let's get technical about suspension...

[bboyck]

1. What exactly does a strut bar do? (I know it improves cornering and handling)

2. What is the difference between a shock and a strut?

Yeah.. I'm trying to learn everything I can about cars here on this site... I should go to vocational school lol...

BTW, for you guys that have dropped your suspension, have any of you had any problems hitting things in the road or hitting speedbumps and whatnot?

Thanks guys for helping me out

[Auto-9]

A strut tower bar strengthens the car chassis. As for difference between shock and strut I think someone else can handle that better than I can. I have hit speed bumps yes, and sometimes people's driveways are too steep and I'll usually scrape again, but those speed bumps are usually too high to begin with, even my mom's Sienna hits them occaissionally.

[burthold]

A strut tower bar attaches the two strut towers together to prevent flexing side to side. A good bar will also attach to a third point preventing front and back motion of the tower as well. If a three point bar is used it will also help with body flex and roll quite a bit by making the entire front of the car act as a single ridgid piece. This allows for much better handeling by keeping the tires in good contact with the road.

The main diffrience between a shock and a strut is design. They do the exact same thing in the same manor, use some type of gas or liquid combined with internal valving to control rebound. Struts on our car go on the front. Shocks go on the back.

I have a 2.5 in drop in front and a 2 inch drop in back I've had very little problems on texas roads. One thing I do though is approach speed bumps from angles when possible and also driveways. I have yet to scrape a speed bump here in Austin but I have had some issues with steep driveways.

Wes