S40 (New) General : Does a Strut Brace make any difference

[DeeJ]

Will adding a standard strut brace make any difference to handling and reduction of tyre wear.

[alfiembra]

Wouldn't think you'd see any difference at all for "normal" road driving, if you use your car for track days then yes it might help a bit. Most manufacturers get the suspension settings and geometry spot on for road use so waste of money as far as I'm concerned.

Alan

[spandau]

Originally Posted by alfiembra

Wouldn't think you'd see any difference at all for "normal" road driving, if you use your car for track days then yes it might help a bit. Most manufacturers get the suspension settings and geometry spot on for road use so waste of money as far as I'm concerned.

Alan

Your having a giraffe mate, a strut brace is about the best mod you can fit for less than a hundred quid, stiffens up the front end a treat , im not really into modding but a strut brace is one mod thats well worth having, speak to rufe for a great price on a genuine volvo item
Think about the front strut set up and the way its constucted with the innrer wings taking the loads then think what happens to that structure when you add a stiffining section across the inner wings in effect turning it into a box structure, a good analogy is a shoe box ,think of the shoe box without the lid ,now add the lid how much stiffer is the box now? same principle applies

[alfiembra]

Originally Posted by spandau

Your having a giraffe mate, a strut brace is about the best mod you can fit for less than a hundred quid

I did qualify my reply with "normal" road use. The only time your ever going to feel the effect of a strut brace is if your giving it the beans which I'm sure you never do on the Queens highway.

[spandau]

Originally Posted by alfiembra

I did qualify my reply with "normal" road use. The only time your ever going to feel the effect of a strut brace is if your giving it the beans which I'm sure you never do on the Queens highway.

Just shows how much you know mate, as said it stiffens the front end up nicely for the reasons given, that benifit is obvious under all driving conditions not just when your "giving it the beans" (which as far as i know is not yet a offence providing one does it within the law)

[Clan]

Originally Posted by alfiembra

Wouldn't think you'd see any difference at all for "normal" road driving, if you use your car for track days then yes it might help a bit. Most manufacturers get the suspension settings and geometry spot on for road use so waste of money as far as I'm concerned.

Alan

I'd quite agree , it's phsycological .. can you imagine how much the body would have to bend around to make any difference to the suspension geometry ? 6 mm ? 10 mm ? wouldnt the bonnet start rubbing the wings?
No unless you are a rally driver no discerbnable difference .. especialy on a stiff volvo . Now if you had a Ford escort Mk3 then yes , you can physicaly move the suspension towers by pushing hard on them .
The "strut-Brace" on a S40/V50 is just to prevent certain body boom .... not prevent the front end wobbling like a jelly :-)

[spandau]

Originally Posted by Clan

I'd quite agree , it's phsycological .. can you imagine how much the body would have to bend around to make any difference to the suspension geometry ? 6 mm ? 10 mm ? wouldnt the bonnet start rubbing the wings?
No unless you are a rally driver no discerbnable difference .. especialy on a stiff volvo . Now if you had a Ford escort Mk3 then yes , you can physicaly move the suspension towers by pushing hard on them .
The "strut-Brace" on a S40/V50 is just to prevent certain body boom .... not prevent the front end wobbling like a jelly :-)

i can only speak from personal experiance, i had my v70 for three years and after reading so many good reviews fitted a brace, im no boy racer but theres no doubt it improved things by a noticable margin, might be worth doing a search on the subject on here the vast majority beleive they do make a diference, and clanyou might be suprised just how much even a volvos structure flexes under load, especially the inner wing area

[Clan]

But how do we know how much it flexes before and after ? Maybe a good test to do on a track day . see if anyone can tell if a particular car has a strut brace or not .. then change it ( on or off ) and do the test again but dont tell anyone .

[Guru]

In the S40/V50 you already have a strut brace, not visible though, it's not like the tunning one which you fit on top of the strut towers but deep in the foot wells in front of the firewall, it's a solid steel beam, keeps the front from flexing and protects driver and passenger legs on impact. so that's why adding another one on top won't make any difference.

[Clan]

Therre is also a steel tube running between the A Posts under the dash .
They have done away with the " strut-brace" on the new ones now .