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Following on from my previous post!
My views on strut braces and other braces were that they resisted twisting movements in the chassis therefore making the stability of the car far better for handling if that makes sense. Surely coilovers will work to assist handling in a different way similar to just stiffening up the legs with harder springs?
Yes i dont want anything too lairy cos i take kids to school and this is my daily drive, but want something a little special for when im on my own!
Ps i drive a scooby uk turbo classic!
First off, you need to understand how suspension works, then the idea of a strut-brace becomes clear.
A good suspension setup will stay in one plane, there will be no flexing either backwards and forwards or side to side.
Once that is achieved, the springs and shockers can then do their work, note: always in the same plane. The springs and shockers then control the amount of bounce, and the cornering of the car.
Now, on a classic, the body wasn't stiff enough, so forces on the suspension could cause the strut tops to flex inwards or outwards, this having a severe affect on the suspension geometry.
This was cured in later models which had much stiffer shells.
So on a classic, a front suspension brace is a good investment for fast road/track work.
If you are going to have one, buy decent, not tat
There are others, lower braces and rear braces, but they are of lesser value unless you do a LOT of trackwork.
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Thanks people!
Thats just the sort of explanation i wanted Jimbob!
Nice pics too Jef of the RCM!
Alcatraz, thats sort of the way i was trying to explain, but yours i understood perfect mate!
Seeing as mine is not used on a track, but a bit of fun driving after kids are at school and weekends i presume to fit a front strut brace would be the way forward for me initially!
RCM is £198 on website and on ebay there are a few carbon sti ones varying in price. Im not worried about the price just weighing up which is best to suit my needs! Definately not the cheap ebay one tho!
Last edited by craigscoobymo; 07 February 2012 at 10:00.
Im searching for a 3-point strutbar, one that unlike the more common one it actually has more effect in improving struttower flexing in all angles. Anyone know where to get one?
Im gonna see if i can save that as a bookmark or something!
So it would seem adding a strut brace is the first thing before stiffening other parts of suspension, right!
Think i need driver training too! Good job the Mrs has bought a rally day for me for my 40th!
Their not the best bud, i read somewhere that they flex ? I got my self cusco front and rear second hand for a 100 quid of flebay. And that's quality.
Cheers mantazini for the input, ive done some reading now too.
Theres alot of conflicting views by the looks of it!
Ive got an sti cf strut brace on its way now so ill fit it. If i get some feedback that there is better ill look into why then buy a different one if it by far outperforms the sti one. But in reality for what i want my car is not for track or anything like, i just would like to make it handle a bit better when out on my own!
Anybody in the know shed some light on this?
The STI carbon fibre ones are more for look than anything, carbon fibre does flex (as Mantazini stated ) so realistically you need an aluminium one.
Also its best to do both front and rear, just a front one will reduce flex there but not at the rear.
Cheers everybody and tonyburns! Well, got my sti cf strut brace which will be fitted later this week. I'll find out whether it makes much of a difference then if not i'll replace it!
In the meantime has anybody got an h brace and rear brace for grabs for a classic?
Strut Braces?
