punchdrunk

I got one of these fitted to my car today to compliment the X and Strut braces previously added.

First impressions are very impressive. The chassis has less flex, so the suspension is now able to do its thing and the car doesn't crash over uneven surfaces and potholes.

It's still early days, but it gets a definite

Joeh

I would imagine too much strengthening means less chassis flexing meaning the suspension etc will take more of a beating?


As I can see you have front engine spoon x-brace and rear subframe brace..

Sometimes over strengthening = lower lap time.

Joeh

punchdrunk

Sorry, that picture was used for illustration only. My car doesn't have the rear brace, but has Tein flex coilovers.

The car doesn't feel over braced or too stiff. In fact the Tein's do a fantastic job to make the ride very comfortable.

Turn-in and steering feel is enhanced instilling confidence in the rear of the car. Less float also.

Interesting

Joeh

What is your current damper setting at the moment?

I'd be interested to try that brace on my car but if I did it looks like it wouldn't make it over a speed bump, lower then the sills right?

Have you got anything on the rear subframe at all?

Rear subframe might be an area for enhancement if you launch your car.. I can see your final drive is changed, how many way is your diff?

Its definitely a nice enhancement but I would hate the enhance rattle inside the car (am I right by saying its a bit more noisy in the cabin?)

Joeh

punchdrunk

I'm not very good at explaining these things.

- Suspension settings are somewhere in the middle. Softer on the rear than the front.

- The bars are adjacent to the sills, no lower, so it doesn't make any difference to ride clearance.

- I tried the rear brace, but couldn't get on with it so reverted back to stock.

- No rattle. The car doesn't crash over bumps as the shocks are now taking care of the damping and rebound.

I drove the car across London to get it fitted. Once fitted, at first I didn't notice any change, but then the subtleties became apparent the more I drove it.

It is very marked going over uneven and poor surfaces. My car is lowered so it would sometimes crash over ridges and bumps in the road - the chassis was absorbing some of the impact, the shocks the rest. Now the shocks are taking more of the impact while the chassis retains rigidity.

The back end is more planted - the weight of the car doesn't shift as much as before, it seems to corner flatter especially at the back.

I think I'll leave the suspension at that now - I like it.

Nick Graves

Get the rear brace - it does wonders for sensing the breakaway point & eliminates the "snappy handling" thing.

It's truly amazing!

oxhouser

You can't have such a thing as too stiff a chassis, just suspension not set up or capable of exploiting it

nomadicS2k

Punch, I believe it to be a placebo, while it looks nice (and it does!) , you are strengthening a part of the car that has minimal flex.



The lower front and rear bars would be more beneficial!

Just my two pence.

The Loon

He sold it to me

TBH Nick I didn't see a huge benefit after installing it. I saw a noticeable difference after installation of the Spoon front lower x brace and the Cusco front lower u brace.

Yes, I have two at the front.

s2konroids

The rear brace just exacerbates the feel of the breakaway a little earlier, i was giving my car a bit too much beans the other day and i felt it (likely down to the brace)