Front Strut Bar questions

[tre_77]

A- anyone here notice any difference in handling?

B- How easy was it to install? Any tips?



Thanks in advance.

[Fuman]

search.......

[tre_77]

awesome help....

i see your point, but i guess you never saw im a noob. literally just joined a month or so ago.

[Takumi616]

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."--


awesome help....

i see your point, but i guess you never saw im a noob. literally just joined a month or so ago.

[bhrm]

1. Does nothing other than make engine bay look pretty.

2. if you have the tools its pretty easy. hardest part is not dropping any nuts and bolts into the dark void

upper Strut bar does nothing because mazda 3's are reinforced anyways and is 'stiff' enough. However if you do plan on tracking the car heavily especially auto cross regularly, it does help prevent flexing....not sure how much on mazda 3's but i know for other cars it sure does. But that's only if you plan on auto crossing on a weekly basis.

[peterm15]

I can't offer any real advice for the question at hand but I find the search function is a little tricky here.

Google with the advanced search option set to " search only torontomazda3.ca" seems to come up with the best results. You will also come up with possible better options.

If nothing pops up for you I'm sure someone with some real knowledge of your question will chime in.

[Fuman]

awesome help....

i see your point, but i guess you never saw im a noob. literally just joined a month or so ago.
Being a new member and being smart enough to use the search function are related how?
Even people that haven't joined the club knows how to search.

[JaYson]

i don't think being a noob has anything to do with not having to/not knowing how to search

just type in "Strut Bar" in the search, then read for hours on end (which is what i did)


Basically its engine bay candy, im sure it does help keep everything even "more" stiff, but the effects are likely negligible.
there has also been talk about the fact that, although our firewalls are quite thick and rigid (which is what people attribute the Stiffness to) there is also a huge gaping hole where they feed various components through, so some believe that hold compromises the rigidity of the firewall, thus our car is infact NOT as stiff as one would believe it to be.

another thing is the placebo effect.

basically, if you're not going to track your car and you're not goign to get the under body bars, and mounts and this and that. its likely not going to do much on its own. BUT. it does look great under the hood.


I bought one off another member a few months back, held it for a couple months with the intent to eventually get around to installing. then eventually it dawned on me....this was taking up upwards of $50, it wouldn't improve my performance by any significant amount, and it would be blocking up my battery box in case i even needed to get a boost. --- basically it was only for eye candy.

so i sold it off to another member in the end.

[Shawn]

They are all wrong. It does make a difference.
Take a corner at the point were your front tires are about to slide, Then install the bar, repeat.

[cwp_sedan]

Quoted from another thread.


if you want to believe what mazda marketing told you, then so be it
if you really want to know though, the firewall doesn't do everything to keep chassis flex from happening in our cars.. there's a huge cutout around where the wiper motor sits (which you can't see without removing the cowl panel)... I noticed a huge difference in steering response and handling after I put in my autoexe brace... it handles more predictively and smoothly compared to before.... this is with a bone stock suspension!

most people, like you will say a bar won't do anything because they also got cheap braces or parrot off what someone else said... since the car already has some halfassed bracing, a crappy bar isn't going to exceed what's there stock... you have to get something really good like autoexe or mazdaspeed to gain a real performance increase

[Leafs_Nation87]

I just put one one today and the car is stiffer which is nice....but I know everyone has their own opinion on this subject

[tre_77]

Which one? Any pics?

[Leafs_Nation87]

http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=5963&d=1319259711

[Kiyomi]

lolz at this thread. lets try and help someone and not jump and criticize.
For a tower bar, it is 80% eye candy and 20% performance. Each brand differs, some are designed to let you remove the battery box whenever you want. (autoexe) but then u gotta fork up the dough.
Ive done a fair amount of tracking (hehe dp) :D, and i can tell you each mod helps. but if its just for daily driving, its really up to you. wont notice much, if anything if its a $50 dollar bar. u gotta pay to play.
my suggestion, spend the money $250-300 elsewhere if you want 100% performance, 0% eye candy. A good rear sway bar will get you all the street performance you will want. you cant see it, but you can defiinitly feel it. :D
now that wasnt so hard was it. lets try and keep the tm3 spirit alive, in that helping someone, noob or not, is the main priority. gl with your decision and welcome to the community.

[Fuman]

lolz at this thread. lets try and help someone and not jump and criticize.
I would gladly help people that made an effort to help themselves, and I have done so in the past. He could have easily helped him self. This topic has been covered a numerous times, just search "Front tower bar" and you'll get a thread like:
http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showthread.php?35585-Strut-Bar&highlight=front+tower+bar


lets try and keep the tm3 spirit alive, in that helping someone, noob or not,
Help him learn the search function.

[Default User]

80% candy 20% performance? LOL It either works or it doesn't. (But I know what you mean)

OP - it helps. Wether it's a $50 piece or a $300 piece. It ties the two top towers together and strengthens the chassis. Only differences is brand name and style. And unless the unit is made of rubber - I suggest just getting any bar you like.

Most people will say its not necessary because the towers are tied in with the fire wall. But if you drive hard, then it will come in handy. Even if you take off ramps aggressively - you will notice the difference.

Most people also get a STB because it's inexpensive, easy to install and gives some engine bling.

Nextmod and Garage16 sells them for about $60-100. You can't go wrong with a less than $100 performance part - even if it's only 20% performance :D

[Leafs_Nation87]

I got mine from nextmod for $50 cash.....good luck with your final decision buddy..Cheers!

[Fayvir]

After installing mine for about 2 months, I don't notice a difference, but I only do daily driving on it, never taken it to the track, so to each their own.
Again, it kinda bugs me that I cant pop open my battery cover now though...unless I remove one end of it...

[rajin929]

IMO

Solid strut bar > 3 pc ones (bar and two strut plates all connected by nuts and bolts)