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Hey guys I stumbled across the megan racing strut bar on eBay and its really affordable. I searched on the forum and couldn't seem to find anything about them. Has anyone had experience with it? I wanna get it, but want to see if anyone has it on their w204
I opted to pay more and got the Alutec one. I was looking at the Megan Racing ones for a while and I've seen them for other cars in person and the metal on the mounting plates is just so thin to me. I paid $250 shipped for the Alutec strut bar and it's ridiculous nice, with beautiful welds, very thick metal and is super sturdy.
Last edited by romeo291; May 27, 2016 at 12:52 AM.
I opted to pay more and got the Alutec one. I was looking at the Megan Racing ones for a while and I've seen them for other cars in person and the metal on the mounting plates is just so thin so me. I paid $250 shipped for the Alutec strut bar and it's ridiculous nice, with beautiful welds and is super sturdy.
I saw that one but I'm not sure how much more worth it that one is...did you feel a difference having it on there or no? Like did you notice a huge difference in the handling/turning/etc?
There's a guy on this forum who has it on his car, along with a whole ton of other things.
It's stated in his signature. You can try to message him. Let me know how it goes, maybe i'll buy one too!
I saw that one but I'm not sure how much more worth it that one is...did you feel a difference having it on there or no? Like did you notice a huge difference in the handling/turning/etc?
Yes, there was an obvious improvement with it on my car. There's a super sharp corner on my way to work everyday that I like to take fast and with the bar on, I noticed I could take that corner much easier. Now, I don't know how it compares to the Megan bar because I've never tested them side by side, but I suspect the difference may not be noticeable from an average driver. My judgement was purely based on construction of the bar and not on performance data
I have the Megan bar. Recently installed last week. I bought it new off another member. The only issue I had was the strut brackets were assembled backwards when I received it. From my understanding, it's shipped as one piece so I don't put the blame on the forum member who sold it to me but I really have no idea one way or another. Regardless, it stumped me on the install for a time as I just assumed it didn't fit my vehicle or the part # stamp was incorrect. After pausing for a bit, I disassembled the complete bar and fitted each strut plate separately. Perfect fit. I then reassembled the cross bar and Loctite'd'. No issues, fits great. For the money I paid...well worth it. It's not as thick and 'beefy' as others may have mentioned but it's also less than half the price. Did I notice a difference? I can't say yes or no as this last week has been on site for me and the car hasn't been driven much. To be able to offer a good critique, I need to engage in some aggressive on-ramp or curved road driving and I have not had the opportunity. Over all, I was happy with the outcome thus far.
It's hard to commit to buying a strut bar, I mean even people who have C63's just for daily drives said they couldn't notice a difference lol. Others who tracked there cars noticed it more. there was a few threads about people arguing it on the AMG forum there easy to find check them out.
I've hit on ramps at pretty high speeds and the car stuck to the road like glue. I've hit sharp turns hard and still the same result.
I've read about this tones of times as I wanted to buy one a while back. It just doesn't seem worth it.... to me anyways, just due to all the research I've done.
although it does look cool if you get a really nice one.
Keep in mind if you have the "Dynamic Handling Package", this bar will directly interfere with the control modules that's mounted on top of each strut.
Also to consider, for me anyways, single piece bars will always be better than a multi-piece, IN ADDITION...If you have a pre-facelifted W204 (M272), you may not be able to change the air filters without removing the bar first.
I'm not sure about you guys, but personally I wouldn't want to be removing/re-torquing the strut bolts over and over for the life of the car just to do basic maintenance. What's worse is if you don't even do maintenance yourself and trust someone else to torque it down.
If you are on the fence, I'd pass on this one, or at the very least have better rubber first.
Keep in mind if you have the "Dynamic Handling Package", this bar will directly interfere with the control modules that's mounted on top of each strut.
Also to consider, for me anyways, single piece bars will always be better than a multi-piece, IN ADDITION...If you have a pre-facelifted W204 (M272), you may not be able to change the air filters without removing the bar first.
I'm not sure about you guys, but personally I wouldn't want to be removing/re-torquing the strut bolts over and over for the life of the car just to do basic maintenance. What's worse is if you don't even do maintenance yourself and trust someone else to torque it down.
If you are on the fence, I'd pass on this one, or at the very least have better rubber first.
i agree, what about thicker sway bars??... that would probably instantly change your handling.
check this out, i should add it's a non updated thread but someone people have done it.
Perhaps I am getting old...but from my personal experience, unless this is a dedicated fun/weekend/track car I'd leave the sway bars alone as well.
I've had oversized/beefier sway bars on my DD in the past, so here's a few points to consider...
#1 Speed bumps. I hope your car isn't lowered so you can tackle these guys head on. If not, you better warn your passengers or else their head will be hitting the side glass window. Trust me on this one.
#2 Your sway bars might be tough, but guess what, your endlinks will now snap. Imagine having 3 passengers in the back and going over a pothole. Yup...done this one as well.
#3 So you now have beefier endlinks, but guess what, now your sway bar endlink brackets will crack/fold. Done this too. See a pattern?
#4 So you upgraded everything so they don't break, but since your sway bar is bigger, you had to have also replaced your bushings. Well chances are aftermarket bushing aren't made of rubber, so guess what, over time those will start to squeal unless frequently maintained, which to me, is the exact opposite of what you want in a luxury daily driven car.
Personally after having to replace a sway bar related part EVERY SINGLE YEAR I've owned my DD, I've had enough, and this is one of the reasons why I ordered the "Dynamic Handling Package" straight from the factory. Now I can command a stiff ride at a push of a button and not have to worry about this part or that part breaking on me every year.
Perhaps I am getting old...but from my personal experience, unless this is a dedicated fun/weekend/track car I'd leave the sway bars alone as well.
I've had oversized/beefier sway bars on my DD in the past, so here's a few points to consider...
#1 Speed bumps. I hope your car isn't lowered so you can tackle these guys head on. If not, you better warn your passengers or else their head will be hitting the side glass window. Trust me on this one.
#2 Your sway bars might be tough, but guess what, your endlinks will now snap. Imagine having 3 passengers in the back and going over a pothole. Yup...done this one as well.
#3 So you now have beefier endlinks, but guess what, now your sway bar endlink brackets will crack/fold. Done this too. See a pattern?
#4 So you upgraded everything so they don't break, but since your sway bar is bigger, you had to have also replaced your bushings. Well chances are aftermarket bushing aren't made of rubber, so guess what, over time those will start to squeal unless frequently maintained, which to me, is the exact opposite of what you want in a luxury daily driven car.
Personally after having to replace a sway bar related part EVERY SINGLE YEAR I've owned my DD, I've had enough, and this is one of the reasons why I ordered the "Dynamic Handling Package" straight from the factory. Now I can command a stiff ride at a push of a button and not have to worry about this part or that part breaking on me every year.
good to know! regardless, i feel the w204 cars handle quite well stock. Wish i had
Dynamic Handling Package but hey maybe on the next one.
Also to consider, for me anyways, single piece bars will always be better than a multi-piece, IN ADDITION...If you have a pre-facelifted W204 (M272), you may not be able to change the air filters without removing the bar first.
I'm not sure about you guys, but personally I wouldn't want to be removing/re-torquing the strut bolts over and over for the life of the car just to do basic maintenance. What's worse is if you don't even do maintenance yourself and trust someone else to torque it down.
If you are on the fence, I'd pass on this one, or at the very least have better rubber first.
It's literally 2 bolts to remove the cross bar....not a big deal. And since air filters are not changed every 10k miles, again not relevant. I have had STBs on my GS corvette and it definately contributed to the performance of the vehicle. Would I drop $300 to get one? No. But for $100 it's not a big deal and it is a widely proven upgrade in the perfomance world. I will be driving the car hard this weekend and will form my opinion based it's performance.
I have an Agency Power strut bar that I bought off someone who had a C63, but got a supercharger so it wouldn't fit. The bar retails for around $400, he wanted $300 and I talked him down to $200. Of course right after that I saw the Megan Racing ones a month later.
Would I pay $400 for a strut bar, no way!! I would wait for the less expensive ones.
Does it make a difference, YES!!!
There may be some naysayers, but yes it really does make taking fast curves fun as long as your tires are proper. The Agency Power one is really beefy and when you have to change/clean air filters, yes it can be a PITA, but its super easy to take off and put on.
As for the sway bars, I haven't tackled that yet. The front one is easy to install, but the rear is a PITA and if not DIY, can be expensive. I do know that when I had a B6 Audi A4, the RS4 rear sway bar made an instant, noticeable difference in the handling. No matter what speed I was going, I could not spin out or drift that car.
My indy shop owner who also races/raced several different MB cars has said he has never seen any suspension components fail due to the sway bar being too beefy. They only fail because they are old and worn out. He recommends Lemforder for all the suspension components as they are able to take the abuse better.
I'm still not convinced on the strut bar being that noticeable of a difference...everyone would invest that $100 if it did. Maybe if you were lowered with other suspension mods it will but would it be noticeable to the average daily driver? I don't think so.
I would defiantly do research about a $400 and a $100 one, I'm all for saving money but the quality would probably be better on that $400 one and you get what you pay for. every part is only as good as it weakest component, I didn't go cheep on a Volvo let alone a Mercedes.
I still would say if you went with the AMG sway bars,coil overs and a great one piece strut bar with little flex then you'll notice a massive difference.
i spent days researching this in the past and am still not convinced a strut bar alone will do anything for you.
It's literally 2 bolts to remove the cross bar....not a big deal. And since air filters are not changed every 10k miles, again not relevant. I have had STBs on my GS corvette and it definately contributed to the performance of the vehicle. Would I drop $300 to get one? No. But for $100 it's not a big deal and it is a widely proven upgrade in the perfomance world. I will be driving the car hard this weekend and will form my opinion based it's performance.
No one is denying the benefit of said bar. To me however it is near the bottom of the priority list in things to improve. In the past I've purchased and installed strut bars for the sake of modding and would probably continue to do so, however unlike the W204, they never interfered with general maintenance or additional control modules. If you don't see that as a big deal then more power to you.
I opted to pay more and got the Alutec one. I was looking at the Megan Racing ones for a while and I've seen them for other cars in person and the metal on the mounting plates is just so thin to me. I paid $250 shipped for the Alutec strut bar and it's ridiculous nice, with beautiful welds, very thick metal and is super sturdy.
I know it is three years out now, but I found this thread, bought the Alutec, and it makes such a difference. Not that many people opt for a GLK these days, but the Alutec also fits the 2014 GLK 350 4MATIC (X204). And you are right, the welds are pretty sweet... Thank You!
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