I am new to this side of the automotive world. I have pretty much stuck to off pavement wrenching, but I have started to branch out and I have a ton of questions so I am going to start at square 1. I was under my hood today and noticed a bar running across my engine that didn't look stock. The previous owner did some work to it and I am finding little things here and there that look out of play. This bar runs from the two coil/strut mounts (I think that is what they are called, the Jeep world invents new names for things), and it has a MOPAR badge on it. The badge is what caught my eye and made me think this was not stock. Can anyone tell me what advantage this is, if any? I included a pic of one that looks exactly like the one I found in my car. Thanks for the help.
It adds a little more stability if you are into running road courses, or just playing on the twisties..like me
Anti sway bar is not the proper term, strut tower brace is what it's called. Our cars come with front and rear sway bars.
Thanks. Its good to know so I dont keep looking like an idiot. Like I said, I am a Jeep guy where technical terms are reinvented through hillbilly/redneck slang and we fix everything with a hammer, zip ties, and WD-40.
It is the "Mopar strut brace", most often called a strut tower bar. It's purpose is to firm up the flexing of the strut towers in relation to each other. The body of a car flexes naturally, that flexing detracts from the suspension being able to do it's function. In most daily driving you will not notice any effects, but in road racing a firmer body is beneficial in allowing the suspension to handle keeping the wheels planted.
Sweet! I don't know if I'll use it for its intended purpose but I don't see how this can be a bad thing.
