What do people recommend as far as brands to get for these parts? I currently have Tein Flex coilovers installed and wanted to get EDFC for them, so "compatibility" would be an issue. I assume most of them are "compatible" as long as they have proper clearances though.

What really separates one from another? Just weight I assume or do some of them provide less flex than others?

 

I don't think you'd see much if any difference between brands for the rear brace, other then weight. The difference from stock is negligible even.


- Andrew

 

i bought a $20 ebay rear strut brace. It seems to work well, I can feel the car is slightly snappier.

 

Excellent, thanks for the info guys =).

 

Personally, I would save my money. The difference strut tower bars will make are, at best, minimal. If you notice any difference, it's probably just in your head. IMO, the only time I would actually consider them were if they came on the car or if you had a lot of other suspension mods.

I think the most bang-for-the-buck suspension mod is probably a bigger rear swaybar. Maybe check into that instead. Hope this helps!

 

If you are into looks, then that might be a factor as well. Besides that, they are all somewhat comparable to each other I assume.
FYI I have cusco and they are great

 

Thanks Akisan2 and thatguybryan will keep those suggestions in mind. Right now I have no bar at all which is one of the reasons I was looking =).

 

I would say take that money and put into a proven chassis mod...
do you have a RCA or sways yet?

 

This could be a nice case study on placebos considering we have no rear struts, therefore, a rear strut bar does not do anything except add weight above the center of gravity and provide a hanging rack in the trunk.

OP, you have no use for one unless it's for "looks."

 

I don't know what the effect of a rear strut tower bar for a stock evo is, but it does change things if you have an upgraded suspension. I know this because before I put one on, my trunk would not close as it should when parked on a very uneven driveway (I had to slam it to get the lock to catch). This was due to a massive rear sway bar, stiffer / shorter springs, and stiffer bushings. My suspension is stiff enough that the rear end of the chassis flexed to where the trunk lock didn't catch right. After installing a good rear tower bar, I no longer have this issue - my chassis no longer flexes as much. Since a stiffer chassis is a good thing, I would say that a rear tower bar does serve a purpose (at least together with my other mods).

 

I feel that the rear strut bar also increases overall vehicle stability at high speeds. It's not much, but all the little suspension and chassis braces add up...

 

They don't add up to much relative to real suspension mods that have direct and measurable affects on handling. People just add them because they are cheap, they look neat, and they like to put them in their signatures.

 

No been looking at sways and thats in my plan for the next month or two. Done most of my changes this last month (not that its that many heh) and was planning on getting used to it before I did more suspension changes.

Kinda curious what others opinons are on rear strut bars if they do provide much of anything on the evo.

Edit: Wasn't sure what RCA's were, actually guessing thats Roll Centerline Adjustment kits? Heard of them but to be honest don't really know what they actually do to the vehicle.. I sense some searching in my near future heh.

 

Yes, my internal-yaw-measurerer tells me so.

Not only does it seem to perform, but it's great at drying clothes, and keeping the right size box from flopping around the trunk. I'm also working on incorporating it into my exercise routine as we speak!


Kidding aside, maybe' it's just peace of mind and justifying me spending the $20 for a simple aluminum rod (about 3.5 lbs ruining my car's center of gravity) that makes me think it's doing something.

 

by taking out your spare and running around with a 1/4 tank of gas you will feel a even bigger difference if you tell yourself that its going to make a difference!