Originally Posted by MrFatbooty
No, Benen is not a JDM company. It is a US company that sells overengineered parts that aren't really necessary to folks who think they stand to gain something by purchasing a whole ton of different braces.
I highly doubt anyone is really going to be able to tell the difference between a Neuspeed bar that bolts to all of the front upper control arm mounting holes, and a Benen bar that mounts to the sheet metal and the fire wall. 80 bucks is still 80 bucks.
I find it a bit interesting that you complain when a part is underengineered/overpriced (e.g. the Spoon bar, or other "JDM bling"), but then also complain when a part has been, as you put it, "overengineered". I personally like the fact that there are companies that don't subscribe to the philosophy of "good enough" and that offer such "overengineered" parts. In the end, no braces are "necessary", so why purchase one at all?
In addition, if there were no noticible effect/advantage of running a triangulated bar, why would the SCCA bump racers out of their class because of them, as you pointed out?