strut bar on Ebay for $15

[bellwilliam]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...&rd=1 $15 herethis is a really good deal !! no relation to seller. too bad I've already got a TRD bar, which I paid $100 !! http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...&rd=1 $7.50 here

[AKLGT]

they don't look as good a quality as the others.... also the adjustable have too much slack in them so they are there for just appearance only. besides, i'm a firm believer in you get what you pay for.

[Raven]

Quote, originally posted by trdvibe »they don't look as good a quality as the others.... also the adjustable have too much slack in them so they are there for just appearance only. besides, i'm a firm believer in you get what you pay for.Actually, on the Vibe, all strut bars are for appearance only. There is virtually no flex in the chassis so a strut bar is purely cosmetic and therefore should be bought for good looks and cheap price rather than functionality.

[Devlop]

Quote, originally posted by Sunny »Actually, on the Vibe, all strut bars are for appearance only. There is virtually no flex in the chassis so a strut bar is purely cosmetic and therefore should be bought for good looks and cheap price rather than functionality.I disagree. After I installed mine, I noticed a definite difference during autocrossing. Steering was more responsive.

[GT_03]

Okay, who wants a good laugh??? That the same one i got, it's not to bad and yeah i paid just a few bucks for it.

[ebslopp]

Quote, originally posted by GT_03 »Okay, who wants a good laugh??? That the same one i got, it's not to bad and yeah i paid just a few bucks for it. lol...that is funny. Where can I get one for a couple of bucks?

[GT_03]

i bought that F1Sports one, that was in the first post. I found it on Ebay.

[Raven]

Quote, originally posted by Devlop »I disagree. After I installed mine, I noticed a definite difference during autocrossing. Steering was more responsive.Yes, and placebos work too!

[Devlop]

Quote, originally posted by Sunny »Yes, and placebos work too!

[bellwilliam]

if you look at front tower, it is really close to the firewall. so I doubt front strut will make any differences in Vibe. in other car, where front suspension mount is a lot further away from firewall, it would probably flex a lot more.a really old autocross trick, is to tie front towers with aircraft steel cable. expensive or cheap strut bars does the same thing, that's to prevent front tower separating away. so I would go by appearance and price !!

[Thewhite]

well I wanted to test my new Strut bar, so I made a simulation of an emergency brake and turn into a mail parking. It really made a difference from what I'm used to.

[MadBill]

Bellwilliam is right. Based on my experience, I'm afraid I have to weigh in on the side of "Placebo Effect". I did a post last year on this: I rigged a bar from the driver's side strut tower to the passenger side of my Vibe, with a scribe attached to the end so that it contacted an aluminum plate coated with layout blue and mounted on the tower. Then for several weeks I flew around corners, hits big bumps, hit bumps in corners, etc. with my sticky 275/40 x 17" Firestone Firehawks. Result: Absolutely no movement detected; the point of the scribe just sat in a tiny pin (removed) mark.Strut braces look great, and on some vehicles with towers "out there in space" (e.g. Camaros and Cavaliers) they really do work, but with the Vibe's towers anchored solidly into the cowl, they really don't! (Unless someone can explain exactly how, when there is no movement to start with, one can still "stiffen" the structure.)For what it's worth, the tower would have to move almost 1/2" to change the camber by one degree...

[MadBill]

Exactly!

[shibaman]

My first modded car was a 79 VW Scrirocco. I put an upper and lower stut tie off because it did flex some. It made a huge differance on this car. I also had sway bars, factory GTI springs,ATS wheels/205-60-13 tires etc. It handled better than almost any other car I have had. This 2000 lb. car use to kill all the bimmer 2002s, 320i and many other cars. My Daughter went to Buttonwillow race track and she said that people still race these little cars.- Real fast! I founf a pic of what it looked like stock from a web site.

Attached files whtmk1.jpe (8.6 KB) 

[goodvibe]

I also have that $15 bar. It is actually a good looking functional bar. If you tighten everthing enough so that the connections work like clamps, there is zero play. I did feel some difference in my GT but I have the moon roof and am missing a front roof brace because of it. It's the same reason that Pontiac won't sell 17's with the moonroof. I believe that Madbills test is accurate for Vibes with a solid top. This is a reach but perhaps someone can 'feel' a difference in a solid top car without any real performance gains because road energy is more damped or dissipated through the car differently.

[mwebb]

I agree with Develop(Ihave the same strut bar as him) and I felt a noticable difference when I had the strut bar on. I actually thought it was not going to work- but when i puit it on I went for a drive- then lets some friends drive it, and we all agreed that it made a difference-

[ragingfish]

Quote, originally posted by goodvibe »I also have that $15 bar. It is actually a good looking functional bar. If you tighten everthing enough so that the connections work like clamps, there is zero play. I did feel some difference in my GT but I have the moon roof and am missing a front roof brace because of it. It's the same reason that Pontiac won't sell 17's with the moonroof. I believe that Madbills test is accurate for Vibes with a solid top. This is a reach but perhaps someone can 'feel' a difference in a solid top car without any real performance gains because road energy is more damped or dissipated through the car differently. You have been able to get 17s with the M&T package for a while now. They determined the tires being used when they had problems wiht the moonroof were too sticky. A change in tire grip fixed the problem.As for Bill, I'm pretty sure he does have a moonroof, but I can't say for sure.

[MadBill]

Nope, no moon roof on Big Boots; but Goodvibe could be right, that a strut brace might have more effect on a Vibe that did.

[goodvibe]

I thought that Pontiac blew it on the 17s with M&T thing too but obviously they felt there was a problem due to flex. Overly catious I'm sure. If the problem was pronounced, they still wouldn't offer it since we're all going to do a tire change within the warranty period if not when we first leave the dealer. The fact that they offer it now tells me they over reacted. The new tires are probably all season for winter driving and liability issues. There were a lot of winter driving complaints on the original summer only Firestones.

[Devlop]

Oops, nevermind

[DjDoubleLP]

Toyota has had 17's offered with a moonroof for a while now. No STB though.......but you can always buy the TRD one. I have a '03 Trix XRS with no moonroof with the STB........and when I put it in I noticed quite the difference. But if some people say they have not noticed any difference with or with out it that is ok. I also find that the TRD STB is a very good looking STB.

[blk182@n7]

I got the OEM 17"s with my moon & toons on my 03 GT.I would have to agree the STB did add something on the turn in and turn out, my GT seems more responsive. I still fell its to high off the ground even with the Eibach pro kit, But handling wise its much better, next mods with most likly be the front Roll bar to go with the rear, and wider tires 225's i think 215's arent bad but i want more traction.When i added the STB to my GTP it was like driving a new car.

[goodvibe]

I think you'll find that the progress rear bar is the single most enjoyable thing you can do for handling. It helps much more than the springs for overall balance. Together they're great. Takes a faster set plus the great balance. It's personal but I've always prefered a nice balance to any other aspect of handling including maximum G. More fun if your not a racer.