you are gonna end up in Jail



But Gayles looks nice and Shinny!

[Gayle]

My car was already modified when I bought it and it had 82k on it. I can't compare to the before, but I can tell you it is really stiff and tight (no smart remarks Jeff) and handles really well. We did have a high mileage 525 of the same year. The tightness is night and day difference but I don't know how much is the mileage and how much are the sway bars and brace.

I can tell you that when I was trying to get sound clips of the eisenmann I was tearing up and down our street and doing tight turns at each end of the block. The lack of sway was awesome. I remember thinking this is where those mods make the difference--thank you prior owner.

.

[Rustam]

but I can tell you it is really stiff and tight

I heard a few similar comments when people were asked the question whether it helped or not.

I also heard once that the shock towers get displaced with time in opposite directions along the car and that the sway bar helped consequently eliminate the problem by attachment...

[632 Regal]

If the towers are tilted in the caster (camber?) will be off, but how do you get the braces on if they arent adjustable?

Nevermind, jack it from the cross tube (trying to quit, havent tried it yet).

I heard a few similar comments when people were asked the question whether it helped or not.

I also heard once that the shock towers get displaced with time in opposite directions along the car and that the sway bar helped consequently eliminate the problem by attachment...

[califblue]

COPIED FROM Bruno's excellent Site!:

Strut bar (strut tower bar - strut brace)
They link the two opposite strut towers together. A good strut brace is design to reduce the flex in the strut towers when the car is in a corner. The flex is greater if the car is lowered.

A well designed strut bar is a must have if you track your E34, it will improve the chassis stiffness making the the steering quicker and more responsive... Perfect for the autocross.

Ok, why do I talk about a well designed bar?
The best bar would have no link to it and shouldn't be adjustable, because you want NO flex in the bar (it kind of defies the purpose). Else you will just buy a worthless piece of engine jewelry.

[Rustam]

If the towers are tilted in the caster (camber?) will be off, but how do you get the braces on if they arent adjustable?

Nevermind, jack it from the cross tube (trying to quit, havent tried it yet).

I don't know - I've never had experience with a tower brace. I've simply included additional information - it was not meant as an assertion.

But then if one can argue that the towers do need reinforcement, then one can argue that they are susceptible to displacement with time...

And then - I can't imagine that the towers may be off so much as not to allow the brace to still engage partially with the pins. It would have to be displaced unreallistically much not to allow 1/2 inch of protruding pin to come through the brace ring.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I have heard the argument that a strut brace doesn't actually prevent the towers from deflecting, it just changes the way in which they deflect. The argument is that by adding a straight brace, the towers deflect together, think parallelogram vs rectangle. It was a big deal when I had a 911, most of the guys that track them used a triangulated bar to eliminate deflection altogether. Lending credence to it is the fact that Porsche did and still does use a triangulated bar on their race cars. Of course, it's a bit easier when you don't have an engine in front.