go-types

i recently sent email to comptech asking for same question but no reply. see if anyone know about it???

valuetl

Neuspeed and Cusco and RS-R make them that I know. Any more???

Crzy Acura

Comptech had a strut bar on the sema CLS this year... who knows if they will produce it.. I dont see why they wouldnt.

Bitium

I think the strut bar that you saw on the picture will come together with the supercharger. Would they sell it by it self? I don't think they will since it shouldn't make a difference. I think they are using it to add support for parts that change location because of the supercharger.

Zapata

Of course they will but you'll have to pay an arm and leg to get it. Neuspeed upper strut and get skunk works lower tie bars.

evolaerok

I think they are and it's expensive is what I've heard, like in the $300's or so and it's supposed to be adjustable...

Here's a pic and do a search on the cl board, that's where I heard about it and the possible price....

AcuraTL

It does not come with the supercharger. There won't be any parts that need to be relocated except for a smaller size battery, according to Comptech. Last rumor I heard about the strut bar, it is just the stock bar painted.

evolaerok

I don't know, I just heard the rumor on a-cl.com...

modesto

I called ComptechUsa last week and they expect to be selling the strut bar for the TL next month. I am waiting to buy it.

go-types

oh, that's great. so, i will probably wait for the comptech instead of buying neuspeed. hope the look will like the attached pic.

evolaerok

I like comptech, but that bar is going to be expensive. I mean the neuspeed is does the same purpose, if not better. If the comptech is adjustable, then I think the neuspeed will be better. Why? Well because the neuspeed is formed perfectly for our cars, so it's tighter. Just my .02....

go-types

i heard a lot about neuspeed. however, the look doesn't impress me. it just like another stock bar with neuspeed sticker on it.

fahoumh

I'm not too sure about Neuspeed stuff....I've already had two ppl tell me that Neuspeed isn't that good.

valuetl

If comptech says something will be out in a month expect it up for purchase in a year?

evolaerok

Where did you hear this? Anyone who has the neuspeed strut tie or the rear sway will tell you that it's thick quality stuff, nothing near stock. I know this, because you leave in the stock strut tie and the neuspeed goes behind it. It's not stock with a neuspeed sticker..... LoLz!

Austin519

I have the Neuspeed Tie Bar...I can tell you it's anything but stock with an added sticker. Are you saying that because it doesn't look modern like the Comptech? All Comptech stuff is, usually, is good quality aftermarket stuff...like Neuspeed, Eibach, etc etc...with 2x the price for the same effect.

Why wait for the same thing at twice the price? When it's already out...works good...and only costs like $112 in chrome from where I got it.

Oh and here's a pic of new Neuspeed Strut Tie bars...

Austin519

edgalang

Hmmm....if that is what the new bars would look like, I'd still prefer the older model with no joints, rivets, nothing, nada. I just want a pure bar that keeps its consistency all across from one end to another minimizing any weak spots other than the welds (if any).

Austin519

edgalang:
I believe so and I agree. You can't go wrong with a solid bar...anything more is just to sell it by looks.

Austin519

Closer

Stiffening the front end of the car will only induce more understeer.
Why the hell do you people want this thing?
It does nothing for us.

fahoumh

finally! I'm glad to hear it from someone else...Mr TL told me the exact same thing.

copland007

I could try to preach to a preacher but it wouldn't do any good no offense meant

Here is a third party review which I think sums up the benefits pretty darn good.

*********************************
NTPOG Neuspeed Front Upper Strut Bar Review

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author: John Haley




Overall Impressions
The Neuspeed upper tie bar is a fairly inexpensive modification that will give some noticeable improvement to the handling of your car. I have had the bar on my car for almost two years now and it has not worn or bent in any way that I can tell. I feel the quality of the product has been excellent. For the money (~$100) you would be hard pressed to find a better suspension upgrade.

Installation Impressions
Installation was really starightforward. The only thing to be careful about was knocking the bolts into the wheelwells. I found it to fit very securely. The order I used to attatch was: rear passenger side, rear driver side, front passenger side, front driver side.

Performance Impressions
After installation, I found that my car turned with a bit more bite into the pavement. It seemed to take some of the shimmying out of the front end. When I had it off temporarily, I noticed that I had a much harder time getting the rear end to break loose, leading me to believe that the tie bar decreases the understeer a lot more than I had originally thought. Since all this bar does is stiffen up the chassis there are no negative side effects. (Unless you enjoy understeer.)

For comments or questions, e-mail me mailto:john@ntpog.org

copland007

source: http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Flats/3877/neu.html

Neuspeed front upper strut tower bar

One of the easiest and least expensive handling improvements you can make on your car are strut tower bars or braces. These bars mount to key points on the vehicle's chassis to prevent the chassis from flexing under load (ie. cornering). This type of bar does not affect the movement of the suspension, per se (as anti-roll or stabilizer bars do), but instead they prevent the suspension's chassis mounting points from flexing, allowing the suspension to follow its intended path, resulting in better grip and control.
The front upper strut tower bar is one of the more popular aftermarket bars to install, as well as being found stock on quite a few performance oriented vehicles, such as the new Camry Solara, the R-2 performance version of the last generation RX-7, and the 1999 Honda Civic Si (SiR in Canada). It goes underhood, between the two suspension strut towers, and over the engine.

The rear upper strut tower bar is not quite as popular, probably due to its location across the trunk, thereby reducing useable space and/or obstructing the pass through from the trunk to the cabin on vehicles so-equipped.

The rear lower brace connects the lower mounting points of the suspension, under the rear of the vehicle. The Acura Integra Type R comes stock with both a front upper strut tower bar and a rear lower bar (along with other chassis stiffening measures).

The Neuspeed front upper bar is one of the most popular on the market. Its solid four-point design is unique, with the possible exception of the Sprint Performance bar. The four point bar braces across a larger area, thereby stiffening in all directions.

Installation on the 5th generation Civic is a snap, and only involves loosening five bolts: the four upper wishbone chassis mounting bolts, and a wiring bracket on the driver's side. The last bolt is for easier installation. When the bolts for the upper wishbone are off, there is the potential for the upper wishbone to drop out of the mounting holes. Therefore, the easiest way to do the install is to get a friend to hold up the upper wishbone using a longish crowbar or other suitable bar (very little pressure is needed), and do one side at a time.

Due to the non-adjustable nature of the Neuspeed bar, it can be a tight fit. In my case, it only took a little pressure to wrestle the bar in place, but I have heard of cases where a rubber mallet was needed to force it onto the mounting studs. In any case, it is wise to be careful to not inadvertently damage anything in the engine bay, and to not damage the threads on the mounting studs. (Note: on the 6th generation Civics the Neuspeed bar mounts on the upper shock mounts, not the upper wishbone mounting points.) Re-tighten all five bolts, and you are on your way. It is a good idea to re-torque the bolts a few days afterward to be safe.

Performance-wise the front upper bar allows for much improved grip. This was realized both with the aftermarket 15" wheels and Toyo Proxes FZ4 tires (not the grippiest tires on earth), and the stock Firestone Firehawks (possibly the slipperyest tires on earth, next to Honda/Acura OEM XGT V4s) on 14" rims.

At a price of around $150 new, anyone who wants an improvement in handling should have a bar like this. It is cheap, easy to install, looks good (when the hood is open, of course), and works great.

Update: The SiR comes with a front upper strut tower brace stock (the same one found in the Civic Type R), so the Neuspeed one now graces the strut towers of Frankie's ride...

fahoumh

wait, he said "oversteer"...in any case, I think it's stiff enough right now

Closer

One of the most common upgrades on a modified car is mounting strut bars. A strut bar (also known as strut tower bar or strut brace) is designed to tie the two opposing strut towers together as a single solid unit.

The purpose of this device is to reduce flex that these towers experience during hard cornering. When taking a turn a car’s strut towers normally flex, resulting bodyflex and losing some traction. As strut tower bars are designed to keep your strut towers from flexing, they distribute the pressure applied to one strut tower when taking a turn to both towers instead of just one. This keeps the wheels in position. Keeping the wheels in position helps keeping the tires in the desired position on the road, and this will help to improve traction on the turns.

Rear strut tower bars are designed to work like the front bar by tying the two rear strut to work together, increasing the overall chassis stiffness. Rear strut bars minimize understeer dure to less chassis flex and improves stability during corner braking.

Strut bars are a must for any upgrade to a wider tire&wheel combination. Addition of suspension upgrades such as sports springs, shocks and low-profile tires adds additional stress to the chassis which result in chassis flex. Strut bars not only reinforce the subframe and improve chassis stiffness but also make steering quicker and more responsive.

On most applications, strut bars install in minutes and they look shiny and cool. However, looks have little to do with performance. To reduce the flex between struts, the setup should be as rigid as possible. In fact, a true strut bar doesn’t have joints and look like an “X”, so go for it for a more rigid frame if you have time and money.

http://tuninglinx.com/html/abars.html

Hmmm, sounds like the steering response out weights the oversteer.
But, what we need is the rear ones.

Brewboy

"flex between struts" means what? Is the strut bar working in tension/compression or deflection? If it is tension/compression, I can't see it performing any better then our stock bar, but if it is supposed to minimize deflection, then I could see where a stiffer bar with a less deflection/length may tighten things up a bit, but is it worth it? Has anybody installed one after sways, springs, bigger rubber? Did the ppl with tight fits remove the stock bar thereby changing the geometry of the strut towers? If not, could it be just 'squaring' up the suspension/frame in our case and that is what ppl are feeling.

"The front upper strut tower bar is one of the more popular aftermarket bars to install, as well as being found stock on quite a few performance oriented vehicles, such as the new Camry Solara, the R-2 performance version of the last generation RX-7, and the 1999 Honda Civic Si (SiR in Canada)." .... and already stock on our TL/CL's.

Just not convinced yet but still listening.

Bitium

Sorry about my first post. I just don't see the difference compare to the stock bar. They are both tubular and sit on the same place in the strut tower. The only thing is that is a little higher

As seen in this picture, the end of the bar where it gets mounted on the tower looks different than our stock bar. So is not a painted stock bar, just to clear that up.

Austin519

Bitium:
"Sorry about my first post. I just don't see the difference compare to the stock bar. They are both tubular and sit on the same place in the strut tower. The only thing is that is a little higher "

Hmm...like "I don't see the difference between tires...I mean they're all round...and support the car"...the difference is the same for sways...thicker, beefier strut. Less flex (aka towers dont bend in and out)...plus even if you put two stock bars on, that's twice the support...

Austin519

evolaerok

Thank you for your insight, I for one didn't think it was stock bar either....

Bitium

If you say so.....lol

How do you know is thicker, beefier, etc???????? or you are just asuming. My comment was for what it looks in the picture. OK :p

Once we know for sure the spec's then we could argue all you want. For now I don't see a dieffrence.

copland007

Also the stock bar is a joke, look at how it is designed. It is more for dangling wires off than anything else. They have two seperate weld point where it connects to the chassis, besides the strut towers. That mechanical design is stupid, the purpose of a strut tie bar is to be one solid piece connecting the strut towers. Each weld, and additional connection to the frame degrades the strut tie's performance.

copland007

hehe.. I for one don't want to take a welding torch to mine to see its guts It is bigger, 'thicker', than stock. If you really want me to I'll go out to my car with a tape measure to measure the circumference.

I am by no means a mechanical engineer, so maybe someone can be more technical in describing the means in which the OEM is a flawed design for its designed purpose (shouldn't have those two extra arms welded on to it )

Bitium

I'm looking for something like this and is also made for the V6 98 accord so it should work on our cars. Can someone try it. The picture is from a 4 cylinder accord and not the V6, but it should looks almost the same. Is from DC sports btw.

fahoumh

I think valuetl's got some strut bars for our cars on his site...have you tried looking there?

Bitium

what are you talking about Do you have the comptech strut bar????

copland007

I thought you were talking about the Neuspeed, my bad :o

Austin519

Bitium:
"If you say so.....lol

How do you know is thicker, beefier, etc???????? or you are just asuming. My comment was for what it looks in the picture. OK

Once we know for sure the spec's then we could argue all you want. For now I don't see a dieffrence."

I know it is thicker...and a good bit heavier too. I took off the stock bar trying to put on the Neuspeed one. I can measure it if you want but I don't think that's necessary. I know the pictures don't really show it well...but aftermarket bars function because they're thicker than stock.

Austin519

copland007

If you were refering to me measuring it I thought you were talking about the Neuspeed.

Or were you talking about the rest of my post regarding the flawed design of the OEM tie bar?

Bitium

how do you know is thicker if you don't have the COMPTECH BAR. Forget the neuspeed I'm comparing the stock bar with the comptech bar from the picture. They have the same design, I'm sure they would make it thicker, but no one knows for sure. I wish it was a different design like the DC sport bar that's all. My comments or post have nothing to do with the neuspeed bar, just to clear that up.

Austin519

Bitium:
My bad man...thought you were talking about Neuspeed. Ha knowing Comptech it's the exact same size but they put a Comptech sticker on it and charge 4x more.

Austin519

Bitium

No problem, I figure out after reading some of the responses that people thought I was talking aobut the neuspeed. Sorry for the confusion.