the_buch

Any thoughts on whether or not I should have some inward or outward tension on an adjustable strut tower bar when the car is just sitting on level ground ... also, I thought I should disconnect the bar for a ride-height adjustment and alignment, and then re-install and pre-tension if appropriate ...

thanks,

TroyN

There should be outward tension, though only 1/4 turn on my (AJ USA) bar, not sure how standard that is. I would think you would want to tension the bar, then do your balance and align, otherwise your settings can change if you tension afterwards.

TheOtherEric

What Troy means by "outward tension" is that the strut brace should be in compression, i.e. pushing slightly on the struts, which you do by installing the bar then screwing the ends so as to increase the length of the bar. Only slight compression, however.

chris walrod

Absolutely, in compression as already stated. Not too much as you dont want to make a widebody out of it Oh wait a minute, I just noticed you already have one..

TomF

As I understand it, with any suspension alignment changes, you should disconnect the bar. Then set everything up and then reconnect it with only a slight outward tension.

Rumor has it that you can actually move the strut mountings inwards or outwards with not too much wrenching on a bar. So I guess less is more. In theory, if you really muscled it, you could change the camber! LOL

msch

I did the 1/4 inch turn for my bar as well as it was advised for me to do so. I'm using the OEM Porsche bar

jkuniverse

I also took the advice from the forum and gave it the "outward tension" to the towers. However, according to the Performance Products, it says "During hard cornering, the stock front shock towers spread apart..." - now I'm confused. By applying the ourward tension, am I not adding more pressure in the wrong direction? Shouldn't it be mounted with the "inward tension" to hold the towers from spreading apart? Perhaps I'm not interpretating it correctly, and I ask for your explanations please. Thank you.

http://www.automotion.com/ProductPag...eister&type=20

msch

when you put outward tension like the picture below

. . . . . . . . _____________
. . . . . ___/. . . . . . . . . . .. \____
. . . . . <- - . . . . . . . . . . . . . .- - >

you are putting pressure/force on the towers to keep them from flexing, because when you corner, the chasis will want to flex to accomodate the extra force caused by the turn.

the_buch

The manufacturer of my bar (Cup-Sport) also say to tense 'outwards' (i.e., the bar slightly longer than slack) ... as suggested above, I believe the bar should be removed for alignment and then re-installed afterwards so as to allow the spec tensioning without influencing alignment settings (albeit very slightly) ... thanks for the input so far ...

the_buch

jkuniverse ... good question ... perhaps the outward tension allows for very limited spreading of the towers which would otherwise put too much force on the bar??