Strut Tower Brace

**Spikito** · 02-12-2008, 12:35 PM

So im getting back a nice tax return, i want to save most of it, but i cant help putting a little into my car.

I do a lot driving down curvy roads, and with my new rims and tires picked up some more vibration. my alignment is fine, but my last set of tires wore on the outsides pretty bad. So I'm thinking about buying a strut tower brace. Since i have a V6 im not too worried about increasing HP but i figured it cant hurt to make it drive a little better.

Heres what im looking at

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/STRUT...spagenameZWDVW

**aerojt** · 02-12-2008, 12:36 PM

Kind of a fun little mod. Most people will tell you they do nothing at all, which is fine. I noticed a bit of it, and it could have been in my head. Either way cars from the factory are coming with them now, so I figured for how cheap it is why not. I like mine. Goodluck!

**95ZMan** · 02-12-2008, 03:48 PM

i bought one too and i can notice a difference when i corner. nothing spectacular but it will corner better.

**Demon_Z28** · 02-12-2008, 05:53 PM

agreed, I put one on the the Z and i noticed it stayed in line better in the turns, not much but the steering felt firmer to. To make a huge difference you would need to get SFC (sub frame connectors) I am thinking about gettin the 2 point SFC from UMI.

**Y2KPewterSS** · 02-12-2008, 06:00 PM

They are great for leaning on on when you are working under the hood. They are also added area for decals/stickers if you are into that.

**NSSTG8TR98** · 02-12-2008, 06:37 PM

Originally Posted by Y2KPewterSS

They are great for leaning on on when you are working under the hood. They are also added area for decals/stickers if you are into that.

......... wait...shit...I have one

**OnEbAdReDSS** · 02-12-2008, 08:08 PM

hmmm i have SFC wondering if i should get them

**Spikito** · 02-12-2008, 08:57 PM

ok, so tell me more about the SFC's, how do i put them on, how hard is it to do, what are the benefits?

**FuhBreezeE** · 02-12-2008, 09:33 PM

Originally Posted by Spikito

ok, so tell me more about the SFC's, how do i put them on, how hard is it to do, what are the benefits?

Designed to tie the car's front and rear sub-frames together.
Reduce chassis flex to a minimum and increase your handling capabilities.
Those are straight from the manufacturer's. A wise, cheap investment. $150 for weld-in.

**Demon_Z28** · 02-12-2008, 09:54 PM

Originally Posted by FuhBreezeE

Designed to tie the car's front and rear sub-frames together.
Reduce chassis flex to a minimum and increase your handling capabilities.
Those are straight from the manufacturer's. A wise, cheap investment. $150 for weld-in.

x2...even the bolt in works temporary untill you can get them welded in, it is very wise indeed, i really want to get a set so bad

It also helps with weight transfer during acceleration and launches.

**vetteemt** · 02-13-2008, 06:10 AM

I have one. Back in the day people did not think they helped either, but if you see a late 60s early 70s Mopar. If you look at the shock towers you will probably see ripples in the metal or one shock mount slightly more forward then the other. After years of use and lots of torque there was simply not enough support from side to side on these cars. So it might not make a difference now, but could help big down the road. If our cars don’t experience this problem, then it’s a pretty light and cheap insurance part. Plus looks good too.

Also if you get the 3 point SFC and get an aftermarket mid mount torque arm, the torque arm mounts to both SFC at the 3rd point. This removes the TA load off the tranny and puts it to the frame of the car. A friend of mine autocrosses all the time in this 94 Firebird and for years he killed tranny mounts, that was until he changed out this torque arm to the mid mount design. He has had no problems since.

**aerojt** · 02-23-2008, 03:09 PM

I have UMI Bolt in Subframe Connectors. Took me about 30 mins to install, easy bolt in, and a complete and amazing difference. I was so shocked when I took it out, I swear I ran through a half tank of gas hammering through the turns. Very neat thing to install if you want to feel a difference.

My advice - Go out and take a few corners without the connectors, then come home, install them, and go take the same corners. Very neat upgrade.

**Too Fast** · 02-23-2008, 03:20 PM

I noticed a difference with my bolt on SFC. The car feels more solid. It did not stop all my t-top rattles, but especially with the tops out it feels solid over bumps.

**aerojt** · 02-24-2008, 12:43 PM

I guess in my opinion I am lucky to not have the ttops. The weird thing was, right before I put in the sfc's, I noticed an excess of squeks and things from the suspension. When I put them in, they all disappeared. Kind of reminds me of a full frame car now. Very neat part to put in, first thing you should do on these. I like the bolt in because they aren't really doing any harm to the car as far as welding. I am trying to keep my car in the position that if I want to make it all original again, I can do so very easily.