Whiskey11

Yes, like the functioning hood scoop, side scoops and louver scoops, or the functioning spoiler or, or, or, or.

Ford doesn't always do something because it has some performance benefit.

As with various other threads about this, I have a feeling that it does something for the NVH, cowl shake maybe lessened or something but I doubt it does anything for performance without tying into the firewall.

The physics behind it also doesn't help it's claim to doing anything for performance. The forces of the spring and shock are concentrated at the 4 bolts at the top of the strut. The angle those forces during compression is going to be transmitted in line with the strut which means up and back and slightly inward. The majority of the force is going to be in the up direction with a minor fraction of it being in the inward direction or the rearward direction. If you look at the strut towers they are built like a tank. I doubt that the tiny fraction of a force inward is going to move the strut towers on an S197. Even if it does I cannot see it being noticeable to the driver as it is going to be so tiny.

Here is a 6 page thread done by people with far more time to devote to the tiny things in car suspension than I have. If anyone is going to know if it does anything, it'll be these guys, and one actually did a test:

http://www.corner-carvers.com/forums...ut+tower+brace

You may have to follow some links in the thread to find the test, but it's there somewhere.

stags

By that logic, why would anyone make Throttle Body Spacers? And yet highly reputable companies like Steeda do...

908ssp

There is no crime in removing a fool from his money.

Sam Strano

Strut towers are angled in, the struts angle in too. There are loads that are in the towers that STB's, even non triangulated ones can help with. If you don't think there is flex there, try an experiment: Lift one front corner of the car and take the brace off you'll see tension there.

Now I'm not going to sit here and say what many do, that's it'll make the car stop understeering, or some such crap because it's not true. But they do help chassis rigidity, and that's never a bad thing. You might find you feel it, maybe not. Older cars will see more benefit than brand new cars. Cars with stiffer suspensions or stickier tires will see more benefit than those with softer springs and crappy tires as there just won't be the same kind of loads imparted to the chassis.

Would this be on the top of my "to do" list. No. Does it matter on this car more than others? Yes, as struts do put a lot of load into the towers, for example double a-arm cars don't do it nearly as much.

157dB

They are in the busisness to make money and if a
non-functional or marginally functional STB brace
help sales, so be it.
They did the math and the $$ required to carry the part
was justified in the hopefully increase sales from unsavy
customers.



If Sam says they help, then they help.
Just finding one thats not flimsy and uses
all 8 bolts to attach it can be hard...
Oh yea, the Shelby STB.
Thats the ticket...

STANGmole

I like how people get beat up on the forums for wanting to install a 'useless' strut tower brace, yet $300 rear wings are a must-have option

In the past when I've installed strut tower braces on Mustangs that didn't have them (my current one came with one from Ford) I could tell the difference the minute I pulled out of my driveway at an angle or drove over uneven pavement. The front of the car felt much more solid. Did it help the handling? Probably not...but I wouldn't own a car without one because I like the feel of a chassis that doesn't flex.

Also, I've yet to own one that attached with eight bolts and they still managed to help somehow.

mmarsh3014

Thanks everyone for the input. Future upgrades include other suspension upgrades that would, by design, apply these extra forces that everyone keeps mentioning. But because real life gets in the way of mustang mods, my budget only allows to make one mod at a time until I finally put together a successful combination of parts to have a truly bad-*** street mustang. I have read lots of Strano's recommendations to other customers, and I'll be calling him when the time comes.

Bruno's 06

I don’t know if they help but in my opinion I think they look great. I plan on getting them just for that reason.

Sam Strano

Yeah, you don't need the 8 bolts for them to work. The brace on a Shelby GT was only 4 (2 on each side) same with the brace on my 2011 GT. The brace is a brace, not a structural member of the car. It's job is to help keep the towers from flexing as much.

flash_xx

My only concern with the strut tower braces is whether you can apply enough torque to the bolts to make a difference without snapping them. If the brace mounts were welded in and the bars themselves made removable with some heavy duty bolts I'd be more inclined to believe they make a difference.