Was wondering if any of you guys have a front strut bar on your cars. Is it even worth it to get one, I mean will it help out the suspension especially in a track environment? If they are worth getting, which brand is the best one?

 

I have heard they really do not do much for the Turbos, but I am not a pro. I had a Dinan strut bar on my M3 Cab, and it helped with cowl shake.

 

I thought the reason you dont see much about this is the 996 already kinda has it built in?

 

that's correct Tom.. I was skeptical of them but then again when the Peterson White Lightning Race team tore there car apart for a Laguna Seca race at our shop.. sure enough they had one of those up front. Pretty sure it was the EVO one from what I remember.

 

Now I'm confused. I think Tom is saying the CF Strut Mounts like the ones offered by EVO are kinda redundant to something the factory has already built in. I've been hearing they are mostly a psychologial improvement.

I like this thread. I would love to hear the various opinions.

 

Wait, do we have OEM front strut bars in our cars??? I'm really confused now...

 

I've found the Evo front strut bar really help make the steering feel a lot more tidy. It was otherwise kinda sloppy.

 

Well I'll add to the confusion...In my older P-cars the strut bars were essential and helped with handling. In my "newer" 996 I was also under the impression that the frame/body was improved structurally to the point where a strut bar was not really needed...even on a cab. Maybe the strut bar is needed for track?, but for everyday driving??? Also what about sway bars?

 

The top of the strut towers on older 911's were essentially unbraced across the width of the car. Under hard cornering, the strut towers had the potential of flexing inward or outward as a result of the cornering forces. This would lead to handling irregularities as the camber would change in the middle of the turn due to tower flex. There were (are) a variety of strut bars designed to combat that problem. The best of which in my opinion is the "Cambermeister". It isn't pretty, but it really was designed properly.

The 996 series of 911's have a sheet metal bulkhead (both horizontal and vertical sheet steel) that interconnects the two towers. You can see this on the car if you open the hood and remove the battery cover. It is the bulkhead with the rubber weatherstripping on it as well as the battery floor. These two sheet metal body components form an "L" shape in cross section and are infinitely more rigid in compression and tension (the way a strut brace works) than any strut brace can ever be.
The rear strut towers are similarly designed.

 

I agree with KPV again,
996 has strength built into its design,
they do look cool though and I like cool.

MK

 

hey trojan man

so this is where you disappeared to

 

Have a Techart brace up front. No noticible difference in handling, but it does look cool! LOL

 

KPV,

The 996tt are built stiffer, however there is plenty of room for improvement in the stiffness department, especially in regards to track work. Then again, where do you want the street to stop and the track begin. Recently Ben removed teflon tranny stiffners from his car because of the noise. As you continue up the peformance ladder there is a price to pay. There is no doubt that the 996tt is stiffer than the 993tt, just as there is no doubt the stiffiber does help in track situations.

 

USATrojanMan29,

For track use i would recommend you go with a front strut bar. I have fixed one on each of my Porsches. A 1994 965 Turbo 3.6, as well as my 2001 996TT. It made a huge difference on the 1994 965 Turbo 3.6. On the 2001 996TT, you might not feel the difference too much, but it's there for sure. Fixing a Porsche Tequipment roll bar and a set of Billet Camber Plates / Strut Mounts would help things tremendously. Evolution Motorsports has them all. There are two types of strut bars, Carbon fiber or Billet. below is a link you can check out.

http://www.evoms.com/porsche%20ec%20art%20test.htm

 

Why you sellin your car?