Was Crossmember Bars, now Saltybar's effect on handling

[rocco16 at sbcglobal.net (Larry Fry)]

> I am going to have to disagree with you Al.  When I was replacing the 
> front
> valance on the 76 Rabbit I had, (I was just helping the body guys out, as
> bodywork is still my weakest link) - but the front had taken a slight hit,
> so after drilling out all the spot welds and removing the front valence, 
> we
> got out the measurements from the Bentley.  Sticking a long, large square
> steel tube down into the bumper-mount housing, that is welded to the strut
> towers.  So the front crossmember was completely removed, and we could
> adjust the position of the strut towers significantly with just one tug.
> Granted, this isn't the kind of movement or forces that are probably seen
> while driving, but it shows how much structural strength it offers to the
> front of the unibody.  If everything the suspension is "pushing" against
> isn't "pushing back an equal amount, it is moving and then the suspension
> isn't the only variable in handling.  (not that it is when the unibody is
> even stiffer than stock...
>
> gd


You missed Al's point, Greg.  In fact, your post actually supports Al's 
postion.

The key element in your post is this:
"So the front crossmember was completely removed,"
 Since Eric's bar exactly duplicates the function of the crossmember....to 
much less degree of course.... putting one on an
A1 that has NO crossmember would help a great deal!   But that is not the 
case in our cars.

Larry
sandiego16v