I've got a few braces on my car:

- Tried the rear brace, didn't notice a thing.
- Front Lower brace - very noticeable difference
- 3 Piece floor bar - noticeable difference
- Cusco front and rear ARB's - very noticeable difference
- STB - no difference

I have no issues with bump steer or a loose back end. If you have coilovers I'd advise thicker ARB's to get the best out of them. I've no idea the physics of it, but the ARB's coupled with the coilovers somehow make the car handle much better than with the stock ARB's

HTH

 

I suspect a lot of the people that have gone for coilovers with OMG spring rates would have been better off just fitting uprated ARBs to the standard suspension. If I ever buy another S I'll probably try that plus the two lower braces as the first mod.

 

Interesting that two people have said they didn't notice a difference with the lower rear brace, I had a Spoon one if thats any use and you could definately tell on hard cornering and coming off roundabouts etc?

 

I've got Cusco F&R bars and I noticed a big difference after fitting them.

Good mod

 

I have the Cusco one Rick - which I incidentally bought off punchdrunk.

It looks better than the OEM item; that's all.

 

Upping the spring rate has the big effect on reducing dive under braking.

Fit the ARB as a pair, unless you want to induce more understeer.
Not a good option in the S2000, it already understeers quite a bit.

Always amusing how nobody ever mentions tyres.
The one single upgrade that will shave a LOT of time off on a circuit with a reasonable drive is fitting semis or slicks.
I think Barry did that in Spa last year, the times were impressive...

If you want a REALLY neutral car, get rid of the stagger and run rears up front.
The turn in would make a Lotus driver gawp

 

Tyres make the biggest difference

Stiffer springs/dampers certainly help braking

Driver training is essential, and represents the best value for improving performance.

 

I overlook the obvious again

Diff collars and engine mounts were wasted money unless you are already at 10/10ths and it's a race car.
It's gonna bang about like a shithous door in a storm on a bumpy B road

 

So, to sharpen handling and improve feel on an MY05, mainly for A and B roads, front lower and rear lower brace?

Would stiffer ARB's make the car too stiff to make safe "progress" on bumpy backroads?

Basically I would like my MY05 to handle much closer to my MY02, at least as far as I can without having SO2s to stick on it.

 

No,
I would take the ARB pair over the braces any day.

Better roll resistance means less requirement for static camber (roughly speaking) so you can get more out of the tyres you have.