E30 Rear Strut Bar

[TheBankslife]

Was bored and thinking up what I can do while I look for a new engine so I decided to design a rear strut bar I'm going to build a few different versions of it and see how things turn out... won't really be able to test the difference for a few months till I'm done my project but heres my sketchup!

[Herr Faust Schinken]

cool but theres a guy on here already selling them that look like that you should try and make some that tie into the rear diff mount like a mason bar

[5Toes]

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=275764&highlight=strut+bar

cant top that

[yeaseth]

I just recently made this one. It cost me 40 bucks and 5 hours total of my time. Totally worth it

[jlevie]

A rear shock tower brace has little to no affect on handling since the rear shocks have no affect on rear suspension geometry. It won't hurt to have one, but it won't help performance.

[yeaseth]

I can say it definitely helped with handling. I used to get a tripod type effect on my inside rear tire on sharp fast turns. I then installed the strut bar setup just because I wanted to stiffen the chassis.

Without expecting any change I went out and drove the car right after installation and now my back end stays flat on the ground, it's great. I would definitely say the rigidity of the 3 point strut bar helped handling performance.

[SkiFree]

A rear shock tower brace has little to no affect on handling since the rear shocks have no affect on rear suspension geometry. It won't hurt to have one, but it won't help performance.

I'll back Jim up on this, the same applies to the 2002. Looks nice, but actual gains from the bar alone... not so much. Of course if you're running a true C/O system in the rear that's a different story.

[acolella76]

I can say it definitely helped with handling. I used to get a tripod type effect on my inside rear tire on sharp fast turns. I then installed the strut bar setup just because I wanted to stiffen the chassis.

Without expecting any change I went out and drove the car right after installation and now my back end stays flat on the ground, it's great. I would definitely say the rigidity of the 3 point strut bar helped handling performance.

Eh? Lifting tire is caused by your suspension, mainly your sway bars, being too stiff. Stiffening the rear end (a negligible amount at that) isn't going to put that tire back on the ground. Looks nice though!

I'll back Jim up on this, the same applies to the 2002. Looks nice, but actual gains from the bar along... not so much. Of course if you're running a true C/O system in the rear that's a different story.

Agreed

[jjmtools]

rear tower bar

A rear shock tower brace has little to no affect on handling since the rear shocks have no affect on rear suspension geometry. It won't hurt to have one, but it won't help performance.

this guy is not correct!
what occurs is called structural deflection - bending , twist,tension,compression
the rear tower bar is utilized to keep the chassis in square whilst under loaded conditions = affecting proper suspension settings and ultimately mechnical grip
the floor support bars,are used to cancel the oil can/panting effect of the monocoque trunk floor pan
If you have to lift throttle comming into corner because it won"t turn ,thats not a good thing

[Holland]

this guy is not correct!
what occurs is called structural deflection - bending , twist,tension,compression
the rear tower bar is utilized to keep the chassis in square whilst under loaded conditions = affecting proper suspension settings and ultimately mechnical grip
the floor support bars,are used to cancel the oil can/panting effect of the monocoque trunk floor pan
If you have to lift throttle comming into corner because it won"t turn ,thats not a good thing

Except that the load on the rear suspension is on the springs, located in the center of the trailing arm, opposed to the end, where the shock is located. On the E30 the shock takes a minimal load.

What I have noticed with a rear bar on my car, is not while cornering, but while driving over bumps and gaps. Keep in mind 90% of my car is composed of solid bushings.

[acolella76]

this guy is not correct!
what occurs is called structural deflection - bending , twist,tension,compression
the rear tower bar is utilized to keep the chassis in square whilst under loaded conditions = affecting proper suspension settings and ultimately mechnical grip
the floor support bars,are used to cancel the oil can/panting effect of the monocoque trunk floor pan
If you have to lift throttle comming into corner because it won"t turn ,thats not a good thing

Show me one example of a rear strut bar eliminating understeer in an E30 and I will dance naked on the white house lawn. Like others said the rear shock towers don't take heavy load or cause the back end to twist and flex. With coil-over rear shocks its a totally different story.

[bastianshaw]

Seems to me all e30s already have a rear strut bar...its the big peice of metal called the rear seat

[IronFreak]

^^^HAHA very true.

[jjmtools]

rear tower bars

SOME KNOW SOME DON"T KNOW SOME DO NOT WANT TO KNOW

SOME WILL NEVER KNOW










uote=acolella76;3587462]Show me one example of a rear strut bar eliminating understeer in an E30 and I will dance naked on the white house lawn. Like others said the rear shock towers don't take heavy load or cause the back end to twist and flex. With coil-over rear shocks its a totally different story.[/quote]

[ak-]

I don't believe a rear strut improves handling, although..

My only experience with installing them on 2 different cars is that when going up & down driveways at an angle, the rear window doesn't creek anymore as if it's going to explode.

Basically it stops the flex and what sounds like this is going to happen:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=161526