My girlfriend just bought me a pair of strut braces for the Z. I had never really thought about buying these because I heard that they were more cosmetic than functional. Is this true?

 

It seems as though the ends can be screwed in and out to lengthen or shorten the overall length of the bars - which makes me wonder whether they are supposed to be pulling the joists together, or pushing them apart???

 

However, there seems to be no way to tighten them or loosen them once they are fitted in place, so I don't see how they can make a difference to the handling.. :confused: If I'm being very dense, please tell me!!

 

Any ideas?

My girlfriend just bought me a pair of strut braces for the Z. I had never really thought about buying these because I heard that they were more cosmetic than functional. Is this true?

 

It seems as though the ends can be screwed in and out to lengthen or shorten the overall length of the bars - which makes me wonder whether they are supposed to be pulling the joists together, or pushing them apart???

 

However, there seems to be no way to tighten them or loosen them once they are fitted in place, so I don't see how they can make a difference to the handling.. :confused: If I'm being very dense, please tell me!!

 

Any ideas?

 

Oh, also, the rear one requires removal or cutting of the plactic covers yes? (The car's at the doctors so i can't check!) Has anyone done this? Is there any way to make it look vaguely decent?

strut braces basically just increase the rigidity of the car! you lengthen / shorten untill it fights tightly you don't wanna be pulling or pushing with it u just want it tight so it will strengthen the car etc.. that's what their there for!

 

MAtt

strut braces basically just increase the rigidity of the car! you lengthen / shorten untill it fights tightly you don't wanna be pulling or pushing with it u just want it tight so it will strengthen the car etc.. that's what their there for!

 

MAtt

 

Right. Does it actually make any difference? Everyone I've spoken to says that they're a waste of money...

 

Cheers matt

 

Ch

In all honesty.. i reckon they are worth it. The top top jap tuners don't bother with stuff that don't do anything for the car unless it's a show car not race car, and i guarantee you'll see everyone of them having one!! They stiffen the chassis decrease body roll abit, they are definately worth it in my opinion. You will feel a slight diff with them on and off. I think as zx is a big car these are a good option.

 

Matt

In all honesty.. i reckon they are worth it. The top top jap tuners don't bother with stuff that don't do anything for the car unless it's a show car not race car, and i guarantee you'll see everyone of them having one!! They stiffen the chassis decrease body roll abit, they are definately worth it in my opinion. You will feel a slight diff with them on and off. I think as zx is a big car these are a good option.

 

Matt

 

 

Thanks Matt. You're right about the jap tuners. That's good enough for me.

 

Ch

no problem fella :)

Just for your info:

 

Strut braces are meant to stiffen the upper part of the car's chassis. If you really want to make a difference then you should also fit uprated anti-sway bars which stiffen the lower part of the chassis. Together you will be stiffening up the car's structure which means a better cornering stability as they equalize the forces on the tyres more effectively, thereby optimising grip. However, do keep in mind that it also alters the cars' cornering behaviour. I.e., if in standard form the car moves from understeer to oversteer when cornering hard then it is possible that the addition of strut braces and uprated anti-sway bars will reduce the understeer but accentuates oversteer or vice versa. Just something to keep in mind. Having said all this, under normal driving conditions you will not notice a lot of difference from adding a strut brace. Fitting uprated anti-sway bars will make the car corner flatter.

 

Just my 2p worth.

 

Cheers!

Just for your info:

 

Strut braces are meant to stiffen the upper part of the car's chassis. If you really want to make a difference then you should also fit uprated anti-sway bars which stiffen the lower part of the chassis. Together you will be stiffening up the car's structure which means a better cornering stability as they equalize the forces on the tyres more effectively, thereby optimising grip. However, do keep in mind that it also alters the cars' cornering behaviour. I.e., if in standard form the car moves from understeer to oversteer when cornering hard then it is possible that the addition of strut braces and uprated anti-sway bars will reduce the understeer but accentuates oversteer or vice versa. Just something to keep in mind. Having said all this, under normal driving conditions you will not notice a lot of difference from adding a strut brace. Fitting uprated anti-sway bars will make the car corner flatter.

 

Just my 2p worth.

 

Cheers!

 

Interesting...where can I get some anti-sway bars? Are they easy to fit?

 

Cheers for the info

 

CH :)

Off the top of my head I know that Stillen do them but they cost an arm, leg, liver and possibly a kidney. AndyP (on this forum) has some uprated anti-sway bars fitted to his car which he sourced within the UK (possibly via MJP). Have a look on his website or ask him.

 

I am actually looking into getting some solid 28mm anti-sway bars fabricated for sale through DTA-Motorsport. Haven't really had a lot of time to look around nor has there been a lot of requests for it so this may never materialise. One of the problems I have already encountered is sourcing the correct new polybushes to fit the bar into.

 

As far as I am aware the front bar is easy to fit but the rear one requires some more ingenuity (this is from hearing other people talk about it and not from experience so I could be wrong).

 

Regards,

 

Edit - just had a look at AndyP's rides section and it states he's got Suspension Technique Anti-sway bars fitted - sourced through MJP. HTH

anti-sway bars which stiffen the lower part of the chassis

by Danny

 

Not sure if thats 100% true. My understanding of stiffer anti sway or anti roll bars is that they increase roll stiffness in the sense that when one wheel is under compression due to cornering forces the anti sway/roll bar transmits more same direction compression to the other side so counteracting that sides tendency to go light. Result is flatter cornering. afaik the anti sway/roll bar does not actually increase the rigidity of the body/chassis in the same way a strut bar does. I guess thats not what you meant anyway sorry to be pedantic.

I'm surprised at that increased roll stiffness is needed outside of a track - my stock UK on 18" seems to corner pretty flat as is. Maybe bushes are worn on any car thats rolling too much. Even new bushes can make a big difference. my2p

by Danny

 

I'm surprised at that increased roll stiffness is needed outside of a track - my stock UK on 18" seems to corner pretty flat as is. Maybe bushes are worn on any car thats rolling too much. Even new bushes can make a big difference. my2p

 

 

I know what you mean - mine handles superbly, but I don't mind trying to go one step better! :)

How do you go about fitting a rear one without cutting nasty holes with a stanley knife. Noticed in pete shrimps photos, that he has 1, and it looks good. how dya do it pete?

How do you go about fitting a rear one without cutting nasty holes with a stanley knife. Noticed in pete shrimps photos, that he has 1, and it looks good. how dya do it pete?

 

Hi Scotty,

 

Where did you see those pictures? Couldn't find them in rides. I'm a bit concerned about fitting the rear one just for that reason - I'd rather not have one there at all unless it looks good - or at least doesn't look like I've attacked it with a stanley! ;)

 

Ch

How do you go about fitting a rear one without cutting nasty holes with a stanley knife. Noticed in pete shrimps photos, that he has 1, and it looks good. how dya do it pete?

 

Hi Scotty - cheers :)

 

I did cut through the trim over the rear strut towers. Used a drill to cut loadsa holes after I'd lined it up and marked the holes out, then neatened it up with a small file. Took a while ;)

 

I used circles of vinyl to cover the holes afterwards, with notches cut out for the strut bar.

 

Hardest bit is getting all the trim back on after its fitted, requires lots of patience!

 

Pete

Hi Scotty - cheers :)

 

I did cut through the trim over the rear strut towers. Used a drill to cut loadsa holes after I'd lined it up and marked the holes out, then neatened it up with a small file. Took a while ;)

 

I used circles of vinyl to cover the holes afterwards, with notches cut out for the strut bar.

 

Hardest bit is getting all the trim back on after its fitted, requires lots of patience!

 

Pete

 

Hi Pete,

 

Have you got some pictures of your install?

 

Thanks

 

Ch

Click on the bit in his sig that says, 'my zed for sale'. Couple o pics in there.

 

BTW if you dont want the strut braces, ill have them :D

Click on the bit in his sig that says, 'my zed for sale'. Couple o pics in there.

 

BTW if you dont want the strut braces, ill have them :D

 

Hi Scotty,

 

I looked there but it only shows the front brace - I was hoping to find a picture of the rear in place so I can see what needs to be cut. I'll definately be keeping the front one, but if I decide not to use the rear, would you still want it? Chances are that I will try and fit it (I like a challenge!) but if I decide to get rid of it, you'll be first on the list!

 

Ch ;)

look through the whole thread. there is a couple of pics of the rear one. (one right at the bottom of page 1) Yeah, if you dont want it ill have it. :)

look through the whole thread. there is a couple of pics of the rear one. (one right at the bottom of page 1) Yeah, if you dont want it ill have it. :)

 

Ah! I'll try that now - cheers mate

 

Ch ;)

Hi Scotty - yes, you are right about me misquoting what uprated anti-sway/roll bars do to the chassis. I did mean what you said but you said it far more eloquently!

 

Again, and this is purely based on "extreme driving situations", if you're fitting only the front strut brace then effectively you're only doing half the job. Stiffening up the front without the rear will not give you much of a performance benefit over the stock situation. In fact, it "may" deteriorate the cornering characteristics of the car because the balance is upset - I say this with caution as this may only be evident at high speeds and under track conditions.

 

I suppose you can go on and on debating the benefits of fitting a front strut brace with or without a rear strut brace and with or without fitting uprated front and/or rear anti-sway bars. At the end of the day the reality is that there are a lot more factors which will determine how your car behaves around corners - and I'm thinking of worn springs, suspension, bushes, tyre size/condition and so on - and under normal day-to-day driving conditions it is not going to make that much of a noticeable difference.

 

Charles - could you PM me where your other half got these braces from please as I have a customer who wants some.

 

Cheers all!