Strut Bar Opinions

[Travel'n Man]

I have Cusco front and rears - sandblasted the blue color off and repainted the body color to match my car - firms up the suspension nicely. Works great for mountain twisty 's.

[TomoHawk]

Are those Cusco bars adjustable?

[tlorber]

The rear Cusco bar is not adjustable. The holes are slightly slotted to give a bit of wiggle room. I don't know about the front. I bought Cusco over MSA's because the mounting brackets each connect to the bar at 2 points instead of 1. MSA's seemed a bit dinky to me.

[e-tek]

Is there any objective proof that strut bars do anything - other than look cool (YOMV)?

[grannyknot]

Is there any objective proof that strut bars do anything - other than look cool (YOMV)?

I guess that depends on the strut bar. If it is one solid piece that is triangulated and bolted to the frame then that will stiffen our frames but welded would be better. Anything other than that is eye candy. BUT unless your car is a true race car that does nothing other than race... then it's all eye candy anyway. I love eye candy.

[Mike W]

So I have the Top End Performance 3 point bar up front and am very happy with it. I believe that it definitely helps to control body flex and as a result the car just feels like it handles better to me. It is also well made and was powder coated nicely in black

As for the mounting, it is pretty straight forward. The sides each mount to the top of the strut towers using 2 of the existing studs from the strut assembly. As for the third mounting point, there are 2 tabs that are welded to the bar that slip under the front of the cowling and the frame piece that it is secured to. To secure it in place, it is best to move the wiring harness that runs along that part of the firewall out of the way first. This gives you more room and you won't risk drilling through some wiring when you drill the mounting holes. Drilling the holes was actually the only tricky part ensuring that you get them in the right place. In the end it was not very difficult.

I was a little concerned at first that this area was going to be too thin and eventually with movement the bolts would become loose and even start to elongate the holes, but after more than a year of use, it is still rock solid.

About the only issue that I have had with it is that for any maintenance that requires removal of the valve cover you have to remove the bar first. This used to be a PITA as getting the nuts started on the cowl mounting bolts usually took some finesse and could be time consuming. We solved that problem by welding nuts to the underside of the strut tabs. Now removal and reassembly is a breeze.

I've attached some pictures of my install as well as some closeups of the mounting area near the cowl. I believe that the OP was requesting these at some point in this thread.

Hope this helps.

[Jeff G 78]

Looks great Mike!

[CG240Z]

Does anyone have any opinions or experiences with the triangular rear strut brace? A setup like this.

TOP END 280Z Rear Strut Tower Braces | eBay

[John Coffey]

Is there any objective proof that strut bars do anything

Yes. The triangulated front STB I built for my racing 240Z let me increase front spring rate by 50 lb.in. Before the brace I was spring limited in front. Any increase over about 275 lb.in. showed no change in lap times. Adding the STB let me increase the rate and drop lap times. Adding additional reinforcement let me add another 50 lb. in. in spring rate up front up to 375 lb. in. in the car's final iteration.

[Zedyone_kenobi]

no finer evidence will ye recieve...

[Zed Head]

Yes. The triangulated front STB I built for my racing 240Z let me increase front spring rate by 50 lb.in. Before the brace I was spring limited in front. Any increase over about 275 lb.in. showed no change in lap times. Adding the STB let me increase the rate and drop lap times. Adding additional reinforcement let me add another 50 lb. in. in spring rate up front up to 375 lb. in. in the car's final iteration.

Amy thoughts on what exactly was moving, and how, that the triangulated STB stopped? Were the towers flexing inward or back toward the firewall? Or both? Is the straight bar across the towers (no connection to firewall) 50% as effective as the triangulated or 10% or 80%?

Just using the opportunity to learn a little more. If the details are out there somewhere else, I can look.

[John Coffey]

42.3%, 18.726%, and 89.001%.