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I read about front strut brace bars with brake cylinder stopper, could you well informed smarties, explain to this ignoramous what \"a brake cylinder stopper\" is and what is it trying to achieve?

When you press the brake pedal, the firewall where the brake master bolts to flexes a tiny little bit. Less than 1mm. But..when you brace the master cylinder, you eliminate this flex.

Its largely in your head but it's one of those thing where if you drive around with one for a long time, once you take off the brace you feel the diference straight away.

where do I get one!

Sounds like not a serious issue for the average driver, but if it comes as part of the strut system it's a bonus, you can find them by serching MX5 on ebay but local one are also available I believe. Thanks again

There is a \"standalone\" one on ebay, and the only 2 strut brace manufacturers that I know who make em \"built-in\" is Cusco and Carbing.

Quite a few people have DIY ones that looks to work well.

Probably won't make a difference in normal driving, but when you do a panic stop, or constant hard braking at the track it should be noticeable.

Get a friend to stomp on the brakes when the car is stationary and look at how much the brake master moves.

I actually just made one originally..... though the RS Aizawa 3 point brace I have now has one built into it. I always really liked it, takes some of the play out of the brakes and is more confidence inspiring. It's like most bracing though, makes the car feel better moreso than actually granting performance. On the other hand Irwin really didn't see much difference when he tried my car so it's a personal thing. Could always come to a track-day and sit in someones car with and without. I know I wouldn't mind (goodluck getting in the Sparco Ultra though).

pics from people who made their own??

Im thinking Im handy and maybe if it looks easy I could make my own?

wun911 wrote:pics from people who made their own??

Im thinking Im handy and maybe if it looks easy I could make my own?

Matty's version

They do work. Have someone smash the brake pedal really hard and watch the MC flex on the firewall - quite a suprise just how much deflection is actually there when you see it.

For non-ABS equipped cars it also give you a little more accuracy against lock ups when braking hard from high speeds.

If you do a forum search (box is down the bottom), you should find a huge amount of information and pictures.

Jules

wun911 wrote:pics from people who made their own??

Im thinking Im handy and maybe if it looks easy I could make my own?

ref my pic above:
The bracket is a galvanized steel bracket from Bunnings, ~$7 IIRC.
It mounts to an unused M6 nut on the inner guard.
There is an M4 hole tapped through the bracket, with a screw that butts into the end of the MC, and a nut to lock it in position.
The bracket was cut down by hacksaw to remove excess material (some width removed, and angle cuts to taper it toward the ends).

The result was noticeable and effective.