gridlock61

I'm looking for a front strut brace for my '95 Cab, and have noticed that some bolt more directly to the shock towers, and others bolt to a hinged mount that bolts to the shock towers and places the bar in a higher position.

What are the advantages/disadvantages of each of these designs?

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

Hi,

Basically, they function the same way and do the same things in the context of street cars.

Choose one you like that fits well; the latter is the biggest variable.

nine9six

I'd like to recommend a Heigo tower brace...Good construction, good design.

Kika

Heigo is the Tequipment manufacturer for the strut brace, well made, and nice looking, but also carries Tequipment price tag. My car came with a Heigo, purchased by the owner.

On my 911SC I had a weltmeister bar, that worked perfectly fine. For something I rarely see, looks are not very important. I would choose one for functionality, and price.

gridlock61

Yeah, but why built it with a hinged piece? It would seem to be simpler and more robust if it were mounted more directly to the shock tower. There must be some reason for doing this? More leverage maybe?

Kika

Some designs are made to go under the carpet and are thus shorter, others, over it and are taller.

Not sure what you are talking about re: hinged. do you have a picture?

The main objective is to prevent deflection of the strut upon hard cornering.

Joe@Fabspeed

You should go to my website and see the 993Twin Turbo GT2 strut bar I copied from POrsche Motorsports AG.

It is a one piece hold aluminum part that Porsche Motorsports installed on all the factory 993 GT2 EVO race cars that were on slicks. I belive the original part was made by MATTER Ag. Matter went bankrupt many years ago and made up press brake tooling to manufacture these parts.

The Fabspeed Motorsport GT2 strut bar fits perfectly and is stiffer and stronger than any other strutbar and fits all 1989-1998 Porsche 964, 993, 993TT, 965 C2 Turbos.

Call or email evan@fabspeed.com

pictures on my website an if you want to drive by and see the parts installed I own a 993 cabriolet and 993RS Clubsport CUP car clone.

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

The main function is to prevent the shock towers from spreading apart under loads imposed at the tire contact patch, through the struts. This prevents camber loss during cornering and helps keep the tires flat on the road surface.

For this reason, it doesn't matter whether they are a multi-piece design (Heigo) or a single bar; in the context of street cars, they all do the same thing. I like the Heigo ones, however the price ($909) is now absurd so its not a viable option. We do make a nice clone of those things if it helps.

Race cars have welded in cages that connect & triangulate all the chassis & suspension points together so that's a different situation altogether.

gridlock61

Interesting one piece design. Since there isn't a threaded adjuster, have you seen any issues with the holes in the bar not lining up exactly with the strut towers? Also, I've read a little about being able to adjust pre-load in some of the bars, which this bar doesn't have; does that matter?

Mike Pezely

Check out Perfect Power strut brace. Very well made, top quality.
http://www.perfectpowerinc.com/sales.html

1990-964

+1 for the Perfect Power brace. It is a close replica of the Ruf brace which is NLA. I have one and like it very much for its quality fit and finish.

Quadcammer

I have a 911chips one. Its hinged. I like that you can pre-load it a bit. Either way, fits fine, seems to have worked ok, but most likely placebo. My windshield does creak less, that may be its only real benefit on a coupe.

brian993

I just purchased the OEM RS bar (or Heigo version) from Sunset for $420 shipped. Still expensive.

Joe@Fabspeed

the reason the bars were hinged and had multiple adjustments is because some engineer originally designed the bar that way........... way back in 1988 for the 964 cars. All the hinges and pieces allowed adjustments..............which ultimately makes the bar flimsy, moveable and bendable. Dont logically default and assume it was a brilliant design just because Porsche AG made it that way in the 1980s.

Later in late to mid 1995/1996 Porsche Motorsport had huge bolt-on fender flares on 700+HP 993GT2 EVO race cars on monster slick race tires and through stress analysis they made strong flat bars in aluminum that are way stronger than anything on the market as the cars required these bars. The original multipiece design will fit the 993GT2 EVO cars but Porsche did not use them.

I have sold and installed my GT2 EVO strut bars to many 993 CUP car and 993RSR owners from Joel Reiser Reiser technic to racers wolrdwide that want the best. The bars have a set of slits so you can get it installed after that you do a performance alignment. You dont use a flexible bar to adjust the alignment after the fact. You want a rigid top strut platform.

kreeshp

The RUF strut tower brace is still available, contrary to popular belief.

I bought mine direct from RUF in 2012 for $339. Current price is $399.

Link for reference: http://www.rufonlinestore.com/Produc...R64-500-335-02

At the time, the difference in pricing between the RUF and the Perfect Power brace made it a no-brainer to buy the RUF, but now that there's a $100 difference, you're definitely paying a steep premium for the RUF branding.

Link for reference: http://www.perfectpowerinc.com/sales.html