I have noticed the 2011 models have the strut bar from factory and they have cut the cost and omitted it from 2012?

Does it make much difference at all and I'm sure it can be ordered from the dealer? I also saw cusco makes one which is probably lighter material.

 

I recall of threads previously saying that upgrading from the OEM one to a 3rd party one makes a difference in cornering, so I wouldn't be surprised that going from none would.

 

I'm surprised that my 2012 XLS doesn't have the strut tower bar any more. My 08 ES had it.
Any idea if they did something to compensate?
I noticed the the front sway bar is 22mm. Any idea if the pre 2012 models had thinner front sway bars?
Or if there is more chassis stiffening done?

 

Okay so my really good friend works for Mitsubishi as the parts manager and I went in to ask how much the strut brace would cost and apparently there is none as an option for the 2012. Even the anti-sway bar is different from the 2011. He said that there were some changes on the Outlander suspension in 2012. The part numbers are different from the 2011. He showed me the pic of the 2011 and 2012 sway bar and they looked different!
Too bad Mitsubishi doesn't have these kinds of information publicly available.
Would love to know the power distribution on the S-AWC for example!

 

I was told the front sway for 2012 may have been increased in rigidity. Which may have been why the strut tower bar is eliminated (they do different things, if you ask me)

Well, there is still quite a bit of body roll when you make a sharp turn like at an intersection, but it is alot of fun to drive in the smaller curves on mountain passes.

 

I agree they both do different things but I rather a better sway bar than a strut bar. Although I would love both. My buddy says the old strut bar won't fit according to the system. So no way to tell unless someone tries it.

 

I'm not sure how the Outlander Sport compares to the full size Outlander as far as suspension, but there has been a recent discovery that the EVO X upper strut tower bars fit the '11 Outie Sports with only needing to drill the mounting hole slightly larger. HERE I'd assume that the same would transfer to the full size Outie's, but it seems like more and more we are finding slight differences between the two models.

Oh, sorry, this was to show that you might be able to use the '12+ EVO X strut braces on a '12 Outlander, because I believe they also changed the EVO suspension last year also.

 

Do you know what specifically was changed for the 2012 EVO?

I notice the rear end sag is not as noticable in the newer Outlanders as it was in the 07-08.