kbcons
07-03-2018, 06:39 PM
I've been reading up a little on strut braces for our cars, especially as they get older. Was it tracked often in a previous life? What sort of suspension components does it have? How many miles on the car?
My '03 sedan has about 230K miles on the clock. Mechanically it's in good shape; runs great, doesn't leak, and the drivetrain is solid. It does have Bilstein B8 shocks and H&R Sport springs, which is going to be notably stiffer than stock but still relatively comfy. I don't know that it was ever tracked, but I also don't know that it wasn't.
Most of the articles I've read point to metal fatigue around the strut towers being a potential issue with high mileage cars and/or those with "sport" suspensions. Basically, a lot of stresses applied to the bodywork. There is no deformation in the towers that I could detect and the car has always handled well, but after I had LCAs and end links and bushings installed I noticed it felt a little bit loose. So I put on an ECS strut brace - the current version of their carbon fiber brace. Light, incredibly inflexible, and easy to bolt on.
The car has that tight feel back. No hunting or wandering, and dead stable on choppy turns and freeway ramps. I'm not an aggressive driver, but it really is notably better than before. I understand that the ECS bar doesn't get a lot of love (the old version, I think), but it sure seems to have helped my car.
Ken...
My '03 sedan has about 230K miles on the clock. Mechanically it's in good shape; runs great, doesn't leak, and the drivetrain is solid. It does have Bilstein B8 shocks and H&R Sport springs, which is going to be notably stiffer than stock but still relatively comfy. I don't know that it was ever tracked, but I also don't know that it wasn't.
Most of the articles I've read point to metal fatigue around the strut towers being a potential issue with high mileage cars and/or those with "sport" suspensions. Basically, a lot of stresses applied to the bodywork. There is no deformation in the towers that I could detect and the car has always handled well, but after I had LCAs and end links and bushings installed I noticed it felt a little bit loose. So I put on an ECS strut brace - the current version of their carbon fiber brace. Light, incredibly inflexible, and easy to bolt on.
The car has that tight feel back. No hunting or wandering, and dead stable on choppy turns and freeway ramps. I'm not an aggressive driver, but it really is notably better than before. I understand that the ECS bar doesn't get a lot of love (the old version, I think), but it sure seems to have helped my car.
Ken...