Rear strut brace?

[tinkerbell]

By solid i mean no joints or hinges connecting the plates on top of the strut towers, not that the bar itself is solid.

gotcha

If you don't want to start with it, would i be correct in saying that there is an obvious better material for this use? i would appreciate your knowledge on the subject in a brief PM if not here.

there are so many different types of steel & aluminium, that it is too hard to give an answer... without you providing explicit selection of alloys to compare...

but i would go for the lightest & strongest material i could afford - maybe carbon fibre?

http://www.carbonfibertubeshop.com/

[rookie]

Alu vs steel. If i were to buy again id just get Ultra racing. They use steel. Good price also.

But in saying that the Genuine front and rear Dc2R strut bar are aluminum . " the center bit" And there very ridged. But there not completely hollow!

Ultra racing would have been one of my first choices to pick if i were to get one.

there are so many different types of steel & aluminium, that it is too hard to give an answer... without you providing explicit selection of alloys to compare...

but i would go for the lightest & strongest material i could afford - maybe carbon fibre?

http://www.carbonfibertubeshop.com/

True true. I was just curious to know if there was a distinct answer, regardless of different structures and treatments of steel or aluminium. I guess nothing is really explicitly comparable without dimensions or material selections.

Yes, carbon fibre would be the best but is it really worth it? Is it that superior to both steel and aluminium for this application? I guess it kinda boils down as to how much rigidity you require.

I wasn't really wondering what was the 'Best' strut tower bar, i was just wondering if it is a good/worthwhile/effective modification to increase handling feel/ability/response or whether it was more for bling and looking cool.
I think if anything i will avoid purchasing one for the time being and when my skills at welding or CAD are sufficient i will either make a stainless steel one or design some strut tower plates that will support a carbon fiber bar.

Thanks heaps for chiming in though, appreciate you sharing the knowledge you have!

[tinkerbell]

DC2's benefit greatly from strut bars and other bracing.

[tinkerbell]

if this was posted in the tech forum, most of the posts above would have been deleted.

[rookie]

if this was posted in the tech forum, most of the posts above would have been deleted.

It initially started in the chit-chat thread but Felix the boss man made a new thread for it instead.

[tinkerbell]

It initially started in the chit-chat thread but Felix the boss man made a new thread for it instead.

well THAT explains a few things...

[freakygeek]

DC2's benefit greatly from strut bars and other bracing.

Agreed! The difference in the rear end feel of the DC2R is very noticeable with a rear tower brace.

[Shaun]

I have a total of 7 strut bars in the back of my DC5. As far as I can tell they do very little, but it looks cool as hell.

[DaRKNT]

I have a total of 7 strut bars in the back of my DC5. As far as I can tell they do very little, but it looks cool as hell.

Pics please

[iVTEC_R]

I have a total of 7 strut bars in the back of my DC5. As far as I can tell they do very little, but it looks cool as hell.

lol all those braces Adwin put in there. They are indeed awesome haha

[Karl]

I have a total of 7 strut bars in the back of my DC5. As far as I can tell they do very little, but it looks cool as hell.

You have 7 braces in your boot joining the 2 strut tops together?

Only braces joining the actual struts together are called strut bars

[gunpoons]

Sounds like he has myrical x braces, they look sick, laptops dead but if you look up icb motorsports/ jdm land website, they have them for sale, and pictures, and lists of all the different combos available

[Shaun]

You have 7 braces in your boot joining the 2 strut tops together?

Only braces joining the actual struts together are called strut bars

Ok so I have one strut bar and 6 other "Braces" in the back..
It's hard to get a pic that shows all of them... I'll see if I can dig one up.

EDIT: found



There's also a Jay's floor bar in front of the back seats...

[Karl]

LOL that be fun getting your spare tire out. Also you need one from the strutbar to the Cpillar bar diagonally!

[tinkerbell]

just an FYI to any DC5 owners hoping to provide useful comments like "bracing didnt do much to my car", this thread is started about a DC2, which is based on a chassis designed around a quarter of a centrury ago...

one of ther major selling points of the DC5 was the over 100% increase (yes, one hundred per cent) in torsional rigidity over the DC2R... http://www.integradc5.com/features/

in addition, the OP has a pre-98 VTiR - which had none of the chassis rigidity modifications the 98+ cars had...

and yes, adding a x-brace (seat-belt bolt to strut tops) to my DC2 for supersprinting massively improved rigidity and required a change to suspension and alignment settings.

i also added front fender braces, which also helped.