strut bars

Aug 12, 2010
347
0
0
P.G. County, Maryland
For some reason Supra owners seem to think that raw power is a substitute for everything, and i personally disagree. No one cares about weight loss, because "if you just pump the boost, you'll get enough extra horsepower to counteract that". Thats true, as long as you only care about going fast once your turbo spools up, which for some of us isn't until 5k+. What happens when you aren't just racing in a straight line? When you're entering a corner, or clutch kicking into a drift? When you need low-RPM acceleration instead of a peaky top end? What happens when your cooked-noodle chassis has to handle 500hp mid-hairpin? What do we do when our ridiculously low full-lock steering angle renders us completely vulnerable and leaves us out-manuevered by mid-class grocery-getters and 150ff family sedans? It might just be because i've been watching Initial D for the last two hours, but damn i wish there was more info on our suspension. lol
 

IJ.

Grumpy Old Man
Mar 30, 2005
38,728
0
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I come from a land down under
spikesnstuff0905;1672532 said:
For some reason Supra owners seem to think that raw power is a substitute for everything, and i personally disagree. No one cares about weight loss, because "if you just pump the boost, you'll get enough extra horsepower to counteract that". Thats true, as long as you only care about going fast once your turbo spools up, which for some of us isn't until 5k+. What happens when you aren't just racing in a straight line? When you're entering a corner, or clutch kicking into a drift? When you need low-RPM acceleration instead of a peaky top end? What happens when your cooked-noodle chassis has to handle 500hp mid-hairpin? What do we do when our ridiculously low full-lock steering angle renders us completely vulnerable and leaves us out-manuevered by mid-class grocery-getters and 150ff family sedans? It might just be because i've been watching Initial D for the last two hours, but damn i wish there was more info on our suspension. lol
It's NOT real...... :nono:
 

89nasupra

Sugar, Water, Purple
Apr 8, 2008
501
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Lafayette, Louisiana, United States
Strut bars on our cars are a waste of time and money. They are not built like Hondars. We have upper and lower A-arms near the frame rails. the struts are under up and down force only not side to side. Put your money into other suspension components that will actully yeild results.
 

jrot

New Member
Apr 11, 2010
195
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knob noster, MO
would a subframe connector but useful in a noodle car? i dont think they are available i was just curious for the sake of conversation...
 

te72

Classifieds Moderator
Staff member
Mar 26, 2006
6,610
7
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WHYoming
jrot;1672643 said:
would a subframe connector but useful in a noodle car? i dont think they are available i was just curious for the sake of conversation...
Nope. Get yourself a cage. Our cars aren't half-assed when it comes to the body/frame structure like the domestic comparable cars.

Poodles;1672640 said:
Only thing they're good for is something to lean on while working under the hood...
That, they do quite nicely, but just make for another thing to remove when you're working on certain things, so... However, what about the ones that also bolt to the firewall? I forget who made those for our cars, but they looked quite stout. I dunno if the geometry of our suspension setups completely negates their use in any shape or form, but if I were buying some that didn't already come with the car, I would probably lean that direction.
 

Poodles

I play with fire
Jul 22, 2006
16,757
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Fort Worth, TX
If you have a "wet noodle" try retorquing your subframe bolts and checking bushings everywhere. Nobody ever checks the subframe bolts (much like the bolts that hold the seats down should be checked as well) and mine were VERY loose. Makes a world of difference. The only issue is the windshield shimmy, but that's because of it's design. Compared to other cars with removable roofs (at that time), Supras are very stiff. 3rd gen f-body or foxbody mustang come to mind. Hell, convertable foxbody mustangs came with subframe connectors from the factory because the chassis is so limp (and they still feel like wet noodles).
 

bioskyline

New Member
Oct 21, 2010
1,236
0
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powell river bc
corvettes are also fiberglass bodys....

thanks for the tips, not going to get them , gonna get new subframe bushing like poodles sujested and see how that works

but no one has really awnsered my question as to if it would clear the 7m, or is that one solely for the 1jz?
 

SWD Fredester 3

Supramania Contributor
Apr 25, 2008
674
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baltimore maryland
So if you want one to clear the 7M, I have one, actually two, front and rear. They are original CUSCO strut tower bars that I bought and installed about seven years ago. IMO they look great, you could check my build thread; but I have known for some time--at least since I started talking to Ian or reading on SM, that they are not needed. Let me know if you want them, probably better looking on your car than on my shelf. Also haven't posted a pic yet but I've got a pretty sweet rear roll cage going in to replace the rear strut bar.
 

toyolla86

New Member
Dec 6, 2010
148
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0
salt lake city,utah
I have one sitting on my shelf also. I heard about a little trick we can do to see if they even make a difference. Make a little gasket out of a cereal box or something. Paint it black and put it between the strut bar and the body, tighten loosely. Go driving around making hard turns. Then take the gasket out and see if there are score marks. If no marks then your strut bar is useless. If there are marks in your gasket then maybe it does have some function to it.