Rear Strut Bars

[nuffsaid]

Hi guys

Are rear strut bars worth the money?

And does anyone have pics of one installed in their car? Id like to know where they fit and whether you have to mod your parcel tray to get them to fit.

Thanks

[MerlinTheHapyPig]

when I installed mine on my R32, i noticed a big difference, but it could have been my imagination.

Apparently rear suspension isn't effected greatly by a strut bar, because most of the suspension compnents are bolted on to the subframe rather than the chassis (whilst skyline front suspension is connected to chassis)

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y19/merli...ar_rear_R32.jpg

Edited January 28, 2006 by MerlinTheHapyPig

[gt-t_r34]

i put front and back on at the same time on my 32 but noticed a difference dont no which one did it but im happy with them, i want to get the cusco add on to the rear strut the connects to the floor aswell!!

if you havent got a front one already goto homerules(ns) 300 for front and back cusco bargain!

[mr_rbman]

i made one at work basically cause i was bored thinking it wouldn't really do much but i was really happy with the difference it made! mine looks very similair to the one installed above!

[salad]

i heard that the rear strut brace does more than the front one. i have a front, and it didnt do too much, and my mate has just a rear and says it sits more stable mid corner now, and the limit is a bit higher now

[Sydneykid]

The major benefit in suspension rigidity from a strut brace occurs when it links the upper control arm inner mounting points to each other. The strut brace then effectively doubles the strength and helps to preventing unwanted dynamic changes in camber.

This is a picture of the front suspension (R34GTR in this case, however R32/33 are much the same). As you can see, there is no subframe linking the upper arms, they are bolted to the inner guards (the chassis). So linking the shock tops (on the inner guards) with a strut brace, effectively links the inner joints on the upper control arms;

Contrast this with the rear where the rear subframe already very effectively links the inner joints on the upper control arms. Noting that the arms are not bolted to the chassis at all, they are in fact bolted directly to the subframe;

Consequently adding a high mounted rear strut brace adds very little (if any) rigidity to the upper control arm mounting points.

There is a very small (in fact tiny) argument that could be put that says the rear strut brace adds to the overall rigidity of the chassis. But the pivot joints on the strut bar where it joins to the tops, makes even this small this benefit negligible.

The bottom line, a front strut is a very useful device on R32/3/34, and should be a must have on your list of handling improvements. A rear strut brace is, in my opinion, a far bit lower on the priorities list and for road arguably shouldn’t be on the priorities list at all.

Cheers

Edited January 30, 2006 by Sydneykid

[gt-t_r34]

i was looking at those add-ons to your rear strut brace that goes from both towers and connects to the floor i guess they wouldnt do much either?

cheers

[R32FOURDOOR]

i saw a dude in a S12 and he just had one of those racheting straps between the struts and he just tightned it up with the rachet.

dunno if it worked, but you could try it before you went out and bought one.

backyard styles.

[Craved]

i saw a dude in a S12 and he just had one of those racheting straps between the struts and he just tightned it up with the rachet.

dunno if it worked, but you could try it before you went out and bought one.

backyard styles.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

woah ..... that is ridiculous

he is tightening the 2 struts together ... why?

the point of the strut brace is to minimise the struts movement inwards and outwards

this thing would only stop them flexing "outwards" but when the force of a corner pushes on the strut it would have no effect whatsoever..

do not bother with this IMHO

[Busky2k]

Nice technical explanation as always SK.

Btw what about a McPherson strut type at the front? Like the ones from an S13-S15 etc. Do they benefit much from a strut brace? (Seeing as the struts are shallowly angled into the body)

[salad]

i would assume they do as the strut is rigidly connected to the hub and chassis

so any flex in the chassis would change the camber