A Case for Front Strut Bars

I know that the general consensus around here for strut bars is they are bling only, I personally did feel an improvement on the Legacy on stock suspension. I probably wouldn't have seen any improvement on stiffer springs.

 

Even if it's useless it does have another function: By reducing the slight firewall flex, the life of the windshield should be prolonged.

Doing a quick search I'm finding other forums that mentioned the same thing, especially Subaru forums which hits home to me because my friend and I recently cracked our windshields on our wagons.

 

If you run stiffer springs the need for a strut bar is even greater. Stiffer springs don't absorb as many road imperfections, as stock springs would, which means those harsh bumps now get transmitted directly into the chassis & windows.

 

A strut bar costs around $120, a new windshield is around $200. I think that alone is worth the cost, I'll be buying a FSB for my Outback, since it's the only car that doesn't have one in my driveway.

If a strut tower bar bolts to the towers as well as the fire wall it can be very effective. If it only bolts to the towers they are not that effective unless the vehicle really needs bracing to begin with. So in most cases it is 90% bling

I respectfully disagree, when you hit a unilateral bump in the road force goes into the wheel that hit it and causing deflection in the sheetmetal on that side only. Now even by bracing it to the other strut tower, since the other side is most likely not hitting a bump, it should help keep the firewall from flexing as much.

 

This is the same principal around lower control arm braces, most of them brace against the other LCA mount point and not a 3rd location and they are sufficient enough.

 

Now don't get me wrong a 3rd mounting point is always good, but not a must.

Personally I have Cusco front and rear strut tower braces. I also have upgraded front and rear sway bars and end links with the rear AVO mounts. I did notice a difference with the strut tower braces. I would not say its a big difference. But the car does feel more stable in corners, especially when hitting a bump mid corner. This could be more of a "handling or feel" difference vs an actually cornering difference. It does give me a little more confidence in the car.

 

I also had a rear strut tower brace on my 98 wagon. It did the same on that car. Just made it feel a little more stable.

 

I am by no means an expert, but I think they do make a small difference.

That's actually one thing keyboard racers forget, we do suspension mods for the end goal of faster corner speeds which results in faster lap times. A suspension part doesn't have to improve handling to make you go faster, if it makes you more confident in the car, you will be able to take a turn faster which can help you get faster lap times.

 

I don't even autocross the Legacy, have a dedicated autox car instead. Legacy is strictly a fun backroad/mountain and daily car. I was able to notice positive improvements with the JDM STI bar even when driving home on 30mph twisty roads.

I ordered the cheapest well designed strut bar for the Outback, Megan Racing one for sub $80, it mimics the JDM STI 4th Gen Legacy one which I currently fancy.

 

While installing the bar I noticed that my windshield has been replaced already with an aftermarket one. Sounds like this car might be eating windshields, we'll see if the bar helps after I install a new windshield.

 

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/covertrussian/Cars/12%20OBP/Suspension/Strut%20Bars/Front%20Strutbar%20-%20Megan%20Racing.jpg