I am looking at adding a tower strut bar to my 2004 3 5 door. GT Spec has one that looks promising. Anybody else out there with ideas/experiences with this handling upgrade?

 

If you've already done lowering springs, performance struts, and performance sway bars, then the strut bar may yield some increased lateral stiffness. Although it is possible to make your car too stiff.

 

ive the mazdaspeed strut tower bar on my 2004 3s hatchback...its an amazing product with competitive pricing, and since its mazdaspeed you know that it fits the part with no problems. in addition to the strut bar i have eibach front / rear sway bars (they make the suspension products for mazdaspeed), tein coilover suspension, and mazdaspeed rear camber links. my car now has very predictable handling and absolutely no noticable body roll. i say mazdaspeed is the way to go here.

-jeff

 

I was looking at the tower strut bar as a 1st option. Would front/rear sway bars be a better way to start with suspension upgrades?

 

you will definitely notice more improvement in handling with the sway bar setup over just a strut bar. but, if you have the money to spend, id suggest looking into buying both the sways and strut.