59 Stress bars:
Description
This article is from the VW Performance FAQ, by with numerous contributions by Jan Vandenbrande others.
59 Stress bars:
Stress bars reduce body flex by connecting either the top of
the free standing shock towers, or by connecting the
mounting points of the "A" arms. A1 VWs are in most need of
a lower front stress bar, while all A1 & A2 VWs could
benefit from an upper strut tower stress bar. (A2 cars have
a lower subframe and therefore do not need a lower stress
bar).
The advantage in installation of Neuspeed stress bars over
the Autotech bars is that you are not required to work on
the inside of the wheel well. The Neuspeed bar comes with
these "nutserts" that essentially create a thread in the
shock tower to bolt the bar to. The Autotech bars, as I
recall, require you to put nuts on the bolts from the inside
of the wheel well (they do claim to be a more positive
structural connection, which may be so). The Neuspeed bars
have also been superb quality and finish-wise.
Sporttuning tip from AutoTech: One warning sign of excessive
chassis flex is stress cracking of paint around the upper
front strut towers. This may eventually lead to the shock
towers breaking through. Stressbars can eliviate this
problem while also reducing chassis movement.
The rear upper shock tower stress bar is mostly for
*extreme* race purposes. Robert Collins (see archives)
argues that the rear stress bar is pure hype.
The effect of a stress bar is somewhat subtle, and does not
always translate in a significant performance gains. Both
the lower and upper front sway bar have subtle effects. The
cars feels "calmer" there seem to be fewer vibration
transmitted, and the car feels more confident in turns.
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