Xuyen

Hi all.

I read on a thread somewhere here that someone thought the Legacy may handle better than the WRX due to newer design and stiffer body strength. If that was the case how much of an improvement could I get by fitting a strut brace on the front suspension towers. A local mag has a lot of ads on such items but I don't know how benefitial they could be.

MY98.

clarence

Stiffer body doesn't neccessarily mean better handling, quite a lot depend on the damper/spring/anti-roll bar settings and other things like bushes and the steering system. A stiff body gives you (or the manufacturer) a good base to develop the car's handling and roadholding, not to mention more freedom in the fine tuning of the chassis.
An example is the current Audi A6. It has one of the stiffest bodyshell in it's class, but in Europe it is outhandled and outrided by both the Merc E-class and BMW 5-series. The culprit is the Audi's poor bodycontrol and artificial steering feel when equipped with standard spec suspension. With factory sport spec, the ride is too harsh compared to the sport spec offered by BMW. It's a case of having the right ingredients but the wrong receipe.
In the case of strutbrace (or towerbars), I think the improvement will be minimial on it's own, it's more for show when you open the bonnet. If you are considering fitting one, you should go the whole hog and fit one in the boot and another one in the front undercarriage (ie those made by Cusco).