 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Car Forum / Mazda / Mazda Miata / July 2006CNC Strut Bar..?
Anyone have or knows about this strut bar: http://tinyurl.com/e6jth -- peer > Anyone have or knows about this strut bar: > > http://tinyurl.com/e6jth I know nothing about it other than the picture but I would suspect the multiple joints would tend to loosen up and require tightening periodically. I'd look elsewhere. > Anyone have or knows about this strut bar: > > http://tinyurl.com/e6jth Looking at the photo, I see a couple of problems: 1. The bar has too much bend in it, and will flex under compression. Straighter = better. 2. The towers look very weak, not triagulated at all. If they don't fatigue and break, it will only be because the flexing of the bar is protecting them.  SignatureLanny Chambers '94C, St. Louis http://www.hummingbirds.net/alignment.html > In article > <Pine.LNX.4.63.0607270511560.20929@ccrma-gate.stanford.edu>, [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > don't fatigue and break, it will only be because the flexing of > the bar is protecting them. There's no need for the bar to flex, after the first couple of bumps all those silly screwed together joints will loosen up allowing plenty of free movement. ;-) It will work VERY well doing what it does and that's "LOOK PRETTY", I can't see any other practical value in it other than increasing the acceleration of the car by lightening the owner's wallet... Beautiful looking piece of machining but I would not buy it because there is no structural beefiness to it and there is no adjustability. I got lucky on my first crack at this type of enhancement. I researched and found that Trust, Greddy and Flyin Miata sell bars that are almost identical and that they work darned well. This item gives a positive and noticeable enhancement to my '94 miata by virtually eliminating an annoying stutter/shimmy at highway speed and twist/ocillation on poor road surfaces. These brands work because they are stout and adjustable. BRM, '94 m-spec, r-spec miata (loaded) > Anyone have or knows about this strut bar: > > http://tinyurl.com/e6jth > > -- peer this one seems like a better design and a better price... but what do i know, it could be just for show and not strong enough to actually do anything meaningful... http://tinyurl.com/qvp5u > Anyone have or knows about this strut bar: > > http://tinyurl.com/e6jth > > -- peer > this one seems like a better design and a better price... but what do i > know, it could be just for show and not strong enough to actually do > anything meaningful... > http://tinyurl.com/qvp5u That's the worst STB I've ever seen. Far too much bow in the skinny bar, and cheesy towers to boot. You get what you pay for. If you want a STB that actually works, look for a hefty, nearly-straight bar, which means tall support towers. The support towers should be fabricated from thick steel, triangulated for maximum rigidity, and welded to a full-circle base for maximum contact with the shock tower. If you just want riceboy candy, buy whatever you like. SignatureLanny Chambers '94C, St. Louis http://www.hummingbirds.net/alignment.html i like that. educational and humorous. thanks. >> this one seems like a better design and a better price... but what do i >> know, it could be just for show and not strong enough to actually do [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > If you just want riceboy candy, buy whatever you like. > i like that. educational and humorous. thanks. Of course, there is still the argument that the STB does nothing at all, regardless of design, unless it is triangulated to attach to the firewall as well. That said, I have a Flying Miata STB on my car, and the front end did seem a bit less firm when I took it off one time. Not a very scientific test, but good enough for me. Pat >> i like that. educational and humorous. thanks. > >Of course, there is still the argument that the STB does nothing at all, That should be "hardly nothing at all." A strut bar can provide limited stiffness with respect to certain forces, assuming it is stiffer than the car is already with respect to those. More importantly, strut bars are extremely powerful stiffness enhancers for suggestible people. ;) >regardless of design, unless it is triangulated to attach to the >firewall as well. That is not an argument, that is basic elasticity. Even Mazda is now aware of it. :) Leon >That said, I have a Flying Miata STB on my car, and the front end did >seem a bit less firm when I took it off one time. >Not a very scientific test, but good enough for me. > >Pat SignatureLeon van Dommelen :) Bess, the Miata :) Bozo, the Miata :) rammm@dommelen.net http://www.dommelen.net/miata The only thing better than a white Miata is two white Miatas > this one seems like a better design and a better price... but > what do i know, it could be just for show and not strong > enough to actually do anything meaningful... Nonsense! It's guaranteed (in all-caps even): "GUARANTEED TO STIFFEN CHASSIS & IMPROVE HANDLING" SignatureGrant Edwards grante Yow! I'm meditating on at the FORMALDEHYDE and the visi.com ASBESTOS leaking into my PERSONAL SPACE!! Pick one up, place one end on a firm surface, and push as hard as you can downwards on the other, maybe kneeling. Any flexing observed, give it a miss. That one looks like it would bend to me! > Anyone have or knows about this strut bar: > > http://tinyurl.com/e6jth > > -- peer > Pick one up, place one end on a firm surface, and push as hard as you can > downwards on the other, maybe kneeling. Any flexing observed, give it a > miss. That one looks like it would bend to me! Personally, I don't think that absolute rigidity is needed. Because there's absolutely nothing supporting the tops of the spring towers it's my guess that anything that would provide even a tiny bit of increased rigidity would help a LOT, I suspect the major improvement would be any brace at all, with the more rigid braces providing only incremental improvements compared to a less rigid one. > Personally, I don't think that absolute rigidity is needed. Because > there's absolutely nothing supporting the tops of the spring towers > it's my guess that anything that would provide even a tiny bit of > increased rigidity would help a LOT, I suspect the major improvement > would be any brace at all, with the more rigid braces providing only > incremental improvements compared to a less rigid one. Your base assumption is mistaken. Actually, the Miata spring towers are pretty well supported by the surrounding body structure and don't move much, plus they only contain the upper end of the coilover unit and don't locate the suspension, so the forces on them are mainly vertical. This is much different from a car with McPherson strut suspension, where strut tower movement affects alignment geometry and causes vague handling responses. In a Miata, a STB helps make the structure more rigid and less prone to cowl shake over bumps. (My understanding is that nothing is damped, but amplitude is reduced by shifting the oscillations to a higher, less-obnoxious frequency.) A STB will not affect handling, except insofar as reducing the "background noise" makes it easier for the driver to interpret feedback from the steering wheel. Since the towers are already robust, only a very stiff bar will result in a significant improvement. In my experience, the difference is more than incremental--if it's worth doing, it's worth doing right. SignatureLanny Chambers '94C, St. Louis http://www.hummingbirds.net/alignment.html |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.