Gimmicky waste of time/money/effort mods

[scrllock]

I'm still surprised that anyone is noticing a real difference, it was indistinguishable for me. That said, I also have a bunch of other suspension work done, including a big front sway, which is definitely noticeable. I'm not a super experienced driver, but personally I would rather get that feeling of confidence from something I know to function.

I would be interested to see someone test their strut brace using the paint pen method mentioned in that article.

 

[DerHase]

One day if I can get my hands on one, I'll throw it on my car on level ground, set up and zero a dial indicator to measure strut brace to strut tower, drive a single front and opposite rear tire up onto a ~3 or 4in "ramp", recheck measurements, then unbolt the one end and see how far it moves.

If anyone in the Hampton Roads, VA area has a strut brace, and wants to spend an hour or so doing that, send me a PM.

 

[tigeo]

I'm still surprised that anyone is noticing a real difference, it was indistinguishable for me. That said, I also have a bunch of other suspension work done, including a big front sway, which is definitely noticeable. I'm not a super experienced driver, but personally I would rather get that feeling of confidence from something I know to function.

I would be interested to see someone test their strut brace using the paint pen method mentioned in that article.

My typical response is "placebo" or "expected outcome bias" hence my comments about a blind test. I don't disagree however with @mrmatto that sometimes....if you like it/think it helps who cares, drive happier. They aren't much money and don't weigh a ton. They remind me of the brake post boosters from the '90s for cantilever brakes on mountainbikes that helped counter them flexing outward under hard braking (you could see the flex).

 

[Daks]

I’d add cat-back exhausts to this list.

On a stock turbo sure. The R exhaust flows much better than the gti one. On hybrid setups you notice a difference with a cat back. The charge pipes on hybrids are also not useless.

 

[tigeo]

One day if I can get my hands on one, I'll throw it on my car on level ground, set up and zero a dial indicator to measure strut brace to strut tower, drive a single front and opposite rear tire up onto a ~3 or 4in "ramp", recheck measurements, then unbolt the one end and see how far it moves.

If anyone in the Hampton Roads, VA area has a strut brace, and wants to spend an hour or so doing that, send me a PM.

This will be amazing. The one more objective data point on them is many report reduced door seal creaking with them indicating that something is going on. I just use a can of Sailkote dry lube.....

 

[JPB WORLDWIDE]

On a stock turbo sure. The R exhaust flows much better than the gti one. On hybrid setups you notice a difference with a cat back. The charge pipes on hybrids are also not useless.

Yeah - but most cat backs make driving more fun with sound. My car is heavily modded for track but only have a car back for “fun-factor”. Down the line it may come in handy when modding further. I do not consider this a “nothing” mod. It just needs to be utilized in conjunction with others.

 

[DarkArrow]

This will be amazing. The one more objective data point on them is many report reduced door seal creaking with them indicating that something is going on. I just use a can of Sailkote dry lube.....

Lubing the seals will only treat the symptom, not the problem. The seals are squeaking due to flexing and them no longer squeaking with the brace shows there's less flex. Does reducing that amount of flex actually do anything to how the car performs? I'm not a consistent enough driver to be able to tell you whether or not it does, but at the simplicity and low cost of a front strut bar, I'll address the problem instead of mask it with lube.

In a similar fashion, a squeaky drive belt can be quieted with a bar of soap. Or you could fix the issue and tension the belt correctly or replace if worn. Would you choose the bar of soap?

 

[tigeo]

Lubing the seals will only treat the symptom, not the problem. The seals are squeaking due to flexing and them no longer squeaking with the brace shows there's less flex. Does reducing that amount of flex actually do anything to how the car performs? I'm not a consistent enough driver to be able to tell you whether or not it does, but at the simplicity and low cost of a front strut bar, I'll address the problem instead of mask it with lube.

In a similar fashion, a squeaky drive belt can be quieted with a bar of soap. Or you could fix the issue and tension the belt correctly or replace if worn. Would you choose the bar of soap?

I choose saving a few '00 dollars and 15 lbs for something that isn't an issue beyond noise. The drive belt analogy isn't a good one here because it's a mechanical issue that could cause a breakdown. The seal issue is more like a rattle inside the car that you use some anti-rattle tape to fix.

 

[DarkArrow]

I choose saving a few '00 dollars and 15 lbs for something that isn't an issue beyond noise. The drive belt analogy isn't a good one here because it's a mechanical issue that could cause a breakdown. The seal issue is more like a rattle inside the car that you use some anti-rattle tape to fix.

An ac drive belt will not cause a breakdown. But, regardless of whether or not you believe the analogy is good or not, we're deviating from the point. You are addressing a symptom while the strut bar addresses the problem. Just because you saying it's not an issue beyond noise doesn't magically make it so.
The chassis flexes. A front strut bar reduces that flex as shown by eliminating weather seal squeak. Less chassis flex is a good thing, right? Hence why I don't consider it a gimmicky waste of time/money/effort as this thread's original goal was to highlight.

The amount you overpaid for those APR plugs and coils probably could have gotten close to paying for a front strut bar. (not trying to start a war, just having some fun)

 

[tigeo]

I also mark up intakes to being similar to cat backs....certainly helping at some power level but mainly for looks and sound. Not really gimmicky...just not a lot of bang for buck. I like when I open my hood and see my Unitronic intake. I like the sound.

 

[tigeo]

An ac drive belt will not cause a breakdown. But, regardless of whether or not you believe the analogy is good or not, we're deviating from the point. You are addressing a symptom while the strut bar addresses the problem. Just because you saying it's not an issue beyond noise doesn't magically make it so.
The chassis flexes. A front strut bar reduces that flex as shown by eliminating weather seal squeak. Less chassis flex is a good thing, right? Hence why I don't consider it a gimmicky waste of time/money/effort as this thread's original goal was to highlight.

The amount you overpaid for those APR plugs and coils probably could have gotten close to paying for a front strut bar. (not trying to start a war, just having some fun)

But just imagine how much power your'e leaving on the table when your'e doing 40 rOLlz if you had spent that strut bar money on unnecessary ignition parts vs. stopping some chassis squeaks?

 

[krs]

But just imagine how much power your'e leaving on the table when your'e doing 40 rOLlz if you had spent that strut bar money on unnecessary ignition parts vs. stopping some chassis squeaks?

Another advantage to a catback, is if it’s loud enough you don’t hear door squeaks. Kills two birds right there.

 

[clownish]

I mean... remove interior, all the noises unmuffle, you save on weight and you don't hear anything problematic. Because you can't hear anything but road noise and exhaust noise.

 

[Cemetery]

After reading through this thread, I'd say people are wasting time listening to others mod recommendations

As someone who has 100+ w2w hours, there is no right answer to suspension you will find. There is no one setup that works for every track. There is no one setup that works for every tire. There are way too many variables and without analytics, none of the marketing or "feel" means anything. Sure, there are general rules of thumb you can and should follow for a start, but there are many ways to skin a cat when it comes to setup.

If you aren't chasing lap times, setup the car to feel good. If you are chasing times, get data acquisition and a pyrometer before changing a damn thing

 

[tigeo]

After reading through this thread, I'd say people are wasting time listening to others mod recommendations

As someone who has 100+ w2w hours, there is no right answer to suspension you will find. There is no one setup that works for every track. There is no one setup that works for every tire. There are way too many variables and without analytics, none of the marketing or "feel" means anything. Sure, there are general rules of thumb you can and should follow for a start, but there are many ways to skin a cat when it comes to setup.

If you aren't chasing lap times, setup the car to feel good. If you are chasing times, get data acquisition and a pyrometer before changing a damn thing

Amen dude.