Upper Strut Tie bar Question

[fahrvergnugen at cox.net (David Utley)]

Allyn wrote:
>> Autotech upper bar is by far the best I have used...
>>     
>
> Agreed.
>
>   
>> I just got the rear bar and also the hollow sway bars.  I 
>> hope to have them installed in the next month.
>>     
>
> David, I have always had my doubts about the rear upper tie bar.  There is negligable stress between those two points, at least as
> they are supported by the bar.  The shock mount points support the cars weight in the vertical direction only, and since they are
> shocks (not struts), there is no camber/caster type loads transmitted to the upper mounting point.  All major cornering-type loads
> are taken by the rear beam and the beams pivot points, which are not supported in any way by the steel that far back in the hatch.
>   

I disagree, but my experience is actually with a Rabbit.  :-)  My 
completely unscientific experience is rooted in the seat of my pants 
which will be not empirical enough for the engineers on the list, most 
esp. Larry since he doesn't even believe the fronts help.  I know what I 
feel.  I've used the Neuspeed triangulated bar as well and although it 
had more attachment points, it was biased in its' attachment to one side 
or the other.  It therefore drove 'funky.'  The single bar will permit 
me to stow some shizzle as well help the car handle better.

To put it more simply, I think since we drive simple, inexpensive cars 
designed twenty-years-plus ago, isn't it possible through age, 
hard-driving, or a cheap design that the 'box' of the car actually 
distorts, and therefore these bars help reinforce the car?  Remember 
most of the time when you jack up our cars, you have difficult either 
opening or closing (or both) the doors once jacked...

Cheers,
  David
> IMO, that whole rear bar thing (2 or 4 point) is overrated, at least with the way currently available iterations are constructed.
> It woulc be possible to make a 3-point triangluated version that ties into the center of the box at the hatch floor (between the
> towers), and such a bar could help with the vertical deflection, but the tower mounting points would have to be better than the
> cheesy 'u' shaped mounts I have seen in use.
>
> HTH
> Al
>
>
>