strut-tower brace? or no?

[Tessie McMillan]

Well, I've got the more rigid, urQ strut-tower mounts, but still can't
find a brace. I looked at the URL several of you kindly posted:

	http://www.humanspeakers.com/audi/strut-brace-90.htm

but when I look at this OEM brace, it looks under-engineered for track use
on an 80Q. Am I wrong? I was also hoping to find an aftermarket bar that
had more engine bay  clearance. I've called Blau, GPR, and TAP, and they
don't have a source any more. 2Bennett says they have a Sparco bar, but
they don't know if it fits my car. I've called them every day this week
and they say they'll get to me when they can, but they just don't call me
back.

So... Since I've had all this downtime, I've been thinking about Larry's
driving-style comment and it reminded me how the car takes a set in
turns. (Note, I'm used to driving an '87 911, and I also had some seat
time with a Neon racecar). It seems that my 80Q takes a split
second longer for the front end to set relative to what I'm used to in the
911, plus it sets with the nose slightly down and dipping in the direction
of the outside of the turn. In the 911 and the racecar, the cars will set
more neutrally (for *just* a split second).

The car has been lowered all around with lowering springs, and I have
Boge Turbo Gas struts (although nobody can remember when this was done.)
I also have the 22mm rear anti-sway bar from Blau.

Can we revisit the question of: what is the practical difference between a
strut-tower brace and a front anti-sway bar in this car? And what happens
if you put stiffer springs on the front, leaving everything else as-is? I
do intend to put in more rigid tower mounts. Would Delrin bushings on the
control arm really help by themselves?

And last - if anyone does have a lead on a good aftermarket strut-tower
brace, I'd like to hear it.

Thanks for your ideas guys! Sorry to keep belaboring this issue.

Tess
in Seattle, WA USA

--