I was browsing for new suspension pieces and came across this:

Doluck Rear Cross Bar

Do any of you have this or know anyone who does? I'm wondering just how well this bar stiffens the car up and if it's worth it to get it.

 

that thing in the interior?
i suppose it might do something...
they also sell a bar that connects the seatbelt thingies for the rear seats! lol
i dont see how this would really do much..
i think there is something that is better..instead of connecting in the interior..
it connects under the car...connecting the bottom of the hump that the driveshaft makes

 

Sale price: $325.00 = no

I am not a rocket scientist, but i do not see that stiffening up your car that much.... it seems like its in a spot that seems pretty structurally sound.

And for the price? Hell no.

Why dont you take some measurements, figure out where you want stiffening of the chassis, and make something. You can have someone weld it in, or make mounting brackets for you. You could even get it power coated, and still have hundreds left to not flush down the toilet.

Just my opinion though

 

Agreed, the price is one of the main reasons I am against getting it.

Yea, I've seen that bar that connects the C-pillar together. Also seen a bar that connects right over the spare tire well.

 

RIP OFFFFF. I thought about making them too, they are very simple to make. I rather put them under the car so if i do have passengers in the back, they dont have to deal with that bar in the back.

Spend your money on front and rear sway bars, or other suspension areas.

 

I don't have backseats so I don't have to worry about that, hah.

Yea, I was thinking about getting sway bars or replacing bushings instead now.

 

That's good to hear.

 

The problem with the floor bar and C-pillar bar is that there really aren't a lot of forces acting at those points. Think about it. The strut top is what pushes against the strut when you hit a bump. That's why you put a bar on it to brace it. What forces are acting on your C-pillar? Raising the hatch!? What will the floor bar brace? Hitting poles? I'm not going to deny that there are some deflecting forces at work at those points, but the actual deflection is so small that you couldn't feel it by the seat of your pants.

If strut bars aren't enough for you, swap the rear for a Cusco triangle brace and add fender braces in the front.

 

Those fender braces work?

 

I don't have them yet, but I have heard good things about them from people who actually know what they're talking about. I spent some time with a sawzall and an empty clip, and anything that isn't the frame rail isn't very stiff. If you've ever seen a bare chassis, you can see why they work. The main rigid member that run front to back is the lower frame rail (where the crossmember bolts on). There is also a smaller, thinner, and much weaker rail that runs from the strut towers to the firewall, down where the doors bolt on, and turn into the rockers. The problem is that the entire weight of the front end is suspended from the strut towers, braced by that weaker rail. Reinforcing that point will help the chassis resist (or push back) the large/sharp impulses at the strut towers like those induced by stiff suspension during agressive manuvers. Making the front chassis stiffer improves a lot of "feel" qualities like turn-in, feedback, and ride quality. Judging strictly by pictures, I'd stay away from the L-shaped ones like Tanabe, as they don't look like they'd be very stiff. I like the looks of the SPL Parts and Nagisa ones.

Here's a link:
http://www.nissanperformancemag.com/february04/240sx/

By the way, the Cusco triangle brace in my WRX was awesome even on stock suspension. I would wager that on a hatch style car the feel would be much improved with one.