I was wondering if there is any advantages in raising a car to install a front strut bar. I didn't think so at first until i read up on it and found several different websites saying that by raising the car the strut bar will give more benefits than just installing it without being raised. Also I was wondering if there is any real performance difference between the $30 front strut bar found on ebayand the $180 Cusco strut bar.

 

The major difference is that by buying a brand name you get the assurance of reliable engineering and design. While the cheaper brands maybe be just as good..you may be taking a bigger risk since you do not know if the same attention to detail was put into the manufacture.

You should raise the car since having the weight off the front wheels causes the unibody frame to flex outwards to it's maximum. When you install the bar in this fashion the bar will be under compression load at all times. If you install it on the ground, then the bar will be under compression only when the cars suspension compresses more than it is at rest, if during driving the suspension relaxes beyond the resting position, the strut bar will be under tension loads. This changing from compression to tension loads can cause stress on the unibpdy frame, and stresses the strut bar, which if it is not well built, could cause the metal to lose integrity, which would allow it to flex more than it should and you lose some of the support it should provide to the body.

 

Whoops....damnit. I installed it unjacked/lifted.

 

very good point...i hadnt thought about that...03, are you going to re-do yours?

 

Most likely.

The problem is I don't really have a proper jack....I was sweating real, real bad when I was installing my headers because I was using the jack provided with the car. Shiza....

Holy jesus....the block can take that much boost??!

 

spend the 50-100 and buy a good floor jack...and a set of jack stands while you're at it

yeah, the scissor jack blows.

 

damn, i also didnt jack up my car for it...
but isnt it too late to jack it up because the bar has already lost its integrety?

 

Unless you see weak spots or cracks in the bar, then the bar shouldn't be beyond hope. So you can remove it and then reattach it with the car jacked. A weak spot can look like a discolored spot or wrinkling. If you have a rear bar then of course you will want to jack the rear off the ground for it.

If you do enough prep work, take the proper measure, and be nearly **** about attention to detail, than the block can easily take the boost. In fact the pressures on the crank and cylinders caused by boost are actually easier for the engine to handle than the amount of stress caused by extremely high revving or 'bouncing' the tach, going from low rpm to high rpm.

 

Ahhh....that makes sense.

Wal-Mart...here I come (floor jack)

 

I just went to Goodyear to see how much it would be to install a front and rear strut bar and they said about $350 because it would take about 2 hours on each bar which I think is complete ****. Anyway, I'm probably gonna end up getting a jack and jack stands and putting them on myself to save $200 or so.