2009 GT Front Strut Tower Bar?

[farles]

Here is a shot of the 2009 GT stock engine. What do you make of the strut tower bar? Another forum indicated that there is a rod that moves under the rubber cover. Movement would render it useless.Any ideas???

[WaveAction]

looks weird..is it like a shock absorber or something? strut bars are ment to be solid..i dont know..dont look to solid to me

[northvibe]

i think its like the engine damper, its should be pretty solid but has the "shock" there for a tiny bit of movement.

[Jyik40]

I don't get it either. I thought the whole point of having a strut tower brace was to make it as solid as possible. It does look nice though .

[imspace2]

Urrgh Someone stroll over and get better pics of this bar so we can figure this out. I'm guessing that it does give a little bit but why? Maybe because the stress of a solid bar would snap the fwd suspension/drive-train or chassis I have an '06 Malibu SS and it has a "GM Performance" bar, is completely solid also and rides great. Man I will miss the torque (3.9L DOHC V6, 248lb/ft @4800) when I pony this ride over for the Navy Vibe GT but I think I will like the transition

[imspace2]

Hey maybe its some sort of gas-charged "semi-active" bar that is torqued to give under lesser stresses and hold up during harder ones but probably not in a sub 20K car

[northvibe]

heres the thing, stock they never have performance/racing/sport in mind they want a comfort ride. Okay so the GT is semi performance so they throw on a semi stiff STB. only aftermarket will have a straight bar because it will be rigid. same reason why SC's didnt come stock on the vibe, its not a sought after part, only some people want it.

[farles]

I pulled this picture off the internet. I am getting my GT next Tuesday and so can post more detailed pics and try to figure this out.Meanwhile, maybe someone else that has a GT can get some close up shots.

[imspace2]

Off-topic I can't wait until GM Perf puts out a F/I kit for the '09s nevermind MPGs these little guys will haul

[Kamikaze]

It's a steering dampener... or at least that's my guess... Looks basically like the same idea that they use on bikes... I'm assuming this is suppose to make steering transitions smoother... I could be wrong... but that's my guess.

[damronjr]

Looks very similar to the older Corolla XRS STBs that they had.

[farles]

Hmmmmm...interesting ideas. I will ask ToolGuy, who did a teardown on an '09 GT yesterday and has it posted in the Lounge. Maybe he has some more insight.The steering idea makes more sense than a strut bar, if it is adjustable.

[ToolGuy]

Well this bar does bolt up on the tops of the strut towers thus I feel it cannot be related to engine at all. My guess is it stiffens the chassis up enough but not too harsh like the kind we are all used to. It must flex if the car is put real aggressively into a turn but I am guessing not to where the driver will even notice. I feel if it did not adjust then again it would be too harsh and people would complain about it. Almost as if the engineers wanted to stiffen it but not so much that would cause complaints.With the car I saw yesterday I could not push the car from side to side or jounce the suspension because the tech was working on it and I do not think he would like if I did that! The drivers side of the bar also has a link with bolts and you can see the link was added for clearance and then it bolts to the top of the strut tower.

[ToolGuy]

OK GM offically calls it this!#19184420 Bar, Front Suspension Strut HSG Upper Tie (includes Damper, Bar, Bushing, Bolt and Nut)So I am sticking with a strut tower bar.

[farles]

Thanks ToolGuy, good analysis Maybe we will hear more as time goes along. Did any previous Vibe GT have this feature?