Need a straight answer on strut tower braces.

[blkfordsedan]

I'd like to stiffen the chassis as much as possible because I'm an enthusiast and enjoy spirited driving. Now am I mistaking your comment for disrespect?

You may want to check out the road racing threads posted by Advancedynamics. He has been extremely successful racing his Festy on a road course. There are several videos of his car running down and passing exotic super cars who's tires alone probably cost more than his entire Festiva. He has also posted a thread explaining his suspension set up, which comes from years of experience track tuning the very exotic cars that he now spanks with his Festy. I think you'll be surprised at how LITTLE mods it takes to get a Festiva to perform. If I recall correctly, a strut tower brace is not one of them.

[Team Lightning]

Heres the link to Charlies suspension mods.

http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/showthread.php?42850-Advanced-Suspension-Mods

[sketchman]

Advance also didn't go with the famed Aspire beam than everyone wants, and he posted a vid of a stock carb Festy with NOTHING but tires and wheels done to it performing nicely.

I've never had a strut brace on a car, so I guess my opinion is void technically, but I would personally go for a lower tie bar before a strut brace, and I probably wouldn't do that either. In fact I'm probably yanking the factory one from my Escort to make the exhaust routing less stupid/more straight.

But again, YMMV, though I think ADX's results speak volumes for his methods.

[darkfact]

From my experience with strut tower braces (on my old DSM's) they significantly reduced body roll during cornering. I'd really like to do the same with my Festiva, and of course I do realize that this is one small step of many. Thanks for all the helpful info guys.

[Bert]

I don't mind getting a bit of flak for this. It costs a pile of money to design, develop and build a durable car (and please don't try to tell me Festys aren't) and when I see a 'tent pole and two shelf brackets that are off at an angle' pretending to significantly stiffen a car I know right off that there is going to be very little difference in the end run. But, like upgrading rims and tires, there are those among us that really "want to believe". I can live with that and so can all (certainly most) of us.
Matter of fact although I have no strut brace (nor plans for one) I'm happy as a clam already with Aspire 'goodies' and premium 14 inch tires. The Aspire sway bar (despite qualified naysayers) is likely the biggest improvement to reduced roll during cornering that has happened to me.
Festys were built to absolute minimum spec (solely to reduce weight, I suspect) and that's why brake and suspension upgrades are so useful, and especially if there is any plan to transcend beyond a B3 powerplant.
We're having fun, right?

[sketchman]

LOL. Tent pole and shelf brackets. I'm curious why anyone would say a stiffer sway bar wouldn't aid in body roll reduction. I mean, it's even called an anti roll bar too.

There was a test I remember someone posted you could do. It was actually the "proper" way to install a strut bar, and the "test" was just a quick little thing to prove it's doing anything at all. Jack the whole front of the car up at once, and then install the bar. Drop it, move it back and forwards to settle it in, and then try to take the bar back off without jacking it back up. I guess if you're set on not believing the thing does anything you could say the bar has just bowed and wedged itself in but isn't really providing any support, but then nearly every argument has a counter if you try hard enough.

I suppose you could prove it without doubt by using a strain gauge wired between the towers at a pre-load, then drive it hard with no bar and note the amount of relief, if any, it shows. Then do it again with the bar. That would be a fun weekend project.

[festyfreak39]

Strut braces are for ricers

the cool thing to do is frog arms now, i have them on my miata drastic changes, im making a set for the fetus.

[Tommychu]

How much difference a strut tower bar makes depends entirely upon how ridgid the car is structurally around the strut towers in the first place. The Festiva is built like a brick outhouse when you hold it up next to, say, a Toyota Matrix (used that as an example because I own one and it's floppy as hell), or to use an extreme example a Pontiac Transport/Chev Lumina (a van that was famous for collapsing its A-pillars during windshield replacement). So if I was going to put my wagon on the track a strut bar (and a few more braces in other places) would be almost mandatory. But I'd never put one on the Festy because my time/money would be better spent in other places to help its handling characteristics.
You can blow your money on one because you think it looks cool (which is a perfectly legit reason to spend money I'll admit) but it won't help the car handle as much you think it will.

[darkfact]

For the record, this has nothing to do with "looking cool". People can have their opinions and that's quite alright. All I'm saying is why shouldn't I implement what gives a noticeable difference in handling?

[navdoc101]

I put a FMS strut bar on 'Tiva. Ofcourse I got it an FMS body kit, FMS header, 2 VAS, extra dizzy, extra starter, extra alt, & a crap load of other stuff for $250. So why not install it, & I do fell some stiffin' during aggressive turns measured by BDS.

[Festevil3]

^ I just realized your avatar is my desktop background on my PC at work

[88FestivaLX]

I liked the one I had on my Mustang bc it helped with cowl shake at certain speeds and it seemed to help in the front after I did all my suspension. But I had to take it off when my intake got too big, haha

[DriverOne]

I believe I heard someone say that their passenger axle hop was reduced by the installation of one of these strut tower bars.

[Tommychu]

All I'm saying is why shouldn't I implement what gives a noticeable difference in handling?

Because a similar amount of money can make a _lot_ more difference in the handling of the car, if you spend it a little more wisely. That is unless you have a welder, a pile of scrap steel tubing and plate kicking around to make one for free, but the way your OP is worded I'm going to assume you don't.
Chassis bracing on a Festiva, if done at all, should be done as a finishing touch AFTER getting the entire suspension system up to snuff. Let's face it, if you're sitting on nothing but stock components everywhere else you won't even be physically able to push the car hard enough to put any lateral load on that part of the car (thus rendering the strut bar useless). The tires will break loose or you'll roll the car before the point where a bar will help you. Not even sure if The Stig could manage something like that.
You should start with an Aspire sway bar at least (because they're cheap and will make a REAL difference), and if you want to go nuts do a full Aspire swap with Rio struts and hats (Rios have a ball bearing in the hat, helps deal with steering effort when you go with wider tires). If you want the car to be stiff enough to give you back problems, cut some Rio/Aspire coils down and if you want a decent ride go for coilovers.
Rubber is a massive (though much pricier) consideration as well. Your car will never handle very well on the stock 12s unless you find some 12" super crazy JDM kei car dorifto racing slicks or something (good luck). If you do an Aspire swap your best bet is to lurk CL for some VW/Civic 14" mounted takeoffs for cheap and you'll likely be doing pretty good.

Until you do _at least_ one thing on that list (Aspire sway bar or tires), talking about strut bars does not make you an enthusiast. It makes you a ricer.

[Bert]

Until you do _at least_ one thing on that list (Aspire sway bar or tires), talking about strut bars does not make you an enthusiast. It makes you a ricer.

Whooh. At least we're all talking much more sensibly.
I am no ricer at all but have driven little square boxes of many stripes since 1969. And stupidly trying to improve upon each one. I was gifted a 64 Mini 850 from an elderly lady that wanted her lo-mile car appreciated. It was in beautiful shape (we're talking 1974 here) and was the original model with rubber donut suspension, exterior hinges and sliding windows and with a push button starter on the floor, long springy shift coming right out from the firewall and an 850cc (albeit in perfect shape) "lawn-mower" engine out front. It promptly got the whole treatment of front discs and an "S" engine, short throw transmission, and gauge cluster but you know what: I really should have left it alone and enjoyed it for what it was. Under those circumstances I might have still had it to this day.