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Hay I was woundering if anyone knows who makes a front strut bace for a 98. Im looking to improve performance and would like to start there.
Strut Tower Brace
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FTB for 98
Lucky.
Unfortunately for you, noone. Those of us who has one got them as part of a group buy sometime back. Perhaps, you can get someone to sell it to you... I doubt that .... but for right price you can get anything so you might try it out. Good luck.
Lucky.
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A strut tower brace on this car is a purely cosmetic upgrade. The strut towers have way more support and rigidity from the firewall they are formed to, than a shiny metal 1" bar will ever supply.
I would stop my post there, but that answer is not 100% complete without stating this. Is the support from the firewall enough? For a daily driver or weekend warrior? Yes. For a dedicated SCCA car? No. There was an article I read a number of years ago, put together by someone who spent a lot of time with an FSAE project. He took the suspension knowledge he gained there and tackled a BMW 3-series, whose strut towers are not formed as a part of the firewall. He took it, flogged it around the track, recorded a lot of race data, then stopped. He slapped a pre-fabricated a-typical strut tower bar that was mass produced for that 3-series. Took it back out on the track, recorded more data and stopped again. Removed the STB, then made his own, and modified it. He still had the one across, but then added one extra bar coming down from each strut tower, back towards the firewall, which formed an X, WENT THROUGH the firewall and secured to the body inside the cabin. Then took it back out and got more data.
Results? Between stock and mass-marketed STB, difference was minimal, some was even marked up to driver error/correction or changing track/weather conditions. However, the difference between stock and the modified STB was night and day, there was undeniable data that supported that setup.
Hell even Ford, with the SN-95 Mustang, they added their own strut tower bar as a factory piece, but it was done for NVH (Noise, Vibration and Harmonics), not for performance.
I would stop my post there, but that answer is not 100% complete without stating this. Is the support from the firewall enough? For a daily driver or weekend warrior? Yes. For a dedicated SCCA car? No. There was an article I read a number of years ago, put together by someone who spent a lot of time with an FSAE project. He took the suspension knowledge he gained there and tackled a BMW 3-series, whose strut towers are not formed as a part of the firewall. He took it, flogged it around the track, recorded a lot of race data, then stopped. He slapped a pre-fabricated a-typical strut tower bar that was mass produced for that 3-series. Took it back out on the track, recorded more data and stopped again. Removed the STB, then made his own, and modified it. He still had the one across, but then added one extra bar coming down from each strut tower, back towards the firewall, which formed an X, WENT THROUGH the firewall and secured to the body inside the cabin. Then took it back out and got more data.
Results? Between stock and mass-marketed STB, difference was minimal, some was even marked up to driver error/correction or changing track/weather conditions. However, the difference between stock and the modified STB was night and day, there was undeniable data that supported that setup.
Hell even Ford, with the SN-95 Mustang, they added their own strut tower bar as a factory piece, but it was done for NVH (Noise, Vibration and Harmonics), not for performance.
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there are plenty of people that have them for their cars that will argue on that they are nothing more than cosmetic...
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I would tend to agree as well. On some cars they might help, but a Taurus is a fairly rigid car overall. You will see far more results from better sway bars than from a strut brace.
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How about the factory brace from a G3 SHO? Don't know about clearance on Vulcan or Tec engines though....
There is no factory brace.
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My mistake. I guess the one on my brothers '98 must have been added by the dealer when the car was first sold. Sure looks like it's been there from birth.
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I can but am usually too lazy to drag out the 78% nitrogen hose.....
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Feel 2 psi difference in a taurus? When are we betting and how much? I will be there, I say BS and I'm willing to bet a whole lot of money.
So you feel your car getting off balance when one side is in the sun? That must be an annoying experience.. temperature changes a little and feel of the car is off.
So you feel your car getting off balance when one side is in the sun? That must be an annoying experience.. temperature changes a little and feel of the car is off.
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I can feel the front suspension dynamics are off when my ashtray is full.....
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The quotes above are correct. The quotes below are not.
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Placebo effect, if I spent X-amount of money on any particular "performance" labeled item, I would expect some kind of return.
So forgive me that I rather believe someone who provided actual before and after data, than a few people who claim it makes a difference.
So forgive me that I rather believe someone who provided actual before and after data, than a few people who claim it makes a difference.
Usually sun load doesn't effect tire temp that much on the roads I drive bc of the trees.
I have driven the over 300k between my gen2 and 3 wagons. After a while you tend to notice subtle handling differences. I can tell cross axle pressure differences, and it usualy it takes about 5 psi for me to notice that both tires on the same axle are low.
I don't notice the pull difference bc my caster is maxed out, but I do notice the "spring rate" difference.
Also, our Bulls are not stock. (Pauls was modified way more then mine.)
If you drill the strut towers and play with the alignment, you will be amazed how the handling changes.
I have driven the over 300k between my gen2 and 3 wagons. After a while you tend to notice subtle handling differences. I can tell cross axle pressure differences, and it usualy it takes about 5 psi for me to notice that both tires on the same axle are low.
I don't notice the pull difference bc my caster is maxed out, but I do notice the "spring rate" difference.
Also, our Bulls are not stock. (Pauls was modified way more then mine.)
If you drill the strut towers and play with the alignment, you will be amazed how the handling changes.
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So, back to the OP, whose Bull is stock, wants to begin his suspension modifications, would you suggest his first purchase to be a strut tower bar?
The thing is you are basing your information based on 1 car. What may work for 1 car may not work for another car or may be the best thing for a different car. Maybe the BMW has a better design for the front strut towers.
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374 Posts
Perhaps if you were comparing a vehicle that was built by a man in his shed to a mass produced car, but you are comparing two mass produced vehicles that have to meet crash test standards. The only difference they could have would be the gauge of sheet metal used, even that could not vary that widely without compromising occupant safety.
STBs first saw production light in the late 1960s in the Saab Sonett, due to the MacPherson strut design and the strut towers being tied to the wheel wells and not the main frame rails, the towers will flex independent of the main frame rails. The strut tower bar was utilized in the Sonett to limit this flex. However, in vehicles in which the strut towers are formed to the firewall and the firewall is an integral piece of the main frame rails of a monocoque or unibody platform... I think you see where I am going with this.
Scientifically it doesn't fly.
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