It wouldn't be too hard to double them up. It was just a passing thought as I have a spare. Ejed brat. It wouldn't fit on the back very easily. Would a strut tower brace be just that much better, or both?

I've always felt that strut tower bars were for suckers, but with an EJed Brat, I'm considering them pretty seriously now. The frame definitely flexes under the power of my current engine. I'm interested to hear about your impressions if you beat me to it.

 

I'd do swaybars first, then strut tower bars. The way I see it, the strut tower bar wouldn't be that noticeable with all of the roll from a weak front swaybar. Once you step up the front swaybar, then you may notice the effects of a strut tower bar.

 

I know you're considering this because of what you have lying around, but you could consider either springs from a Turbo Brat or 2WD front struts with RX springs. I'm running the latter. Stiffer springs are certainly a step up from just a front swaybar.

 

Jacob

So I got later wagon front springs and sourcing rx stuff here is iffy at best. I hear where you are coming from with the sucker part. The best turbo stuff,.... isn't that from the later models, loyale ect.? I wouldn't run a top strut tower brace without plumbing it to the spare tire area anyway due to common, (not so common) sense, or tie it to the frame or sub frame... if I had one.

 

The flex is a bit noticeable, my body was driven hard before I got her, I can tell. I was just thinking about keeping the tires on the ground during certain applications of the pedal. I'm not really experiencing wheel hop or bad performance, just roll and its at stock height. My lifted wagon seems to have less roll. Maybe my rear torsion bar is toast.....? Whats the difference between the 2wd vs 4wd front struts? I don't think I've seen anything on the charts I've seen here, except spring perch placement?

Thanks! Josh

You are correct with the spring perch placement. RX springs will give you a lift. 2WD struts will put it back to normal. Turbo Brat springs are just as stiff, but they won't lift the front.

 

You may not notice the wheel hop as easily as I did, but it's there. I'm not sure about different rear torsion bar rates, but I know on my stock 4WD bar with a Whiteline rear sway, hitting bumps sideways gets a little hairy. I was going to make the rear stiffer, but there was a safety concern.

 

Jacob

The Brat has stiffer rear torsion bars than other 4WD EA81 cars according to the 83 FSM:

 

Stationwagon incl. 4WD: 22 mm (0.870 in)

Brat incl. 4WD: 22.5 mm (0.886 in)

Others: 21.5 mm (0.846 in)

 

The Brat 4WD has a 22 mm front swaybar all others have 20 mm.

 

Front spring rates:

 

Brat 4WD 27.5 N/mm (157 lb/in)

Other 4WD: 25.5 N/mm (146 lb/in)

All others: 23.5 N/mm (134 lb/in)

 

I will be running 40 N/mm front springs on my EJ-swapped Wagon (56% increase) and am looking into fabricating a strut brace.

Edited November 10, 201114 yr by LeoneTurbo

I just looked up the EA82 specs in the 87 FSM:

 

Front springs:

 

23.5 N/mm (134 lb/in): all except

25.5 N/mm (146 lb/in): all Wagons

27.5 N/mm (157 lb/in): RX Turbo

 

Front sway bars:

 

16 mm: DL/GL

18 mm: 4WD

19 mm: RX Turbo & air suspension

 

Rear springs:

 

27.9 N/mm (159 lb/in): all except

31.4 N/mm (179 lb/in): all 3-door

34.3 N/mm (196 lb/in): all Wagons

 

Rear sway bars:

 

16 mm: RX Turbo & air suspension

 

These are EUDM specs I don't know if US springs are the same haven't compared part numbers yet.