Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Suspension New rear strut tower brace

Roger: "Pi$$ed" is a bit too strong here to describe my reaction. How does annoyed sound? I'm OK with you pointing out my liberal use of the word area, but to keep harping on it over & over is what annoys me. I heard you the first time, thank you. As mangler noted, everyone else seems to understand what I was trying to say.

Circumference is used to describe "the boundary of a CIRCLE", from the Oxford dictionary-so using that term is also incorrect if we're talking about a square! 'Nuff said.

OK. I didn't mean to annoy you, and I'm sorry it seemed like I was "harping." I felt more, at the time, as if I were answering your questions. Heard me the first time? You asked for more detail. I gave it. Everyone else understands? Well, Mangler does, and more power to him. Maybe he represents the majority. Maybe not. Wouldn't be the first time I was only one in the room who was right.

Looking back, there was one case where I just felt you were wrong, and that I needed to better explain my position. Maybe that was when I should have just kept my mouth shut. But I felt, then, that we were still having a little fun in what was primarily an academic discussion of the finer points of language.

"Circumference," "Perimeter," "Girth;" Who cares? Even if technically imprecise, any of these is more accurate than "area." (IMHO, of course.)

One small question here. I have an OMP bar mounted in the front of my car. When it was first installed the adjustor was fully compressed. Over two weeks, I have readjusted the bar as the towers "seem" to move apart. If the towers never move outward why must I adjust the bar at all?

The weight of the car alone would suggest to me the towers do move. The tops are the furthest fixed point from the load generating portion. So at the top of the tower you would expect to see the majority of movement in the towers (aside from the movement of the tire itself rolling onto its side wall). If this is wrong please help me understand why as it has always been easier to turn a bolt with a longer handle on a wrench (leverage).

I agree the rubber mount will absorb a great deal of the movement, but as a whole the entire tower will move unless my OMP bar has a mind of its own.

I agree with Brad in that the bar does exeperience tension. If the bars can move inward during cornering (compression) they will also move outward again once the load is removed (leaving the corner). When they move outward the bar will experience some tension as the compression on it is removed. If one wheel is permitted to move more than the other or is held back (say by the edge of a pothole) the towers will move relative to one another.

Of course as Terry mentioned we have rubber mounts between the strut and tower. Also bushings on the sway bars to absorb some of this shock. But if the towers never move then why did Ford bother to put a sway bar in the car?

If my theory here is wrong, please correct me as my training is in aerodynamics, and not suspension geometry which is more of a hobby.

Brad, I assume you're ready to install Performance Fords rear strut bar #002 in my car then? Hazel will be on hand with beer. Shoot me an email and we'll set up a time for install.

all this (positive ) tension is giving me a compression headache.........

Good discussion fellas!

Awwww....I wanted to be #002