I tend to agree unless there are three points to mount to the chassis. Lateral stability will flex with just two points across the strut mounts.

 

Had a Nuespeed front and rear on my 91 civic si hatch. I felt a big difference in handling with them installed.

 

torsional rigidity of old cars rarely compares with cars designed in a modern (computer-modeled) fashion.

 

I might be going to the track soon, maybe I should take mine off after halfway and see if I feel a difference.

 

The further away that your strut towers are from your fire wall make a strut tower more valuable. Also the reason a 3-4 point works better than just spanning the strut towers.

The owner of the chassis rig is an idiot for saying an absolute like that. There are many cars from the factory that have strut tower bars....hell, my Grand cherokee had one. They do a lot when they are needed. With todays compact, cab forward design cars, the strut towers are sometimes integral to the firewall making the strut tower bar nothing for that something that looks cool (which I'm OK with too).

 

I've got one on mine and can't really feel any difference.

I did on previous cars, maybe the weight and stiffness of the E39 results in the lack of difference?

 

Strut braces are more of a tracking/racing application kind of thing today. As has been mentioned, today's cars are computer designed to be pretty stiff from the factory and the normal everyday driving around just doesn't create the type of torsional forces where a strut brace functions.

That all changes when you put on sticky tires and start pushing the car at a racetrack. The dynamic suspension changes can be kept to a minimum with a properly designed strut bar.

I would think even a two point brace can provide some positive benefits as it keeps the strut tower tops an equal distance from each other but yeah I want a three/four point one.

 

Strut braces are more of a tracking/racing application kind of thing today. As has been mentioned, today's cars are computer designed to be pretty stiff from the factory and the normal everyday driving around just doesn't create the type of torsional forces where a strut brace functions.

That all changes when you put on sticky tires and start pushing the car at a racetrack. The dynamic suspension changes can be kept to a minimum with a properly designed strut bar.

I would think even a two point brace can provide some positive benefits as it keeps the strut tower tops an equal distance from each other but yeah I want a three/four point one.

I am wary of two point braces based on my experience. You need to "box" things out - otherwise you just end up stressing / flexing different parts of the chassis.

For example - I have front and rear strut tower braces. With the front I found that there was no difference. After putting the Dinan bar in the back, however, my car developed stress cracks behind the rear seat.