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wu_dot_com · 11-04-2013, 02:38 PM

AEM Strut Bar Review, Thoughts and Experiences
AEM have been one of the more underrepresented brands in aftermarket part on this forum. As a result, I thought I should write a review on AEM’s current offering and bring awareness to their current product line.

Below is a link to the AEM website.

http://www.aemintakes.com/search/pro...x?prod=29-0009

This strut bar is rather unique compare to the current market offering. While other companies offers 1 piece tower to tower or 2 piece tower to chassis connection, AEM’s Strut bar offers an integrated wielded triangular design that connects both towers to the chassis. This integrated design offers maximum rigidity by interconnecting all 4 chassis mounting points together in efforts to ensure the relative displacement from each attachment points is at a minimum.
Unlike the traditional offering, the AEM tower attachment employs a 4 bolts attachment pattern rather than 2; 2 bolts are fasten to the inner strut bolts, while the other 2 are connected to factory strut bar bolts. This strut tower attachment arrangement offers superior load distribution over other offering by effectively disbursing the bending and torsional load experienced by each bolt under harsh cornering.
What’s more impressive of this strut bar is that it also has an integrated master cylinder stop. The wielded construction of this MC stop design effectively eliminates the undesirable strut tower side wall bending that comes with other designs.
Surprisingly, for a well overengineer all steel unit like this, it only weights 18 lbs. in all honesty, it felt lighter during installation.
The installation was pretty straight forward. It shouldn’t take more than 10 min to install. For a large unit with complex geometry like this, I was thoroughly surprise at the accuracy of its bolt pattern and the overall fit of this unit. The strut bar drops right into position without the need for further adjustments.
With all this being said, the most unbelievable feat achieve by AEM is that they are offering this all inclusive package for only $189. In comparison to GrimmSpeeds @ 159 (no MC brace, 1 pc), raceseng @ 299 (IMO it offers no additional benefit over OEM except pretty colors for 300 bills), or FT86 speed factory @ 299 (2 pc design, no MC brace, only use two bolts instead of 4). This unit can offer tremendous value from a brand you can trust while still leave you with additional money in your pocket for other upgrades.
To me, getting this is strut bar really a no brainer.

Pictures will be uploaded soon.

11-04-2013, 02:38 PM	#1
wu_dot_com Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Drives: accord Location: ca Posts: 454 Thanks: 297 Thanked 178 Times in 86 Posts Mentioned: 2 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Strut Bar Review: AEM Strut Bar Thoughts and Experiences AEM Strut Bar Review, Thoughts and Experiences AEM have been one of the more underrepresented brands in aftermarket part on this forum. As a result, I thought I should write a review on AEM’s current offering and bring awareness to their current product line. Below is a link to the AEM website. http://www.aemintakes.com/search/pro...x?prod=29-0009 This strut bar is rather unique compare to the current market offering. While other companies offers 1 piece tower to tower or 2 piece tower to chassis connection, AEM’s Strut bar offers an integrated wielded triangular design that connects both towers to the chassis. This integrated design offers maximum rigidity by interconnecting all 4 chassis mounting points together in efforts to ensure the relative displacement from each attachment points is at a minimum. Unlike the traditional offering, the AEM tower attachment employs a 4 bolts attachment pattern rather than 2; 2 bolts are fasten to the inner strut bolts, while the other 2 are connected to factory strut bar bolts. This strut tower attachment arrangement offers superior load distribution over other offering by effectively disbursing the bending and torsional load experienced by each bolt under harsh cornering. What’s more impressive of this strut bar is that it also has an integrated master cylinder stop. The wielded construction of this MC stop design effectively eliminates the undesirable strut tower side wall bending that comes with other designs. Surprisingly, for a well overengineer all steel unit like this, it only weights 18 lbs. in all honesty, it felt lighter during installation. The installation was pretty straight forward. It shouldn’t take more than 10 min to install. For a large unit with complex geometry like this, I was thoroughly surprise at the accuracy of its bolt pattern and the overall fit of this unit. The strut bar drops right into position without the need for further adjustments. With all this being said, the most unbelievable feat achieve by AEM is that they are offering this all inclusive package for only $189. In comparison to GrimmSpeeds @ 159 (no MC brace, 1 pc), raceseng @ 299 (IMO it offers no additional benefit over OEM except pretty colors for 300 bills), or FT86 speed factory @ 299 (2 pc design, no MC brace, only use two bolts instead of 4). This unit can offer tremendous value from a brand you can trust while still leave you with additional money in your pocket for other upgrades. To me, getting this is strut bar really a no brainer. Pictures will be uploaded soon.