I agree on that.

 

If you look right below it there is a huge beam running between the frame rails. Im sure that stiffens the car enough. If you have put a STB on an S2000 you will know that it makes NO noticable difference in chassis stiffness. The bar is basically for cosmetics and gawk factor. I dont feel like I wasted my money at all. I love it.

Jeremy

 

Exactly.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Big Ben
[B]

 

I'll get technical with you since you insist. Any piece of metal that is bent, whether it be mandrel or crush, will flex while under any type of load. If you will look at the geometry of a men's bicycle, there are zero bends at all. All support pieces are straight. I'm not bashing the Cusco strut bar, I'm just saying that Titanium isn't the best choice of metals considering that there is an inherant curve that is designed into the strut bar. Any horizontal load that is placed on that strut bar will cause it to flex. Steel or carbon fiber would be a much better choice of materials because of their very low flexability.

 

I dont think this is true. There is a point where the metal flexes, not just any load. A light load will not effect the bar at all.

 

No, BigBen is right. What you are referring to is a noticeable bend. Like a plastic deformation. What he is referring to is a deflection. Any load placed on a metal piece will cause it to deflect. Now depending on Young's Modulus, that deflection may be so low that it is insignificant. But given a "softer" metal, the same load would cause a higher deflection to the point where it might actually become significant. These deflections may not be noticeable to the naked eye, but they are still there.

I'm not arguing one way or another about using Titanium as I do not specialize in specific material properties, but I do know BigBen's comments do have a strong foundation. If you'd like I can get into what he means by straight piece vs. bent piece.

 

When I say flexing under a load, I am talking about the type of horizontal load that the strut tower bar will be under. Since the bar curves upward, when a horizontal load is placed upn the bar towards the center of the engine bay, the bar will flex upwards.

Now if the bar were bent at a constant radius, if a force were exerted downward from the top of the bar, it would hold strong like a roman arch. But all the loads placed upon strut bars are horizontal only. There is zero vertical force.

Titanium really isn't a "softer" metal, but it is more flexable than steel and carbon fiber. But when used in straight sections where there will only be a compression load placed on it, it is probably better than steel. But since there is any bend at all int his strut bar, I'd have to say that it is probably the most ineffective one on the market. I'm sure it's light though.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Big Ben
[B]When I say flexing under a load, I am talking about the type of horizontal load that the strut tower bar will be under. Since the bar curves upward, when a horizontal load is placed upn the bar towards the center of the engine bay, the bar will flex upwards.

 

Civil Engineer. All civil engineers have to go through statics and dynamics. The compression and tension forces that are exerted on a strut bar can be solved with simple trig equations. Cos, Sin, etc.