After testing the majority of the sway bars out there, I'm gonna give my findings.
This is for front strut bars only, will do a review of rears later.

The car is a 99 Z24. FE2 22mm front sway bar factory. No rear anything for the tests.
GM bar used has 3 firewall points. Also this tests does not include custom bars.

Types of strut bars/designs:

Old ebay, RK, Freedom Design (new/old), Ractive (round bar): \_______/

New ebay, Vibrant,: o---------------o

GM: ------\______ or ____/--------- well you know, it has the bend in it.

Stiffness of ride most to least:
1)GM
2)RK,FD
3)Vibrant

Best looking: (opinion only)
1)Vibrant
2)RK, Freedom design (with the square slots)
3) RK Freedom design old (without the slots), Ractive
4) Generic ebay new
5) GM (painted a diff color or not, its still aint pretty)

Most body lean most to least:
1)Vibrant, new ebay
2)RK, Freedom design, old ebay, Ractive
3)GM

Quickest to straighten up from out of the turn:
1) RK, Freedom design, old ebay, Ractive
1.5) Vibrant, new ebay
3) GM

Ok for some explaination of my termminology.

1) Looks are looks, its your call.

2) Body lean is how far t he car dipped when taking a turn moderate to hard. A little tough to describe without being in the car. But I'll just say the stuff slid the furthest off my dashboard with the bars with the higher lean properties.

3) Straightening up. And this was only apparent to me when I used the GM brace. Since the other bars are straight or practically straight, when the turn is ended, everything 'undipped' back uniformily.
WIth that GM brace though, as stiff as it is, when coming out of a turn, there's this little hitch you can feel in the steering wheel. And can kinda see it cause the car would kinda jerk the other way first a hair then straighten up. Felling/looking around you can tell the origins are right were that bend is at the firewall.

Finally I would like to say it make ABSOLUTLELY NO DIFFERENCE with the thing screwed to the firewall or not. ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERECE. Meaning, +/- the two mounting points have no factor.

Ok if you made it this far, thanks fro reading my babble.
My choice would be any of the \___________/ designs. But with the stiffness of the GM brace.

Vibrant front strut bar for sale.

-M
<br>

Remember....syringes go in the RED waste basket.

Forgot to add.

The RSM Ecotec strut brace is designed a little different also.

As far as installation, they all should fit all chassis.

The folks with the 2.2/2200 engines with the TB near the firewall should stick with the GM or 'straight bar' style. Vibrant or New school ebay.

Have fun,
-M <br>

Remember....syringes go in the RED waste basket.

hey dude they are strut braces, not sway bars !

but nice review nonetheleast <br>

Yup strut braces,

Did I say sway bars somewhere? Or two or four.
Must be jones' ing for one that bad.
Sorry about that.

-M <br>

Remember....syringes go in the RED waste basket.

<br>

see ya!

Hey Nova,
Was wondering when you or the other person with the autox black cav sig. would show up.

I know you have something to add to this.

So feel free to put in your input.

-M <br>

Remember....syringes go in the RED waste basket.

Did you actually try all these because it seems wierd you would notice a difference between them, we have very little flex on the front strut towers. I will have to wait for event to add in his 2 cents for this to get his opinion.

<br>

event will say the same thing- a bar is a bar <br>

Land Pirates sail the open roads
DISCLAIMER: If anything I say offends you, I don't care..wear a helmet. Also, the information
I post is what I know to the best of my knowledge. If I am wrong, please correct me so that
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Premium sinc 6-17-04

Yes,
I've actually tryed all these bars.
The Vibrant being the most recent because of the group purchase.

Event lives about 500 yards in another apt complex from me.
Actually came with me to the store for help me get bolts for the GM brace.

Yes a bar is a bar.
And that's my point in all this for those that SWEAR by certain braces.
*cough GM *cough*

Just my experience/overservation/opinions on things.
I mean, the differences are SO minute that is doesn't matter.
But they're there.

Thanks for reading my post


-M <br>

Remember....syringes go in the RED waste basket.

acidburn1022 wrote:Did you actually try all these because it seems wierd you would notice a difference between them, we have very little flex on the front strut towers. I will have to wait for event to add in his 2 cents for this to get his opinion.

well i def have to agree, for the most part a bar is a bar... some are made of different materials, but pretty much all do the same thing... i;ve had the gm bar, ractive, and i now have freedom design front and rear...

i've bolted the gm brace to the wall via the bolt thats there, and i;ve also put a larger bolt through the wall... but the wall if anyone decides to take that black cover off is thin sheet metal.


i;ve gone through braces, not as many braces as intakes, but overall, brace to brace and intake to intake ....its been an expensive lesson learned, but they all perform similarly. not like you really are gonna notice any real difference.

i;ve done the braces with stock suspension and cheap crap suspension and what i have now, and may borrow braces when i get something new down the road...

but really like said, a bar is a bar.... you can push and pull on a bar in the middle while its bolted on, but then again whats the point. the force comes in from the ends, you wont have a force acting in the way you push or pull in the middle...and yes i can vouch for mastins many strut braces adventure

<br>

Yeah,
I'm in the market for another FD rear made front brace.
Where are those two guys is that guy I sold my CF braces too????!!!!!


-M <br>

Remember....syringes go in the RED waste basket.

Mastin wrote:
Finally I would like to say it make ABSOLUTLELY NO DIFFERENCE with the thing screwed to the firewall or not. ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERECE. Meaning, +/- the two mounting points have no factor.

Bringing this one up from the dead....

I noticed a difference. I'm on stock springs/shocks and I definately noticed a difference.

zach being that you solo your car you will be able to feel that kind of difference where most people will not.


see ya!

Maybe its because I wasn't expecting to tell the difference... But I definately did. I don't think the firewall is as flimsy as everyone is making it out to be either. It's 1/8inch thick steel and there is a pice welded in the middle of it that connects under your windshield.

Quote:

I noticed a difference. I'm on stock springs/shocks and I definately noticed a difference.

YAY!



Remember....syringes go in the RED waste basket.