Ultra Racing front strut bar

[McOz]

Anyone running one? Thoughts / experience?

[hks_kansei]

Not running one, but if it's cheap and you like the look, buy it.

Don't expect any huge difference in feel though, the rigidity difference is negligible.
(btw, that's for all strut bars, not just the Ultra Racing)


Only thing to look out for is if you have Air con, the lines sometimes hit the passenger side base plate.

[RJ45]

What's your budget?

I was looking at the IL Motorsport Front brace with Brake Reducer; to stop Brake Master Cylinder movement.
http://www.ilmotorsport.de/shop/article ... b8e45b037c

It shows up at 144.91Euro, but sign up/in and it removes German VAT (GST) and becomes 121.77 Euro.
According to their website delivery will be about 42Euro - so 163 Euro which right now converts to $215.
And currently they have a special (till Dec 8th) which will mean you get 10%.

If delivery is accurate, I think it's a good deal and better quality than Ultra Racing, IMO.

[McOz]

Skreem are selling them for $157, and there's a $20 discount code in the group buys section.
http://www.skreem.com.au/ur_braces?product_id=50

That's over $100 cheaper than the Whiteline product. I'm looking for performance and handling gains on a budget.

[NitroDann]

I'm looking for performance and handling gains on a budget.

Then do not buy a strut brace.

Dann

[RJ45]

Skreem are selling them for $157, and there's a $20 discount code in the group buys section.
http://www.skreem.com.au/ur_braces?product_id=50

That's over $100 cheaper than the Whiteline product. I'm looking for performance and handling gains on a budget.

It'll cost $40 for Aus wide freight, so even with that discount it's $177 for something made in Malaysia.
If the website shipping price is accurate for the IL Motorsport brace then it would only be about $40 more and you have the Brake Master Cylinder stopper included.

Buy cheap and you'll usually have to buy it again and waste money.
Buy smart and you'll only spend once.
For my money German Quality trumps some stuff I've only heard about from Ebay.

But, if you're really tight try looking for something used, it's not a showcar.

[NitroDann]

Ok, again...
If you want the most handling for the least money, do not buy a strut brace.

Dann

[McOz]

Ok, again...
If you want the most handling for the least money, do not buy a strut brace.

Dann

So what would you recommend as the best handling improvements to be had for say $200-$300?

[NitroDann]

Well the strut brace, specifically the smaller less serious ones, will do almost nothing. Not worth a tenth at wakefield.

300 bucks? Swaybars or bushes, no question.

Dann

Edit- swaybars if the car is stock and under 150km.

[plohl]

front sway bar and adjustable end links?

or spend $300 on a track day??? you'll get faster spending $300 on fuel haha.

[RJ45]

Well the strut brace, specifically the smaller less serious ones, will do almost nothing. Not worth a tenth at wakefield.

300 bucks? Swaybars or bushes, no question.

Hi Dann,
I'm willing to learn as I see you have dished some very good advice on here.
But, I thought it's best to know what you're planning to do for suspension, then fine tune with sways.
Unless other setups are less fussy a PSS9 kit, which according to FCM's suspension calculator should be matched up with a 25/26mm front bar & a stock rear bar or remove it.

By smaller and less serious, I guess you mean anything that doesn't also bolt to the firewall?

[NitroDann]

Well yes to get the balance 'right' for yourself swaybars help.
However if you have stock suspension and are after better more track oriented handling compromises must be made. Just as handling compromises were made at the factory to improve comfort. One of these sacrifices were lower springrates, also lower damping rates and lower swaybar rates, to limit weight transfer.

Looking at the stock setup, and with under 500 to spend you cannot get coilovers, which will improve damping and springrates, You could get springs, but then you will be under damped.
You could get shocks, but then would be under sprung.
You MIGHT chance upon a second hand koni/king combo which would be awesome for that money, and I have seen this come up.

However, if everything is stock, and we are talking full retail, increasing the swaybar rates will improve handling a lot, they provide less body roll, maximising your wheel alignment (you have a PROPER alignment right?) and they make the car much nicer and easier to control during fast direction changes because the car isnt able to gain as much momentum pivoting from side to side.

As for strut braces, the firewall is so so so incredibly weak that the ones adjoining the firewall arent better than ones that dont, instead, its more important to have REALLY sturdy mounts on the shock towers, as most are thin 3mm steel and pathetic, especially considering that the shock towers only have 2 bolts to bolt the strut brace to them. This is why my car has a 3rd point welded on.

Either way, its unlikely that the stock towers move more than a millimeter ever anyhow, so even great braces are a minor improvement. And even then, they dont help actual performance as much as they help the car become more predictable.

Dann

[geofiz]

Dann has nailed it in one....

Sway bars are the biggest bang for buck handling improvement on an otherwise stock car.

[RJ45]

Well said Dann.

But I suppose I was of the opinion that the OP needs to think;
Is this just the first itch to mod with more to follow soon OR will it be the only change he intends to make - at all/for quite a while?

If the only mod ever/for quite a while, then you'd definitely get good value out of them even if needing to change them later to suit a particular setup.

Even though strut braces won't make a huge difference other than tightening the feel of the chassis, which is nice, I don't think you need to pair strut braces with your suspension/sway choices (but I'm happy to be corrected).
Of course sturdy mounts on the shock towers is a great point, which I didn't know about before, thanks heaps for sharing that one.

And apologies for the hijack, but is that the consensus for all series NA/NB/NC, or just the NA?

[deanb90]

If strut braces don't do anything then why would mazda use one standard on an NC?

Gives me the shits because i can't adjust the front coilovers without taking it off