Have any of you ran the crawford plenum w/o the strut bar? Did you notice a difference in handling w/o a strut bar? Is it worth $200?

 

Not I..but then again I have JIC coilovers and Nismo sways..its worth it I suppose if you feel you need some support to stiffen up the frame/body area. But I did not feel a perceptible difference in the way the car handles so I decided against getting one. If you feel you must for cometic reasons the have at it.

 

mods in sig...

@ Roebling road on r-compounds... couldn't even tell it was missing.

It's just a pretty "after-thought".

 

I have a "G", so I have no first hand knowledge of what I am about to say. Doug Stewart at Crawford, runs his "Z" without the bar, and tells me that he notices no differences, or that the car may handle better without it. I forget exactly what he said, but something to the effect that the STB makes the car too stiff. The "G" of course has no STB. Before I got my car, I was thinking of adding a bar, but in the year that I've had it, it feels plenty stiff for me, and I've deceided that no STB is needed.

Lou

 

I did notice the difference. The car feels more "tied together" with the bar. But some may not appreciate this. Try removing the stock strut bar and then drive car for a week to see if you notice any difference. If you don't, forgo the Crawford bar.

 

Completely honest question here, but can you define the driving conditions in which you were experiencing when you felt it was more tied together?

I ask this because on the road course, at high speed... running r-compounds providing me with top adhesion thus producing max G's... I felt NO difference.

Maybe you have tried something different?

 

How'd you get a strike, Phoenix?

I've only driven on the street but I don't notice a difference.

 

Cause I was sick of someone's sh** and I told him how I felt.

I wear my strike proudly...

 

moved

 

To me it's especially noticeable when going over bumps; there seems to be less chassis flexing/twisting. I've adjusted the bar multiple times and can tell the difference in the steering feel and effort. Adjusting the bar affects camber which affects steering effort and understeer. The steering actually feels lighter with the bar than without.

 

I don't understand how a high-performance sports car could ever be "too stiff". One of the holy grails of performance car design is how stiff the frame/body can be made. The stiffer the frame/body, the more precise the handling.

Also, it will weaken the frame somewhat. You may not notice it at first, but it's likely your car will become "looser" much sooner than if you had the bar. The simplest way you would notice this would be a lot more creaks and squeeks than you noticed when the car was new.

It's possible you don't "need" it. But I cannot believe it could ever hurt performance, and can not fathom how a car could ever be "too stiff". Nissan put it on there for a reason. The differences may be subtle, but I think I'd like my car to stay tigher much further into it's life.

 

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