[Labfish]

Well after weeks and weeks and weeks of waiting.....IT'S HERE!!! yay.
LoL...and thanks to the DIY tips of Frostbyte n' Damon - I got it installed in about 35 minutes. Here's some pictures, for you guys to enjoy....

 

[wolo]

Very cool. Noticeable difference in handling?

 

[Labfish]

Don't know yet. Haven't taken any high speed corners.

If there's any, it'll be slight with all the other stuff I've had done.

 

[Sciontist]

I have a question now about the dc strut bar: if I wanted to do something little, say, get that carbon fiber 'engine cover' would you have to remove the bar to get it off? I can't see too well from the pics.

 

[iGod]

^^^ yeah, even with the hotchkis you would have to. not quite enough clearance.

 

[Sciontist]

doesn't mess with wheel alignment at all does it?

 

[onefunkyfreshdj]

Originally posted by Wolo@Jan 24 2005, 04:02 PM
Very cool. Noticeable difference in handling?

Sciontist Posted on Jan 27 2005, 07:22 PM
doesn't mess with wheel alignment at all does it?

I've got one & YES! There is a very much improved handling.... No body roll at all! I love it.


No Sciontist....
It doesn't interfere with any kind of alignment at all.

 

[lo bux racer]

How does a strut tower bar change body roll? All it is supposed to do is limit camber changes from high cornering loads. Are you implying the OEM setup is so flexible that the tower bar stops the chassis flex enough to be noticed as reduced roll? That would be truly amazing.

 

[zoltiz]

I honestly don't think strut bars on the tC will do anything significant, our strut towers are so close to the firewall that the stock setup is pretty stiff. I had a hotchkis on for a month or so and then put it on eBay - did not notice any difference. Nothing like springs or even rear sway bar would do.

 

[Geneo]

Originally posted by lo bux racer@Jan 28 2005, 02:49 AM
How does a strut tower bar change body roll? All it is supposed to do is limit camber changes from high cornering loads. Are you implying the OEM setup is so flexible that the tower bar stops the chassis flex enough to be noticed as reduced roll? That would be truly amazing.

You are right. It will really do nothing for body roll or for that matter much of anything on the tC ..the structure in the front end is pretty stiff anyway. It is another one of those upgrades that is more for looks or "percieved" handling improvement. It does make getting to things harder in the engine compartment though... That said...I still have one on order,but if it doesn't show in the next month.. i will cancel. It has already been 3 weeks.

 

[Labfish]

Originally posted by Sciontist@Jan 27 2005, 04:22 PM
doesn't mess with wheel alignment at all does it?

No it doesn't mess with alignment since you're not undoing all the bolts to the struts. Yes it would be hard to remove the engine cover, however if you're going to do extensive work on the engine you'd probably have to do it anways. And the Hotchkis one, even if it's a bit more behind the engine, would still have to be taken off.

Handling - not a noticable difference. Would guess I couldn't feel anything at all other than a perceived handling change. Just looks nice. My springs were for handling. The rear sway bar was for handling. This is just 'cuz I can.

 

[&The TC& @HTown]

Little help please! Tried to install strut bar under street light in middle of night last nite, long story, but buddy's garage was full and too complicated to move all the cars. But seemed like innermost nut on left strut tower would not screw off completely. I didn't completely take that plastic cover off, so maybe that would solve it. ANYONE else encounter any problems while installing DC SPORTS strut bar??

 

[Dr. Isotope]

You have to jack the car up to allow the wheels to sag and lower the struts so you have enough room to get the back nut out.

And on a side note, how are those few posts up from the future? Weird.

 

[&The TC& @HTown]

REally?? thanks doc, I probably wouldn't have figured that out for a little while. What posts are from the future now?