oem strut tower brace any good?

[riozlander]

Hello I got a base model 2012 Camaro ls v6 standard transmission.
I was wondering if the OEM strut tower brace was any good. I found 7 of them for 127$ and they come with hardware to mount it.

I love my Camaro alot. But when it comes to canyons and roads with turns I find the front dips/body rolls up there. I have seen strut tower bracing from other companies but dont have 300-400$ I'm willing to spend right now. But 127$ is right in the ballpark.

I searched for a post about the OEM strut tower brace. Eather my phone does not like the forum system or I blind because nothing turns up

[14ssrs6man]

The OEM brace works very well. There are not works of art when you receive however. I would plan on painting or wrapping at some point. The BMR can be found for less than $150 also... No painting required. I powder coated my OEM for $50.

[KillboyPowerhead]

If you're looking to reduce roll (and don't mind spending a few extra bucks) I would consider replacing the sway bars. Starting with the 2012 models Chevy used an "outboard mount" rear bar, although maintained the original "inboard mount" rear bar for the V6's - by outboard/inboard mount I mean the bar mounts on the inside or outside of the springs, and if mounting further away (from centre) the bar not only provides more stability but can also react quicker to a given movement, providing that stability even sooner.

Even though the V6's used the old style bar they still have the new style lower control arms, so you'll need the drop links and bar; and regarding the bar, I'm not sure if any bar clears the V6 brake caliper banjo bolts except for JusticePete's; but with that said I can highly recommend JP's as I have them. The new style bar - and Pete's big ass 27mm/32mm bars in particular - will make a much greater difference than a strut tower brace.

[hammdo]

The strut bar would be of benefit if you were road racing or doing hard corner racing (auto cross). I have one and took it off as I won't need it until I get closer to 7/10 or more racing. Just tooling around on the street, sway bars would be a better bet...

JusticePete is the one to talk too... suspension guru...

-Don

[riozlander]

I appreciate all the feedback. But I mean I only have 127$ thats why its in the ballpark for me. I feel the cars fine everywhere else I dont plan on going on the track ever. Mostly because I could never afford it. As my car does not have over 26,000 miles on it the suspension is still nice and tight. I'm mainly looking to control body roll up front as it really bothers me to feel it when driving.
I'll have to look in to sway bars from JusticePete one of these days.
I'm not looking for a crazy stiff suspension system. I enjoy my spine I one peace.
Sadly this will be my last upgrade untell I get to Texas and have been the for a few months
Plans move is September 20th

[Avenging Orange]

Personally, I'd save my $127. Dont think the strut tower brace will help much....if any.

[olblue75]

It' fair to say the strut bar would be the last on the list of things to do if you were trying to get every possible bit of performance out of your car, but like someone else said dress it up a little and it looks cool under the hood. In the long run its your car do as you see fit with it and buy the piece an slap it on there it's only 127 bucks.

[bdd8401]

I had my strut tower brace on my car not long after i bought it i feel it firms the handling up in my opinion. But keep in mind that it was mainly designed to firm up the convertibles. With thst being said if 127.00 will not hurt your bank account then buy it and see if you like it, if you don't like it then you could sell it and recoup most of what you pay for it. My dealer paid for mine to make up for the defect with the appearence of the package rack on mine. And it is your car mod it the way that you want it to be as long as you can afford it don't worry so much about what others say it's your car after all. Advice and opinions are nice to help you decide and think about things that you want to do to your car, but in the end it is up to you. Mod away and enjoy your car.

[Silent...]

In the last month I have installed a GM strut tower brace and Hotchkis comp sway bars. I posted up a thread here in this section in the past week. The strut brace went on first and I never noticed any difference with it driving the same roads many times in the past 4 weeks. A week ago I had the sway bars installed and on the first day I noticed them right off the bat, again driving the same roads. I'm not saying that the tower brace won't stiffen up the front some, but it won't help with body roll. Roll can be helped with sway bars and/or springs/coil overs/etc.

[riozlander]

Originally Posted by Silent...

In the last month I have installed a GM strut tower brace and Hotchkis comp sway bars. I posted up a thread here in this section in the past week. The strut brace went on first and I never noticed any difference with it driving the same roads many times in the past 4 weeks. A week ago I had the sway bars installed and on the first day I noticed them right off the bat, again driving the same roads. I'm not saying that the tower brace won't stiffen up the front some, but it won't help with body roll. Roll can be helped with sway bars and/or springs/coil overs/etc.

oh i want Hotchkis on my car i have never heard a bad story about them or a single negative thing sed once. but i work for 11.08$ an hour 7-6 days a week for 8 hours grave yard shift. and my state as it is 3.20$ for gas food 150 a month. after taxes witch takes more from me because im over min wage and takes more because im working over 40 hours a week.

my money for spending on mods is severely limited to 75$ a month that i can put away while trying to save up to move. so my options are limited to what i can afford. and OEM GM parts are cheap and relatively well made. my rout to work is mostly canyons and freeway with long sweeper turns.

the body roll i feel is up front not down low but around the hood line and fenders. the suspension does not dip or pull the car like it would if the problem was there in hard sharp corners i feel the limitations of the stock sway bars and suspension the rear i dont feel much limitation ex when exiting a long sweeper or sharp turn and really hammering the gas down

[TheFlyingBananaSS]

Try firmer sway bar bushings first. They are really cheap and you can notice it after installed.

[imaSSnake]

I drive 2 roundabouts every day, twice a day, one's a double. My very first trip round the roundabouts after my OEM strut bar install went to .99Gs, without it the highest I could hit was .89Gs.
Very significant increase, plus I could feel that the front end was smoother. That is the only performance mod I've done...so far....worth the money imo

Edit....mine is a 2015...I read op then responded with my strut bar experience...I drive hard, every day, on the streets

[riozlander]

Originally Posted by TheFlyingBananaSS

Try firmer sway bar bushings first. They are really cheap and you can notice it after installed.

Agghhh son of a B why did I not think of that
Oh well its already bought. Yup prob going to go with that next then. Then slotted brakes front and new OEM rotors in back prob gona get some ceramic pads to fit the set up....

Tho I might want to hold off tell I get more tools lol. As is I only got audi/Mercedes specific maintenance tool. Beaker bar torque wrench 2jack stands and a jack...otherwise i got Allen adapters for days and tripple squire bits. Anl lots and lots of adaptors and extension

[riozlander]

Originally Posted by imaSSnake

I drive 2 roundabouts every day, twice a day, one's a double. My very first trip round the roundabouts after my OEM strut bar install went to .99Gs, without it the highest I could hit was .89Gs.
Very significant increase, plus I could feel that the front end was smoother. That is the only performance mod I've done...so far....worth the money imo

Edit....mine is a 2015...I read op then responded with my strut bar experience...I drive hard, every day, on the streets

Thanks for the info it does help even if its a newer model. And a v8 as well. I was thinking about the weight up front on a v6 and v8. If some v8 owners notice anything because the weight is more? Or if on the v6, if its more notice able or not because of weight.
The canyon road I take the speed limits are 65-70mph turns normaly set at 45 suggested so its good fun