Sometimes the original designs of the manufacturer still do not meet all the requirements of the fastidious guests.
Many people have started looking for parts to increase car performance. Strut bar vs sway bar are the ones that many people choose.
But what are they, and how are they different? Let’s check.
What Is A Strut Bar?
The strut bars, also known as the car strut tower, is an accessory mounted in the engine compartment, connecting the two front shock absorbers.
It works to strengthen the body, increasing the rigidity of the chassis, thereby improving stability and helping the vehicle perform better.
For example, when cornering, the car’s body can be tilted to the outside of the corner by centrifugal force, creating a torsion of the chassis.
It causes the 2 wheels in the corner to lose traction because the car’s weight has been put on the 2 outer wheels.
If the driver turns too quickly at high speed, overturning is possible when a large centrifugal force generates a rolling torque.
This is when you need a car strut bar to link two wheels on the same bridge.
This helps to reduce the wheel difference between the inside and outside of the bend.
From there, balance the car’s traction because four wheels will have better traction than when only two wheels grip the road.
What Is A Sway Bar?
The sway bars are metal and not a built-in part of the vehicle. Some car owners attach it to the underside of the suspension for steering and handling, as it can help reduce body roll.
With a special design, they can withstand impact flexibly, especially when entering bends.
In emergencies, it can add tension and spread evenly across the rod’s surface, which helps reduce the risks of sudden steering.
It also helps to control the steering wheel in a more stable way when driving at high speed.
Although it’s just an accessory that strengthens the suspension’s foundation, it has many useful roles. This system distributes the load of the rest to reduce body roll.
This is the type of vibration that you usually experience when the car turns right or left.
Thanks to the reduced roll, your car can be more stable when running at high speed and limit the vibrations when cornering.
What Is The Noticeable Difference Between A Strut Bar Vs Sway Bar?
There are still many differences in structure and specific functions between basil.
- About the material: strut tower braces are usually steel or aluminum, so it’s tough and inflexible, while you can even bend sway bars yourself since it’s made of spring steel.
- Regarding the ability to connect to the suspension: the sway bar connects the two wheel arms to keep the weight balance. The strut bar is again connected to the suspension’s towers and not directly to the chassis flex.
- Regarding the ability to reduce body roll: The sway bars restrict movement by engaging both arms and transferring the force back to the outer component. It reduces roll better.
- Reduced understeer: The Sway bars still prevail because it reduces steering by miles, and the strut’s performance is less than impressive.
- Cornering: The Sway bar acts directly on the wheels for better weight distribution and cornering. The strut bar is more suitable for balancing the car when cornering at high speed.
- Shelf life: Strut bars make a difference as they can last up to 6-10 years, while sway bars are prone to wear and tear.
- Installation: Installing sway bars is easier and also cheaper than the other.
Sway Bar Vs Strut Bar: Pros And Cons?
Strut Bar
Pros
Mounting the strut bars is one of the Embrace measures, reinforcing the vehicle’s chassis to become stronger and more stable when traveling at high speeds or when cornering suddenly.
A stiffer chassis system (as in sports cars) can increase vehicle control at higher speeds.
In addition, the rigid chassis also helps the car to be equipped with other related components that make the vehicle more grippy, such as a stiffer suspension.
It improves traction because reinforcing the chassis will also reduce body tilt when cornering.
Reducing body roll means the less lateral displacement of the vehicle’s weight and maintaining an even weight distribution across the wheels.
All 4 wheels will maintain the most effective grip on the road surface.
Doing the math, we see that having 4 wheel grip at 80% at each wheel is still better than having only 2 wheels with a 95% grip on each wheel.
Cons
Many people think that strengthening the chassis is good and not harmful, but this is a mistake. It will inadvertently increase vehicle vibration and reduce suspension comfort.
To do that, you also need to install a complex system of stabilizers, including anti-roll bars, fender bars, side lower bars, and rear brace.
The chassis system dedicated to popular models will not be able to withstand this equipment when the car owner does not upgrade it properly.
This can cause the chassis to twist and even reduce body control.
On the other hand, this accessory increases the car’s traction, but don’t put your hopes on it too much because it usually only improves about 0.01-0.03 g.
That’s still insufficient to turn a popular car into a sports car.
Sway Bar
Pros
- Improve vehicle performance
- Reduce oversteer and shift the balance to understeer
- Reduce understaffing
- Reduce body roll to increase engine performance
- It helps to increase the tire’s grip on the road surface
- Make sure the car doesn’t roll over when making a sharp turn
Cons
The installation is quite difficult, so you should only install it when you have enough money and time because it will need to change the bushings and struts and
The sway bars are too stiff, creating an uncomfortable feeling when traveling on rough terrain and making the driver feel the bumps on the road.
Change the vehicle weight, extra weight. So it will be more suitable for cars with turbochargers or compact engines.
Why Are Car Manufacturers Not Equipped With Car Strut Towers?
The price of a strut tower on the market today is not high compared to the value of a car.
It usually only fluctuates around 100 – 150 dollars. $100 per car doesn’t sound like much, but if it’s 1000 or 10,000 cars, the cost of production will increase a lot.
Second, although it provides a more solid steering feel when cornering, on the contrary, it will also reduce the smoothness and cause the car to shake.
This is something that customers who want to buy a popular car and prioritize the comfortable feeling do not like.
It can improve traction but very little and can not turn an ordinary car into a supercar.
Thus, if you like cars that can operate well at high speeds, the Sport mode on current popular models also meets a somewhat sporty feeling.
Manufacturers don’t set it up as an available car part. Those who want to equip this accessory as a personal experience must be technically savvy or get technical advice.
Attaching the strut tower to the front axle without equipping the rear axle will make the front frame stiffer and increase the phenomenon of understeer.
Conclusion
Above is information about the huge difference between the strut bar vs sway bar. While both can change the engine’s performance, they are not the same and are not required.
Hopefully, the above sharing will help readers understand more about these two parts.
Thanks for reading.