TJ_Max

iTrader: (10)

i have a front strut bar in my car, and to be perfectly honest, i know it makes cornering better, blah blah, but how exactly does it work? is there a write up somewhere? and i know the same is true for the sway bar, id like to know the science behind these things....can anyone help? ....maybe someone wit a search can point me to some threads explaining, id be happy....thanks a lot....

FutureProof

Well my rudimentary understanding is this... a U shape will bend and flex more than a square... When you add an FSTB to your car, you're completing a square... Without, you just have the struts | | and the axles ____ so: |____|

Add a bar to the top, and there's a more rigid structure
_____
|____|

Kinda...

Cheers

Keir

maximaah

iTrader: (1)

Very nice answer, Keir!

Yeah, it just makes the body more rigid and keeps your front suspension pieces from sloshing over sideways when you throw the weight of the chassis to the outside of the curve.

I have the RSB also but have yet to install it cause the FSTB did such a good job of tightening things up...

(Really just post whoring as I just found out the forums are back!)

TJ_Max

iTrader: (10)

lolol, holy s*h*t that was a great answer, made sense and was exactly what i was looking for....


how about the rear sway bar? is it the same idea? doesnt the RSB go underneath the car? thanks, so far so good wit the answers!!

SkinnyMax

iTrader: (1)

the sway bar prevents the car from body roll. when you go around a turn the car leans because while the outside suspension is compressing the inside is extending, the sway bar keeps the the movement of each side of the car relatively close the other side. so that when both wheels hit an obstacle evenly the suspension works normally but in a turn the motion of one side is limited by the position of the other side. after a day of classes thats the best my mind can describe it without pictures.

TJ_Max

iTrader: (10)

thanks case closed, great answers...

maxNYC

iTrader: (1)

it makes the distance between the two strut towers stationary. This also prohibits flexing in cases where flex is evident (turns at higher speeds)

Brudaddy

iTrader: (2)

Actually, the FSTB does not make cornering better. It corrects something called "torque steer." This is felt when you are taking off pretty hard in a Front wheel drive car, as the Maxima, and you feel the wheels searching from side to side. That is because the Strut Towers are flexing and have some sideways travel. By installing the FSTB, you are minimizing the sideways travel of the strut towers, thus, greatly reducing the amount of torque steer. That is why everything about the steering feels tighter and more responsive.

The RSB, on the other hand, does a whole different thing. First, the RSB shows a lot more results than the FSTB does. The RSB bolts onto the rear axle cover and helps keep the car from having Body roll(as some others have stated). Body roll is what you feel when you turn in the Maxima stock, and it feels like the body is just going to roll/flop/tip over. You should definitely do both of these mods, as they are wonderful.
I would, however, recommend the RSB over the FSTB. (the FSTB is only like $15-$30 though, so you should be able to do both.)

fadeaway

Thanks, some good info in there.

ilyaat

For more answers, check out www.howstuffworks.com

maximaah

iTrader: (1)

Hmmm. Guess I'm just imagining that my car's cornering better. Go figure.

sunten1

whoa thanx dooos had the smae question!!!

and one more thing it was mentioned that the ftsb is about 15-25 bucks where is this???and how much for a rsb ?

maximaah

iTrader: (1)

Check eBay for cheap fstb, Custom Enterprise for one with same function but looks better, $70. Here's the Custom Maxima fstb on my 95 (yeah, dirty engine):


Progress RSB also from Custom Enterprise, $130. I got an Addco from somewhere for $120, same thing.

Brudaddy

iTrader: (2)

See, I like my cheap one better than that.
It is just silver, and not blue like that. That makes it look kind of ricey....but whatever you like.

Anyway, go on ebay and find the cheap FSTB. They are all pretty much the same, but make sure you get them for the right year.

I got mine from the seller ReVotec and they were good. It came quickly and they were good to deal with.

RSB's are going to be like $100+ used. They are a good bit more expensive, but they do a good bit more than the FSTB.

Digital

iTrader: (1)

My RSB is on the way from cali, my FSTB was a good upgrade. Match that with a suspension kit, and you'll feel a difference in handling.

SkinnyMax

iTrader: (1)

torque steer occurs because of the design of the halfshafts, not the rigidity of the body. if you have equal length halfshafts then they twist equally when accelerating, if you have uneven length ones then the longer one will twist more than the shorter one causing the longer side to accelerate slower.