Your car’s handling relies on more than just the tires or suspension components. Every single part plays a role in how well your car will go in and out of a corner or through a chicane. One of these parts is the strut towers. Also referred to as struts, they help keep your wheels and the body in contact.
They’re found on top of the chassis meaning they also help support the weight of the vehicle. This means strut towers help absorb impacts and thus ensure that you have a smooth ride. Made of a coil spring and a shock absorber, a strut can easily be improved by adding one more component to it, a strut brace.
Benefits of Strut Braces
Chassis
Also known as strut bars, braces are able to connect two strut towers and with that improve the rigidity of the chassis. This is done in a way so that chassis flex is reduced and thus your car becomes more stable through high-speed corners when you have a quality strut brace on. You’ll also have a stiffer chassis which will make going into sharp turns generate less body roll.
Wear & Tear
Believe it or not, a strut tower bar can also help reduce the wear and tear being put both on suspension components and chassis. Although this is just a bar, it can do so much more when it comes to absorbing impacts and wallowing on uneven terrain. This is because a strut bar helps distribute tension on both the left and right strut no matter where it’s coming from.
Appeal
If you ever go to a car meet and park your car with the hood open, a lot of car enthusiasts will immediately notice the bar. Strut bars are known to add a certain type of appeal to your engine bay and it won’t go unnoticed by the right people, since they know you mean business by having it there in the first place.
Affordability
The simplicity of a strut bar is what also gives it its low price tag. Because of this, it makes it the perfect handling mod that doesn’t cost a fortune to add to your car. You won’t find any other upgrade that costs as much as a strut bar yet does so much for your car.
Installation
Again, the simplicity of a strut brace comes in handy and makes it rather easy to install. Even if you’re new to the car world, you can easily mount the strut tower bar onto the strut towers by fastening it with the right socket set in hand. That’s all you need to do.
Strut Brace Materials
Steel
The material of choice for most people when it comes to strut bars is steel. Why? That’s because steel has high-tensile strength, it also has good rigidity and it’s affordable. While steel bars add plenty of weight they are not going to be a burden if your car is a daily since in this case, weight savings are not that important.
Aluminium
If you want to build a car specifically for the track, then you should go for an aluminium bar. Aluminium is a lightweight but not as strong of a material as steel. When you need to save on weight and be as fast as possible at every corner, aluminum is the way to go just make sure, the bar is bulky enough to not flex too much.
Regular vs. Triangulated Strut Braces
Not all strut braces are made the same and while most connect the two strut towers there are some that are one or two more points. Unlike regular bars, triangulated ones can further stiffen the chassis and reduce body roll by connecting the two strut towers to the firewall. This also improves rigidity and it keeps your vehicle more stable no matter the speed you’re travelling at.
Other Important Factors
Design
The design of a strut bar is actually quite an important aspect as it can play a big role in how much it improves handling and how much it stiffens the chassis. For instance, a linear bar is much more resistant to flex when compared to one that bends over the engine. This is why straight bars come made of thinner and lighter materials which is why they are better than bent bars when it comes to both handling and stability.
Mounts
The mounts that keep the strut tower bar connected to the strut towers also play a role in how well the bar is going to handle flexing and compression. Since not every manufacturer has the load rating data of their mounts known, it’s best that you look for low-profile mounts that don’t go high above the towers. Otherwise, when they are under a lot of tension they can bend and that’s not a good thing.
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