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Strut Tower Brace Bar?

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Old Oct 3, 2011 | 11:44 AM
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Default Strut Tower Brace Bar?

Saw a friend with a 2000 Camaro SS who has one of these. He said it's one of the best bang for buck handling mods you can do. It's just a bar that connects both sides of the engine bay and makes the car feel a lot more planted he says, not so much twisting inside I guess. Anyone know where I can buy this at?

Also, is it really that good of a mod? Are there any negatives to adding this?
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Old Oct 3, 2011 | 03:33 PM
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There are no negatives, but not sure how much positive there is for a street car. That being said, I have the polished bar from Hotchkis. I didn't notice any difference, but it looks cool. There are a few different types out there. I have heard the 3 point (bolts under windshield to cowl) can break the windshield.
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Old Oct 3, 2011 | 04:50 PM
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Are you kidding me? Its just a strut tower brace, a $100-$200 part, very effective for the price, but if you don't plan on road racing much you won't notice a big difference, but it will indeed stiffen the front up a little. Do more research on your car man...
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Old Oct 3, 2011 | 04:51 PM
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A STB was the 1st mod I did to my stock 98Z back in 2002,felt no difference.
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Old Oct 3, 2011 | 04:59 PM
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http://www.foundersperformance.com/p...wer-Brace.html

under 50 bucks, suppose to help your car handle during hard cornering, they look cool too

newer mustangs use them
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Old Oct 3, 2011 | 10:09 PM
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So far it sounds like most people are calling these things worthless. One of my acquaintances has a 2000 Camaro SS and a 2003 Corvette Convertible, base model. He said that the bar alone made the Camaro corner almost exactly as well as the Vette does.

Now that being said, he also thinks the Corvette has more HP than the Camaro SS, 25 more HP to be exact. And he also thinks my Camaro weighs 3,700 lbs. I told him I'm pretty sure my car isn't that much, it's not a 'vert. He thinks he knows more than what he actually does.
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Old Oct 3, 2011 | 10:44 PM
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I have one of the edelbrock 3 pointers on my 96 TA. It feels far more planted and stable than my 01. I'm not sure if that is the only reason why but I have done about everything possible to the 01 to make it beter, except for lowering it, and it just isn't the same as my 96. The 96 isn't lowered either nor have I had any issues with a cracked windshield and that car has been in 2 wrecks since the stb was installed.

I'd put one on the 01 but I cant get it over the blower.
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Old Oct 3, 2011 | 10:50 PM
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Originally Posted by WhiteKnight '01
So far it sounds like most people are calling these things worthless.
Pretty much, other than they look cool.
One of my acquaintances has a 2000 Camaro SS and a 2003 Corvette Convertible, base model. He said that the bar alone made the Camaro corner almost exactly as well as the Vette does.
Sounds pretty hard to believe. You can get an Fbody to corner about as good but a STB isnt gonna be much of a factor, if any.

Now that being said, he also thinks the Corvette has more HP than the Camaro SS, 25 more HP to be exact. And he also thinks my Camaro weighs 3,700 lbs. I told him I'm pretty sure my car isn't that much, it's not a 'vert. He thinks he knows more than what he actually does.
Doesnt sound like he knows much.
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Old Oct 4, 2011 | 01:23 AM
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it was the 1st thing i did to my 98 z28, i noticed a difference..also after i did that when i did burnouts the dashboard stop shaking,,, it had so much bivration before i put it on..
get it from founders performance.. $100-$200 for a strut tower brace is a waste of money.. they all do the same work
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Old Oct 4, 2011 | 01:41 AM
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Originally Posted by WhiteKnight '01
So far it sounds like most people are calling these things worthless. One of my acquaintances has a 2000 Camaro SS and a 2003 Corvette Convertible, base model. He said that the bar alone made the Camaro corner almost exactly as well as the Vette does.
Sfc's would do a better job stiffening the chassis then a stb. I had one on my car now it's currently sitting on my parts shelf....totally useless!
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Old Oct 4, 2011 | 05:53 AM
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I'm not even going to get into SFC's. I've heard that the Strut Tower Brace Bar not only stiffens the ride, but helps keep the car planted and reduce body roll through higher speed turns. I just wanted to confirm that.
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Old Oct 4, 2011 | 10:12 AM
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All it does is settle down a little shake in the front end
sheet metal. A pleasant but not significant to handling
improvement. If you think it's going to keep you out of
the hay bales, you're looking in the wrong place.
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Old Oct 4, 2011 | 02:02 PM
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I have had mine off and on several times and do not feel any difference and I do like to corner hard. I also have SFCs though, which I definitely felt.
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Old Oct 4, 2011 | 02:23 PM
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We have had vehicles that we needed to jack the front of the car up in order for the shock towers to relax to install it. This shows there is stress applied to this area. Will it be a noticeable difference? I highly doubt it, but for the price I think they are a worth while mod.

Here is a link to ours since you were looking for pricing and availability. We also offer 4 different colors:

www.umiperformance.com/2005

I hope that helps!
Ryan
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Old Oct 4, 2011 | 06:10 PM
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It's not the game changer that shock/springs or sway bars would make but I wouldn't run my car without one. To me it's more of a supporting fine tuning mod and by far the easiest one to make.
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Old Oct 4, 2011 | 06:49 PM
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Its cheap, works @ looks good after a ftb get sfc word of difference.
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Old Oct 4, 2011 | 07:10 PM
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Noticed a differance after installing mine , felt more planted in the turns & less vibration through the steering wheel over bumps/ rough roads , but SFC`s also made a huge differance too .
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Old Oct 5, 2011 | 02:30 AM
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i am glad someone FINALLY asked this question.......i have been curious way to long
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Old Oct 5, 2011 | 09:59 AM
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I felt quite a bit of difference in mine initially until the feeling wore off, lol, but it did stiffen the front end quite a bit on my ws6, I just bought from Founders Performance for $50. Good bang for the buck
Oh, and I think I need to get one of my rotors turned and the car vibrated like crazy when I would brake and after I put the stb on it seems the vibration has calmed down quite a bit. The minds a miraculous thing, lol
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Old Oct 5, 2011 | 10:51 PM
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it felt like a new car, being 200% more tied together in turns etc after it went on (BMR) but my stock shocks were shot with over 100k miles on them at the time. so it really depends what else is done as to how much you will feel it. id still recommend one, fun on the street, cheap, and works.
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