No offense to the guys at Grimmspeed and I have heard some bad things about Swifts(SRT) customer service on exhaust systems but one pretty similar to this prototype is already available for $100.
http://www.swiftracing.com/SRT/images/frs/sttb/sttb.jpg

keen on the concept.

Keep us updated :)

This design looks alright. It's strong and adjustable too.
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NjUzWDEwMD...%7E%7E60_3.JPG


http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NjY1WDEwMD...%7E%7E60_3.JPG

What advantages are there in adjustable strut bars?

I would imagine the usual load on the struts would be in compression?
If so you could fit them and then preload them, in extension, against that compression, to keep the structure very rigid.

Glad I waited out my Cusco urges... after I got the G*S hood struts, I knew I'd buy more of their stuff. So far, my only thoughts are what have already been voiced: function more than form, maybe different colors and solid mounts. In for groupbuy already.

Alright, here we go, your Monday morning update!
Sounds like we're on the right track with the design and branding and that clip is very similar what we had in mind! We'll definitely get back to you guys for more branding feedback as that becomes a priority!
Thanks for the input! Believe me when I tell you that we've done a great deal of research regarding what's available and what our material/design options are. From there, we create a set of requirements for our design and on this project, we decided that those requirements are to produce a bar with zero sacrifice in function but at a very affordable price. We'd love to design a 'baller' bar, and perhaps sometime in the future we will, but for now, we're looking for maximum performance without a high-end cost. For that reason, the bar will likely be welded steel construction, similar to what's been shown so far.

Great input! Seems like a lot of people have interest in the separate triangle bars. We will definitely do some digging to see how the performance benefit compares to the cost and let you guys know what we find.

We'll definitely be hitting you guys up for input on the branding of the product when the times comes, don't worry! I think that what Chase meant by more beautiful is that if a few extra bucks (literally) gets you a more aesthetically pleasing part in your engine bay, it's probably worth it. Nothing major, just nicer brackets, etc.

I'm not sure if Chase has any 'official' data on this, but I know he did some testing. The testing that's been done so far has been so that we can feel good about spending the time and resources to move forward with developing the product. As part of that development, way more testing will be done.
:party0030:
Thanks for the input! We really do appreciate everybody's opinions. Why on Earth anybody designs and develops a product with input from the people that are going to use it certainly makes no sense to us! :happy0180:
Added this to our branding ideas chart!
Right on! You think a lot like we do!
This is the reason that we're going to keep the triangulation bars separate for now. In the future, I could definitely see having both a 2pt and 3pt bar or three separate bars. We are certainly mindful of autox guys!
You'll have to check your scca rulebook, but I'd bet you need to keep your stock triangulation bars in place.
We've definitely thought about this. What we came up with is that a 2-in-1 bar/mcb requires a performance sacrifice on both, and we're not down with that! Who knows, maybe in the next few weeks we'll come up with some new ideas and that'll change!
Thanks! We'll definitely be extending some awesome pricing to you guys in the beginning, as usual.
:party0030:
Thanks for the support! As with the hood struts, I suspect there might be a handful of used alternatives for sale once we get this released. ;)
I'm originally from the defense industry, so I know what you're getting at here. There's obviously a long and short answer to this. The short answer is that getting a hold of the right people at an auto manufacturer is nearly impossible and beyond that, getting answers from them is even more difficult. Our job is to do what we can with the information that we have. Aside from the fact that TRD used the same mounting points, we have a shop car and a product like this will typically see at least a few thousand miles of use before we're even close to releasing it. If there are issues, you can bet will coax them out of the design prior to production.
:happy0180:
No offense taken, we actually like the look of the SRT bar. Aside from a good handful design decisions that we don't agree with, we believe that customer service and support are nearly as important as having a great product. If you buy our bar and it breaks 3yrs from now, a phone call is typically all it will take to get a new one. It's also worth mentioning that MSRP on that bar is $150. As a manufacturer, when we talk pricing, we talk MSRP. You'll find it cheaper with retailers or through our initial group buy, but that's not how we set a target price.
:thumbsup:
Thanks for the input!
The bar will see both tension and compression in use. Often and unfortunately, the adjustment is there to pick up any slack left by poor manufacturing or design. If you properly tighten down both mounting points for the bar, the bar will not slip back and forth and there's no need to preload the bar. Another reason for a multi-piece bar would be on an older chassis, were it's been tweaked enough that a tight-fitting bar won't even install. Not an issue with these cars. We have a lot of cars come through for testing of various products and more often than not, multi-piece bars are broken, loose or missing hardware. We'd like a 'set it and forget it' installation.
We'll add you to 'the list' when it gets started! :happyanim:

Happy Monday!

Matt
Engineering

How did i miss this for 7 days!?!?


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Per the February Fastrack: “On the Subaru BRZ/Scion FRS, the pair of OE strut tower-to-firewall braces are not considered to be a strut bar
(per 12.18), and as such are not allowed to be removed, modified or substituted (per 14.2.G).”

Therefore, the triangle bars are not legal for STX legal

Hey guys, just wanted to poke my head in here and say THANK YOU for all of the feedback. It makes all of our jobs(especially Matt and Chase's) much more fun when we can interact this much with you guys during development. It truly is a pleasure to be able to incorporate some of your thoughts/ideas into the final product.

I can't wait to release a kick ass part for you guys!

Justin Grimm

@GrimmSpeed: I've only recently become acquainted with you guys with the hood strut purchase. What is your typical turnaround time from idea to conception for your products? Didn't the hood struts only take barely 9 months? I forget. Anyways, I've seen you guys around for a while, but never paid attention until the struts. Now I'm a believer and looking forward to this next product!

If it's steel I doubt I will buy one. Aluminium alloy will achieve the same rigidity for less additional weight and that factor is critical on this car.

The brackets for the struts could have been alloy too. Bolting steel onto the alloy bonnet was the only negative to that kit and I would happily pay the extra cost.

Are you guys SEMA members, at the manufacturer level? Tech Transfer would get you the CAD data, and many times you can glean information from that, as to how/why things are done, ie bars too short/long being designed for preload, etc. I don't believe Subaru participates, but Scion does.

http://www.sema.org/tech-transfer

I never dealt with data from Scion, but GM is great to work with via this program.

Bummer!

One thing to remember is that in the manufacturing world, the cost difference is not simply in material cost. Most people don't mind an extra half pound to save a good amount of money. Because of that, a smaller production run of aluminum parts is substantially more expensive and would have quite easily doubled the cost of the kit.

For what it's worth, in this application, the weight difference between two comparably rigid bars (one aluminum, one steel) is quite subtle. Think on the scale of two tenths of a gallon of gasoline.

That said, we appreciate the valuable and honest feedback! The design isn't complete and it's not too late to make changes. Chase and I will discus materials more closely in the morning!

Matt
Engineering