Write-Up: Installing a Front Strut Tower Brace (STB)

Ah, I saw it. After looking at all the pics, my Master Cylinder is taller than everyone elses. Weird.....

That is odd, if it was replaced after only 5000 miles, you'd think it would have been identical to factory-installed units.

Aaron, I agree, it would take ridiculous abuse for your bar to bend or fold. Highly unlikely in a street car.

VJD2 wrote:

DEMonte1997 wrote:

I know there's a good yard in Worcester with a lot of cars. Billboost hits that one a lot. If you're closer in CT to the border, might want to give that one a shot.

When I've exhausted the junkyards in CT I'll consider going there. I'm always down for a road trip! The problem is a lot of the yards in CT won't let you roam around in the yard anymore and if they do have a part such as this that they deem useless/valueless to them they will not take the time to look for it or remove it from a vehicle. Sucks.

I hear ya. Been hitting Milford auto recycling with a GP guy and the only reason they let us roam is because he used to work there. Otherwise, it's damn tough around here. There's a place in Higganum I think that has a lot of cars but last I checked they won't let you walk the yard.

Hoping to get the STB today (keeping fingers crossed).

I have no problem walking the 2 newer model yards locally. However, one of them also has a lot for OLD cars, and you have to pay $35 to get in, non-refundable.

1998 Riv wrote:

I have no problem walking the 2 newer model yards locally. However, one of them also has a lot for OLD cars, and you have to pay $35 to get in, non-refundable.

Does that anal rape include a reach-around?

^^ What he said. Holy hell!

Abaddon wrote:

Ah, I saw it. After looking at all the pics, my Master Cylinder is taller than everyone elses. Weird.....

Depends on the reason for the replacement, you might want to look up the notice that prompted the change. If it is not really related to the reservoir (it probably isn't) I bet you can find a shorter one that will fit and work fine including the fluid level sensor... For instance the reservoir from same-year Caddy STS?!?

Albertj

Good call Albert!!

So I'm trying to track down STS braces at local yards... "yeah, we have ONE silver caddy out there", and gives me general area to search. 45 min later I come in and he's busy, so I ask another guy about it. "No, we just have that SLS". And I CLEARLY asked for STS models only.

That's really annoying Dave.

did you receive your bar yet rick?

Funny you ask Ty. Got it today, didn't fit well. I had to enlarge the rear set of holes just a little and the fronts were WAY off. Dremel made quick work of removing the necessary metal so that it fit. Even after that, it was a nightmare trying to clear the reservoir without making the hood bow a little. I used three washers and had to bend the tabs of the bar a little to make clearance. It fits okay now but the bar seems pretty flimsy compared to the one on my Regal. Wonder if this will make any difference in handling.

My synopsis is this: Seems like at least 25% of the people here had a bit of issue getting it to work. I know the structural rigidity of my bar has been compromised a little with the cutting and bending I had to do. For the $40+ I spent at monsterparts, I would have been much happier dumping that into a new Denso O2 sensor or something worthwhile. If you find one at the yard, that's cool but buying one of these new isn't worth it. I would rather have one fabbed up by a welder. Oh well, live and learn.

Hey Rick, sorry you had so much trouble with your install. I do believe it's been noted that it is not a simple bolt on for pre 98/99 cars, and that some mods are needed. To me, the bar does not seem flimsy at all, and I'm sure once you drive it, you'll be happy with the difference it makes.

I kinda came to the same conclusion you did Rick. I bought one of these bars, cost me 60 with shipping, but once I got it I realized the fitment was off so badly I'd have to compromise the integrity of the bar to make it fit. I figured if I ever got the money I'd have one made using the original as a template , then if the original is still usable I'd offer it up for sale. I doubt it would cost that much to have one made but unfortunately I'm kinda broke at the moment.

It says at least 5 times in this thread that '95-'97 have fitment issues....

Yeah I read the thread and I knew when I bought it that some people had issues but I had hoped I'd get lucky. When I saw for myself exactly how off it was I decided not to ruin the bar trying to make it fit. When/if I ever get some spare money the bar will come in handy when designing a custom one. I also read in the thread how difficult it was for some people to get them at all, but I only had to walk into a buick dealership and ask for one and it was mailed to me in days with no fuss. Unfortunately that luck didn't carry over to the installation of it, and hopefully in the future another member can benefit from my bad luck.

Guys, the fact that a bar seems 'flimsy' is a non-issue. It still works. Just be glad it's light - we don't need much more weight in the front of the car. It's much better than having nothing at all. The engineers that spec these braces know a little bit about the forces acting between the strut towers, and the main concern is tensional load, NOT compression or torsion. This is not a sway/roll bar. How stiff or heavy you perceive the bar to be really doesn't matter. The key is how much tension the bar can withstand without stretching or failing.

Take a look at these STB bar designs:











You'll notice some things about all of these bars: they're all flimsy (they use hinges). Some of them aren't very thick, to reduce weight. A few of them use carbon fiber, which bends easily under compression. Most are elevated from the strut towers. A few are actually bent in their design! The engineers know that tension force is what's important between the strut towers, and it clearly shows in all the designs. If you could mount a flexible braided steel cable or chain between the strut towers, you would notice some improvement. The bar does not need to be stiff under compression, it only needs to be strong in tension. It can bend some and still perform well.

The elevation of some of these bars on their mounts indicates that using a few washers isn't going to hurt anything. The fact they are so flexible, and the flat/curved shapes indicates bending or denting our bars to fit also isn't going to hurt anything.

Again, BE GLAD IT'S SO LIGHTWEIGHT. Props to the engineers who knew what they were doing!

I read all that in the thread too and my complaint isn't about the design of the bars, in fact I want to almost duplicate it since GM did all the engineering work for me. My problem is that to make it fit on my 95 I'd have to grind just about all the way thru 2 of the mounting holes, then I'd still have to stack a bunch of washer just to make it work. Since its not gonna be a drop in install I might as well put forth the little extra effort and have one made.

I understand the fitment issues are difficult. I was only defending the integrity of the bar (when it fits correctly). From what I've read, I believe the fitment problems are a result of differences in the cars, not inconsistencies in the bars themselves.

I'd like to see some pictures of the alignment issues. As for the washers, you can skip them and just dent the bar to clear the MC reservoir (assuming you have the correct MC).

Haha well I was only argueing fitment issues. I'm on your side when it come to the beefy/flimsy bar debate. I've never seen a stb that looks hefty, they all seem kinda flimsy. I did see pics of how it would fit on an early model a few pages back, and its about the same on mine. I'd post more but I have no idea how to put pics up on here, that's the reason I never started my own shrowroom thread.

DEMonte1997 wrote:

That's really annoying Dave.

No shit, I wasted an hour in that yard, dragging my 5yr old around with me. Actually, he loved the place...

Went to the 2nd local yard later, they had a couple STS's, but they were already well-stripped, no bars left behind.

The comments in this thread before my install seemed inconclusive on whether there would a fitment issue on my 97 but I knew going into this job that it could be a hassle. What I will note is that the stud holes in my strut hat are elongated on the front two and if the studs traveled at all (from flex or whatnot) or were just a little off from the factory, that would have made the difference for why they didn't line up with the holes on the bar. I'm going to get some wider diameter washers today to make it sit more flush in front and I think that will give me a little more piece of mind. (will take pics of before and after as well)

In terms of what Aaron said about the bar not being flimsy, I agree. Drove the car last night and it did make a considerable difference. As you may have determined after reading my previous post, I definitely went into the test drive with a dubious opinion of this mod. At speed the bar somehow seemed to cut down on road noise and vibration. Car held the road better overall. The car had very little trouble recovering from bumps created by uneven road. Cornering was improved.. not a ton but definitely improved. My Riv actually felt pretty competent and less of a yacht.

Sorry for my post bashing this mod. Hopefully some yards will have them so people can get them for cheap. I'm still on the fence for whether it is worth buying a new one.

cliffs: I'm changing my previous opinion of said bar and saying it's definitely worth doing if you can.

No problem, and I agree it's not going to deliver a night/day difference. But the little things do add up, and this mod is definately one of those little things. I also agree that a bar of ultimate stiffness would perform slightly better, but I doubt most could tell the difference, and considering the added weight, it wouldn't be worth it, imo.

For the price, it is almost crazy not to get one of these if you value good handling. I am sorry to hear some are paying up to $60 for these bars, but that's still cheap for what it is. You can hardly make your own for that much + time invested. BMW folks pay between $130 and $800+ for various types of front STB bars. They don't complain much, either. $130 is a steal to them! It's as standard as a cooler t-stat is for us.

Here's a tip for anyone who's doing the washer thing: McMaster Carr sells aluminum standoffs in varying diameter and interior hole size. These are more expensive than washers, but can be easily trimmed to length with a hacksaw. Maybe use washers to gauge the needed height, then order the standoffs for final execution. We could buy a single piece at max length and cut to size as needed. Here's the link:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#spacers-and-standoffs/=8kobky

DEMonte1997 wrote:

cliffs: I'm changing my previous opinion of said bar and saying it's definitely worth doing if you can.

good to see you ended up liking it rick, i believe im sold on this. hopefully i can order one in the next few weeks before theyre gone again

29 pages later, I just ordered another one of these for Melissa's riviera. I ordered from monster parts online as there are none available anywhere in Canada. Although the advertised price is $26, it ended up costing $42 + $25 s/h. Still not bad considering I paid $55 at the parts counter WITH a 20% discount in 2005.
I thought these were long gone. Thanks for the info about monster parts.