Stock FSB versus TRD FSB - a real comparison

[mmcdonald]

There is none.

I just installed the FSB I got from ToyoGobo in 9 minutes with picture taking. It would have been half the time, but I had to walk around the back of the car instead of the front because of room in the garage.

Cost: about $150.00 delivered.
4 - 14mm bolts and 9 minutes later it is in.

The difference in the quality of materials and construction is immediately apparent. The Stock FSB is made of a single piece of stamped steel (with evaporation holes stamped on the underside) and looks like it will fatigue in a year or so. The flanges are stamped in the same piece as the cross piece, and have rolled edges for rigidity.

The TRD unit is made of welded steel tubing and solid flanges, is about three times heavier, and looks like it will last a good long time.

I haven't driven the thing much since installation, so I can't quite comment on the ride, but SOMEthing is stiffer.

This is the ONLY suspension mod I have done on my ride so I will post comments in this thread after I have put some miles on it. This will be an isolated comparison and not clouded by other concurrent mods (springs, shocks, rsb, tires, wheels etc.)

Pics to follow in a few days...

[mmcdonald]

Before:


Compare Tops:


Compare Bottoms:


After:


The four nuts you have to remove are clearly visible in the after picture.
The hardest part of this mod was wrenching around the hydraulic hood prop.

Just look at that TRD logo!

[mtodde]

That looks sweet. I appreciate the pics comparing the 2 bars...you can definitely SEE a real difference...and it looks a hell of a lot better too!

I've got front & rear TRD sway bars on my list already, but would like to hear what you think in a week or two.

BTW, I like the K&N sticker too.

[cablemn]

oh, thats a fsb? i thought it was called a STRUT TOWER BRACE. I pmed you mmcdonald. i thought the fsb was on the underside of the car. i've know about the stb for a while. i'm really interested if it changes the ride at all. cant wait for your impression of it.

[geminimouse]

oh, thats a fsb? i thought it was called a STRUT TOWER BRACE. I pmed you mmcdonald. i thought the fsb was on the underside of the car. i've know about the stb for a while. i'm really interested if it changes the ride at all. cant wait for your impression of it.

Strut tower brace is also called the front strut bar...
FSB acronym is usually used for front sway bar, some people use it for the front strut bar...getes confusin

[mmcdonald]

Sorry about the confusion on the "FSB." TRD calls it a Front Strut Tower Brace, and I had seen it shortened to Front Strut Brace.

Anywho....

Drove the ride tonight. Remember, the only other mod from stock on this car is the K&N air filter (glad you like the logo.)

Qualitative Assessment: Previously the whole car, front and rear, felt firm and as though both ends were acting together. After installing the FSB (on a level floor please - don't install on an incline in any plane or you'll lock in that geometry) the front end feels much firmer and more competent, and the rear end feels "sloppy." You wouldn't think that it would make that much difference, especially since the strut towers are so close to the firewall where there is added structural rigidy, but it is qualitatively a firmer more confident ride up front. I am definitely adding the RSB to get rid of the rear sloppiness.

Quantitative Data: On my favorite 90 degree right hander that I always take at 25-30 mph, and where the front end ALWAYS breaks loose (and the stock wagon wheels always screech away) there was just the slightest chirp (since I was watching the speedo and turned in late) and there was no breaking loose or screeching of tires. Yee-frickin-haaa!

Schwing factor on this mod: 4.5 boners. Low cost, eeeeeeasy install, immediate and noticeable handling improvement up front (at the cost of unbalancing the car until I get the RSB) make this a no brainer. I would suggest getting both the FSB and RSB simultaneously, and doing it yourself.

Keep the old parts in case you need warranty work.

[mmcdonald]

I would have liked some sort of lock washer with the nuts holding this thing down. However, that powder coat is holding them tight so far. I tried re-wrenching them after the ride and they wouldn't budge.

[MrMikeL]

Maybe I'm naive, but I just can't see how that bar makes any difference in the ride. Before I go spending money on FSB, can someone (maybe with some automotive engineering experience) explain how that bar is so integral to the ride? Thanks!!

[DocJohn]

Maybe I'm naive, but I just can't see how that bar makes any difference in the ride. Before I go spending money on FSB, can someone (maybe with some automotive engineering experience) explain how that bar is so integral to the ride? Thanks!!

"I'm a doctor, not an engineer" (Dr. McCoy - Star Trek)

I think this link can answer any questions about what a front strut bar will do. It is from a BMW site for the M3, but I think it is very applicable to our Solara's too.

http://www.e30m3performance.com/myths/S ... theory.htm

It stands to reason that a stiffer FSB will do it better.

[MrMikeL]

DocJohn,

That was a great link! Even I understand the issue now. Thanks!

[mmcdonald]

A quote from the linked article notes: "One test showed that the highest loads recorded on the strut bar were in compression as the car was pulling out of a garage (sideways down an inclined driveway - we have all heard a stiff car twist under this condition). " This is why I admonish the installer to install the Front Strut Tower Brace on a flat floor, and not on an incline in any plane, or worse, combination of planes. In some situations you may not be able to get the new bar on, or the old one off, until the car is level. But in any event, if you get it on, you will lock in this orientation of the strut towers to one another, and thus screw up your front end alignment. I think this may be why Toyota requires this installation to be done at a dealership to keep your warranty intact. They have flat floors. Fortunately, so do I.

This is also the root of my observation that "The Stock FSB is made of a single piece of stamped steel (with evaporation holes stamped on the underside) and looks like it will fatigue in a year or so. The flanges are stamped in the same piece as the cross piece, and have rolled edges for rigidity." With these types of forces pushing and pulling the strut tower brace, the stock piece looks like it will fatigue, grow brittle, and split. My gut feeling is that this fatigue will show up first in the area where the cross brace transitions to the stamped flange, up to where the cross bars are rolled under OR where the cross bars transition from vertical. We'll see (if anyone keeps their stock unit.)

[DocJohn]

This is why I admonish the installer to install the Front Strut Tower Brace on a flat floor, and not on an incline in any plane, or worse, combination of planes. In some situations you may not be able to get the new bar on, or the old one off, until the car is level. But in any event, if you get it on, you will lock in this orientation of the strut towers to one another, and thus screw up your front end alignment.

mmcdonald: Thank you! This is just one of the reasons why I really like this site!
I would have never thought about this “level ground” issue until I read your original posting. The info I linked from the BMW M3 site only goes to confirm what you have said. Since my driveway is definitely sloped, I would have probably mess-up my car's geometry had I tried to install my FSTB (on order) there. Now, I will search-out some level ground for the installation. (Sorry, I just refuse to pay the dealership anything to do a job as simple as install this FSTB, they would probably find some other way to mess it up anyway).

[DocJohn]

If anyone needs to know:
THE TORQUE RATING ON THE FRONT STRUT TOWER BAR NUTS ARE 59 FT-LBS.
as per Mike Lane, Parts Manager at Toyota of Goldsboro.

[michaels artic frost]

mmcdonald,

Good job!

-Michael

[slingshot]

This is also the root of my observation that "The Stock FSB is made of a single piece of stamped steel (with evaporation holes stamped on the underside) and looks like it will fatigue in a year or so. The flanges are stamped in the same piece as the cross piece, and have rolled edges for rigidity." With these types of forces pushing and pulling the strut tower brace, the stock piece looks like it will fatigue, grow brittle, and split. My gut feeling is that this fatigue will show up first in the area where the cross brace transitions to the stamped flange, up to where the cross bars are rolled under OR where the cross bars transition from vertical. We'll see (if anyone keeps their stock unit.)

I think that it is highly unlikely the stock FSB will fatigue in a year. 99% of Solara owners will keep their stock unit I'm sure and there is no way Toyota would underdesign this FSB to fail like how you guess. Unless you do weekly autocross events or regularly do Hollywood car chases, I'm sure nothing will happen at all over many years to the stock FSB.