Strut bars, x-bars, h-braces..


Sparx

Sparx

New Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Messages
27
hey..

i have a question: Does anybody have a good opinion or experiences with 3pt strut bars, x-bars, braces, ... how does those things affect the cornering, stability, car movement, pluses, minuses?

:bow:

thanks, Sparx
 
3 point front strut is better than 2 point
x bar in the rear would be better than the normal 2 point too i would have thought.

my bro actually has this setup, but i've not driven it so cant comment on that
 
i know that 3pt strut should work better than 2pt... and it's attached to the firewall, so we can expect the car less twisting the shell...

has anyone any experiences with lower braces? meaning braces under the engine? does it help or doesn't help at all?

tnx, Sparx
 
i have a cusco front lower tie bar on my ek9, it has helped alot with roll and stability, but some things to know: you will feel more of every bump, the front end becomes a little tighter, meaning more under steer but you can adjust that in other ways. Over all i like it!!! all you can do is install one and see how you like it.
 
I think on cars without sway bars these things make a good difference but on a car with stiff springs and big sway bars it does nothing, i could be wrong but this is my personal opinion based on "feel"

I had:
-usdm ej6 no sway bars
-tockico blue shocks with swift springs
-cusco front+rear front and rear lowers also and c pillar bar.

noticed a HUGE difference especially with the rear. the lower tie bars seemed to do nothing same with the C pillar, i actually took off the c pillar and mailed it to rvm (he paid the shipping) thats actually how we met lol.

Then my next setup:

-usdm ej6 with 24mm front 22mm rear sway bars
-koni sport shocks with skunk2 coilover sleeves 440lb front 250lb rear
-all the same bars

car rode great, i ended up removing the front bar due to my catch can and did not notice any reduction if handling, i then removed the lower bars and also noticed now reduction in handling, lastly i removed my rear tower bar as i put interior back in and also noticed no difference at all.
 
i have on my car
front strut brace (2 point cheapy thing)
same on rear strut tower
rear lower tie bar
c pillar brace
and the cuso side b pillar brace
i did have a front lower tie bar but broke it as it was to low lol so that got removed lol

i felt a huge difference but i have standard ej9 front ARB and no rear ARB
it feels so responsive but it creaks abit lol i think there is abit of movment someware that needs more bracing :p:drive:
 
X-Brace has made a big difference on my car - back end is much tighter - gotta think about it logically, its bolted between strut tops and where the seatbelts are mounted on the car - both very strong/rigid point - its removing all flex from the upper part of the chassis - its excellent
 
The shocks, springs, and sway bars have much more effect on handling than chassis braces, so get good coilovers and swaybars in place first.

Then a 3 point front strut brace is your best bet, along with a simple rear tower bar if it's a street car. There shouldn't be any adjustment joints in either bars you buy.
And there are ways to make your own braces, do seam welding, and pop riveting of the seams. For example I pop riveted both seams of my door panels between the factory spot welds. That didn't really do much however, when you find yourself pop riveting and seam welding you should cover all important seams on the car. It's also good to make your own front fender braces, not too complicated.

I wouldn't get an X-bar, EM racing 4 point trunk bars, C pillar bars, or B pillar bars as they don't do too much. A simple 4 point welded roll cage does much more for chassis stiffness.
 
but on an accident i mean when you crash your car strut bars without joints can make big damages:nerv:
 
i think all bars make some sort of a difference, do some research and try them out for yourself.
 
i have done a little research on this guy. His products despite all odds seemed to work. Still a lot of people were dubious on whether they work and a controversy came up on hondatech. This happened many years ago. Since then i haven't heard of him and he won't reply to any e-mails. I reckon that your car must be supplied with impact bars in order to make this reinforcements work. Still someone could add them to his car i think(impact bars). However, adding so much weight is something you should worry about. The front impact bar is heavy enough and is hung on the frond end messing with weight distribution and so prone to understeer. This is one reason why civic coupes are way too heavy (nearly 1200kgs) in contrast to a civic ej9 sedan which weighs only 1040.
 
bigshoe said:
Vtis lad83, I have a new Spoon upper rear strut bar if you fancy that instead?
Click to expand...

Really?? interesting..... How much is it going for? I am strapped for cash at the moment.

Still waiting for nice weather to get the back painted
 
saxophonias said:
The front impact bar is heavy enough and is hung on the frond end messing with weight distribution and so prone to understeer. This is one reason why civic coupes are way too heavy (nearly 1200kgs) in contrast to a civic ej9 sedan which weighs only 1040.
Click to expand...

While I can't deny that the front crash bar is quite heavy in comparison to the thin - almost clothes rack like hanger of the JDM/other market units - it's hardly something that would contribute to excessive understeer.

The bar is quite hefty but I'm certain it weighs no more than 30lbs at most. Substantial? yes. Excessive. No.
 
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