Review: Fitted Strut Brace Today

[MANWHOR3]

Hey guys, I thought i'd tell you the results of a little experiment I did today.I had a little bit of spare cash, so I thought i'd go for a strut brace.

Initial Thoughts:

After having fitted coilovers about a year ago, the body roll was reduced quite a bit. At this stage, I couldn't really feel the chassis flexing because I had nothign to compare it to. I thought that it felt good overall and although the ride is hard, I like it that way. Anyways, now to the important part.

My initial feelings was that i would not feel any difference at all after installing the strut brace, and that it was just rice. I thought that a skyline is naturally fairly stiff. Well, I suppose it is stiff compared to somethign like a lancer or a civic.

Just to make sure that I could carefully test whether I could feel the difference or not, I took the car out for a drive. I tried driving sideways on some inclines and the chassis creaked.

I also tried goign fast around some corners and quickly around roundabouts a few times. I know how it feels now.

Fitting the brace: Installing the brace took me 15 minutes. I am an ultra careful person. I even made little gaskets so that the brace wouldn't scratch the paint underneath it. I also cleaned the bolt threads on the suspensions and greased them.

If you're really rushed, I reckon it's possible to fit the brace in < 5 minutes.

The product: The strut brace is an adjustible one. Initially I thought that being adjustible, it wouldn't be as stiff. This isn't really the case. Once you put it on and tighten the bolts up, boy is it stiff. You can pull it with all your might and it won't budge a single bit. My bonnet is off atm, so I got up on top of it and stood on it and bounced on it and it still didn't move. Excellent. Now for some real testing.

Testing the new setup: I was a bit cautious at first, because I wasn't sure if it would foul on the bonnet heatpad. What I noticed firstly is that it no longer creaked going out of my driveway. Just to make sure that this was the case, I drove up the driveway again and back down. yep, no creak. I tried next doors driveway too. Excellent.

And then I did some real driving. I went quickly around the same roundabouts again and tried cornering quickly. Whoa, the difference was actually noticeable. Thinking back, I now realise that the chassis used to flex quite a bit. It's difficult to describe how it felt, but it just felt a lot stiffer!

BTW, it's not just a placebo effect. I'm normally quite doubting of things. I actually had in my mind the whole time that it would not work. My mind was totally closed to the idea that it would actually do something.

Therefore, all in all, it was a very worthwhile upgrade.

PS: my car has a rear brace stock. I believe that if a front and rear brace were fitted together, the difference would be even more noticeable

Next review when I get some money will be whiteline camber & castor bushes. When I get more money after that, I will try the whiteline adjustible swaybars.

[igota33]

cool review. i've been very seriously thinking of purchasing a strut brace this week. i'm running stiffer springs with standard shocks and wanted to reduce body roll.

out of interest, which brace did you go for? Price?

i will be fitting coilovers in the next month or so. any recommendations? was think of the new trust ones when they're released. also looking at tein & D2. anyone have any suggestions on a strut brace and coilovers? cheers

craig

[MerlinTheHapyPig]

there is no such thing as an "adustable" strut brace

the "adjustment" is just so the brace can be fitted to a range of vehicles.

[markimak]

Very nice. im glad there are people out there like yourself that take the time to full review the effects of a product. i plan on adjusting my GTR braces to see if i can make the LHR strut stop creaking in and out of my driveway. My GTR is a rolling plank

[MANWHOR3]

Yes, I understand that merlin.

There is no problem with it being adjustible though. Stock r33 gtr front and rear ones are adjustible.

The reason for this is actually quite a good idea. The thing is with cars, no two cars are ever the same. A car might have been in an accident and one side might be out by a couple mm. It may not have been in an accident, but might just be different. Afterall, everything has tolerances, and the nissan robot might have been a bit drunk one day. hehehe. A 'fixed' one wouldn't fit.

igotta - The strut brace doesn't reduce body roll as such. harder springs/swaybars will reduce body roll.

That doesn't mean the strut brace isn't important though. It reduces chassis flexing. When the chassis flexes, the suspension geometry changes. cornering was considerably faster and more stable with the strut brace. As I wrote above, it is such a good addition to any car. If I had known, I woulda got it even when the car had stock suspensions.

The one I bought was just a generic one. I have a friend with a cusco one and another friend with a GAB one. Funnily enough, the braces are identical in design. It is just the colours of the ends that is different.

I actually have a picture of my one and my friend's engine bays. It's funny. It's like pay hundreds for this, or <100 for this. Honestly, if you stuck a cusco/gab sticker on mine, you woulkdn't be able to tell the difference.

[igota33]

that's what i was thinking. i've seen some around the $100 mark and go up from there but they all look very similar. didn't know if different construction methods were used, different thickness metal etc. for a low priced suspension mod (comparing to a full set of coil overs), i think it's definately worth it at this stage. thanks for your input mate.

[ix9]

Awesome review MANWHOR3, I noticed the exact same result when I fitted my strut brace. Best $100 I've ever spent!

[MerlinTheHapyPig]

Yes, I understand that merlin.

There is no problem with it being adjustible though. Stock r33 gtr front and rear ones are adjustible.

ah, yeah sorry. I mentioned that because some people think buying an adjustable strut brace will give them some degree of adjustment in terms of stiffness. Just wanted to clear that up incase people were under misconceptions on what adjustable means.

Front strut braces make much more difference than rear strut braces, because on skylines, the upper control arm/link is attached to the chassis, so any flex between the strut towers will alter the wheel alignment. They are less noticable on the rear because everything is connected to the subframe.

Anyway, nice writeup, getting a front strut brace is a good cheap mod. I was quite happy after installing mine.

[GtstCoupe]

Love you work manwhore,time for me to invest in one now i think,

by the way whick one did you eg,brand wise.

[MANWHORE]

I've got a generic strut brace for sale for r32. check out post 5 above. As good as any branded one.

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...=126242&hl=

Edited July 18, 2006 by 97r33gtst-typeM

[Kennedy]

The X-Force (copycat Nismo) one is pretty good. Thick as any other strut out there (except maybe the Top secret ones) and well built. Looks alot stronger than the <$100 going around. Picked mine up for $120 with a brake cylinder stopper thingy which made the biggest difference for me.

[RCEBNR]

kennedy- where'd u pick up the x-force one from?

[lukits01]

When adjusting strut brace stiffnes, you can usually vary the length of the brace, correct?

is it better for maximum length or minimum length?

[MANWHOR3]

I should have made it clearer up above. Basically, when I said I tightened it up, what I meant was I tightened the joints (there's a bolt in each knuckle to tighten when fitting it.

The adjustment is in the length. There is probably about 1-2" worth of adjustment. The adjustment is only for making it fit in your car. E.g. even though 2 cars might be an r33 gtst, the towers might be slightly different distances apart. One might have been in an accident.

gtstcoupe - check post 5 up above.

Kennedy - I saw the Unique auto sport one at www.nismo.com.au My one doesn't have the master cylinder stopper, but the one I bought was significantly under $165!!!!!. Check out post 5 up above though. Once tightened up, I jumped on it, and it hardly moved at all. I could pull it as hard as I could and the whole car would shake, but the brace didn't flex much.

Edited July 18, 2006 by MANWHOR3

[Topaz]

Nice review, I was looking at getting genuine Nismo front and rear strut braces for my GTR, which I guess aren't bad at $382ea delivered.

Did you just bolt it on and that was it?, I thought you had to lift the front wheels off the ground to do it 'properly'.

[evil_weevil]

I fitted mine a little while ago - no other suspension mods and I actually noticed it better on tight corners.

Would I notice it more/better if I fitted better suspension?

[MANWHOR3]

Definitely.

I've driven many skylines with a range of suspensions. I really liked Sydneykid's bilstein/whiteline setup especially for road driving. Sydneykid often refers to the use of swaybars to reduce bodyroll instead of high spring rates.

In my car, i've got a set of ohlin coilovers from japan. I personally like the ones i've got. They're pretty hard. I'm not sure whether sydneykid would say it's too hard or not, but they are quite a bit harder than the bilstein ones. But hey, they didn't cost me anything.

but definitely, fitting them back on after compliance definitely made the car feel very different, and in my opinion, handle a lot better than the old 50000km+ stock suspensions.

[MANWHOR3]

Horny heights is just around the corner from me. I live in st ives.

Unfortunately, I missed your skidpan day. I'm really unhappy about missing out. I had to work that day. I read the review and looked at the pics and I was like damn, that wouda been fun.

Let us know if you decide to run another one, but i'll be there for sure.

[evil_weevil]

Hey manwhor3!

ah cool another local!

Keep an eye out in NSW for cruises - quite a few of us from hornsby do regular drives

Would be good to check out your set up!

Cheers,

Chriso