Did you notice a difference? I just installed the cusco front strut brace...... and honestly i think it made the front end softer..... Am i taking crazy pills??

Also, i have vorshlag top mounts on my KW's and with the fat spacing washers the cusco brace requires, i'm only able to engage 3 threads on the top mount bolts. Pretty sure that's not good.

 

yikes!!
3 threads? Is it worth it...?

 

I'm not sure.... in taking a closer look, i'm not sure an aftermarket strut bar is stronger than the stock steel one. That thing is pretty beefy

 

I've wondered about the potential benefits of the aftermarket STB also, given that it comes stock. I would think any benefits would be negligible and possibly only noticed when pushing the car to its limits. I can't speak from personal experience, however, since I have the OEM tower brace.

 

Once i get my new suspension setup dialed in tight, i'll do some testing at the track. That'll be a month or two before that happens though.

One thing is for sure, it's a lot lighter. By about 5-10 pounds by my estimation. But being that the main bar is aluminum and is exposed to a **** ton of heat hovering above the turbo, i question it's structural integrity over the stock steel brace. Perhaps a Titanium strut brace would fit best here..... very high heat resistance and lighter than steel.

 

I have the Password JDM 5 point strut bar and it seemed to bite a little harder in to corners but more than anything it weighs like 3 times less than OEM.

 

I feel like a reduction in weight and a "cool" look may be the only benefits here, factory bars are made very well from mitsubishi. Personally I think any real gain would have to come from a custom setup.

 

Don't know why I didn't consider weight reduction and heat transfer as benefits, but good point there. I know I won't be upgrading mine since it's my DD I don't plan to track it. My upgrade plans are mostly power-adding than handling...right now anyway.

 

Yeah that password JDM one looks like the only good option if rigidity was your goal.

As far as the rear strut brace, the CUSCO option looks to be one of the best. The only beefier one i saw was the one that Mitus offers at their dealerships as an upgrade. ***** costs almost 600 though.... i bet its heavy as ***** too.