I was just looking through the new sport compact and saw stillen's ad page. They have got a new 2pc. strut bar (looks like an upside down v shape) for the 2002. I am wondering if this would work on a 2001 and if it has any advantage over the one piece bar that I have now. Sure, I could call stillen but I would rather talk to yall about it than them. I appreciate any info.

haydn

 

I was looking forward to this bar being used in conjuntion with a strut-to-strut bar. However, seeing how Stillen mounts the beams to the front side of the mounts, the two bars would intersect. I would love to see a bar which combined both as you would then get the benefit of strut-to-frame and strut-to-strut support. I think both pose benefits to strengthening the suspension.

 

i had not thought about that and the advantages it would pose to use the two in conjunction. do you think the new one would pose any greater advantage than the bar to bar that we have now?

 

I, personally, feel that the two-piece bar used alone will be less effective than the one-piece bar for what most of us are looking for. My feeling is that the one-piece bar will ensure a quicker transfer of momentum of both sides of the car into the direction of the turn. The two-piece bar will likely decrease torsion better by linking the strut towers to a more immobile section of the frame. The brief moment at the beginning of a turn, when the inside wheel is going one direction and the outside wheel is fighting the momentum shift will be best addressed by the one-piece bar and therefore steering response better addressed by the one-piece bar.

Of course, I could be full of $hit too.