Strut tower brace
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 253
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From: CenTex
Strut tower brace Hi, i bought my 97 z28 awhile back and it doesnt have a strut tower brace. Just wondering if its worth spending the money to buy one. What are the advantages of having one, and disadvantages of not? I'm specifically wondering about tire wear as tires for my camaro (275/40/17) on the front are a bit more pricey than the ones for my truck, so trying to make them last as long as i can. Thanks. -Kyle
Search - its pretty much 50/50, some say they feel a difference, some say its a waste of money. Best thing would be to find a used one and try it out. If you dont like it, sell it for what you paid...
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Oct 2011
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From: CenTex
im not really worried about performance gains, i mainly want to know if not having one would cause un-even tread wear or causes the entire tire to lose tread more quickly. Thanks for yalls responses. By the way, if yall are looking for tires, go to onlinetires.com they have the cheapest prices for tires online that i've found and have some good sales right now. I'm currently looking at some goodyear f1 runflats size 275/35/18 for my back wheels. they retail for $636 but are on sale right now for $139 because they are a "summer" tire, but i live in texas and we really dont have a winter anyways. february 1st and it was 85 today lol
Teching In
Joined: Nov 2010
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From: Michigan
Ill throw my $.02 into the hat, personally I did fell a slight difference in how the car handled but the only suspension mod to my car is my springs, so I would say that it works if there isnt any major type of suspensions mods cause they have much more to gain than the brace. The downside to the whole thing is that now you have this piece of metal sitting over your engine bay and more often then not it does tend to get in the way when working under the hood.
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Oct 2011
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From: CenTex
by the way ''pillarpod" where did you get your hood? i've been wanting a hood like that but the cheapest i have found is $535 for a new one from the harwood website. Do you know of a cheaper place or was that on the car when you bought it?
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TECH Fanatic
Joined: Feb 2006
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From: CT/NJ
im not really worried about performance gains, i mainly want to know if not having one would cause un-even tread wear or causes the entire tire to lose tread more quickly. Thanks for yalls responses. By the way, if yall are looking for tires, go to onlinetires.com they have the cheapest prices for tires online that i've found and have some good sales right now. I'm currently looking at some goodyear f1 runflats size 275/35/18 for my back wheels. they retail for $636 but are on sale right now for $139 because they are a "summer" tire, but i live in texas and we really dont have a winter anyways. february 1st and it was 85 today lol
It was 70 here in north Jerz today.
And IMHO, it could be a wortwhile addition to the car, assuming you're going to do some spirited cornering with it. However, it most likely will not help with minimizing tire wear. That's what a proper alignment does.
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From: CT/NJ
Nah, he had the name right in my opinion. Whatever you want to call it, it only provides a benefit on strut front ends, like a 3rd gen F body.
Both the 3rd gen cars, as well as the 4th gen cars, are unit body cars, with front suspensions that have either struts, as in the 3rd gens, or "coil overs", as in the 4th gens, that are secured at their upper ends to "towers" at the front of the unit body....
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From: CT/NJ
Oh REALLY????? And why is that??
Both the 3rd gen cars, as well as the 4th gen cars, are unit body cars, with front suspensions that have either struts, as in the 3rd gens, or "coil overs", as in the 4th gens, that are secured at their upper ends to "towers" at the front of the unit body....
Both the 3rd gen cars, as well as the 4th gen cars, are unit body cars, with front suspensions that have either struts, as in the 3rd gens, or "coil overs", as in the 4th gens, that are secured at their upper ends to "towers" at the front of the unit body....
The upper control arm takes all of the front to back and side to side forces so you'd need to make an upper control arm brace if you wanted to accomplish anything on a 4th gen.
They are dirt cheap and make a great brace to lean on while working on the car 
.
No effect on tire wear.
PS: Holy **** on that site, super cheap "summer" tires...great deals for places like FL that can run summer tires year round.
.No effect on tire wear.
PS: Holy **** on that site, super cheap "summer" tires...great deals for places like FL that can run summer tires year round.
It is real simple. The struts on the 3rd gen are trying to push the strut towers all around forward, back in and out as well as up and down. On the 4th gen with the upper control arm, the only load going into the shock tower is directly in line with the spring and shock. If you look at a strut tower brace, there is nothing it can do do to deter up and down movement, only side to side and front to back.
The upper control arm takes all of the front to back and side to side forces so you'd need to make an upper control arm brace if you wanted to accomplish anything on a 4th gen.
The upper control arm takes all of the front to back and side to side forces so you'd need to make an upper control arm brace if you wanted to accomplish anything on a 4th gen.
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Joined: Nov 2008
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From: South Dakota
this is where i got mine
http://www.andysautosport.com/chevro...hoods/harwood/
not cheaper, but maybe compare the shipping and see what it comes out to for both
http://www.andysautosport.com/chevro...hoods/harwood/
not cheaper, but maybe compare the shipping and see what it comes out to for both
Ok, first off, the strut/shock tower brace is gonna be a matter of personal preference. If you're doing high speed cornering, it should provide some added stability. (how much is up for debate and really depends on your speed. At very high speeds, even shocks can cause some flex in the towers.)
As far as the hood tangent, I have heard a lot of good things about AndysAutoSport, though I haven't ever done business with them myself. Their shipping isn't the cheapest, but it's not outrageous either.
As far as the hood tangent, I have heard a lot of good things about AndysAutoSport, though I haven't ever done business with them myself. Their shipping isn't the cheapest, but it's not outrageous either.
