Strut brace - how to fit? (NB8A)

hks_kansei · Postby **hks_kansei** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 11:21 am

Alex wrote:I didn't have any problems with mine, it's an NB8B strut brace installed on my NB8A

Alex, do you have any pics of the NB8B brace?

I might contact Mazda and see the price of the factory ones, either NB8B or the 10AE one (or are they the same)

philz · Postby **philz** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 11:54 am

Direct from Mazda might be expensive, even more expensive than an aftermarket one.

Just ask one of the forum sponsers, mx5plus should have one.

Alex · Postby **Alex** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 4:28 pm

As requested

hks_kansei · Postby **hks_kansei** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 4:54 pm

thanks for the pics Alex.

hmm, it appears from the photos that your a/c pipe is slightly futher away from the strut, and slightly lower than in my car.

also I can see that the NB8B brace goes up rather than in. the combination of my brace sticking in further than usual, plus my aircon being slightly closer than most seems to be my undoing.

I think I'll just look into an NB8B brace, or a 10AE brace, as I dont fancy bending the aircon pipes, a split or kink would turn quite expensive.

RG.net · Postby **RG.net** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 7:49 pm

should be able to just push it off the clip near the strut tower, and let it rest on the clip. this should give you plenty of clearance for the strut brace.

project.r.racing · Postby **project.r.racing** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:40 pm

one of my cars had the same problem. so i just pulled off the plastic clip, and pushed the a/c pipe over to fit the brace in. 4 years later, my a/c is still cold and working well. it ain't rocket science.

marcusus · Postby **marcusus** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:44 pm

My factory 10AE style brace had the same problem. I just pushed the aircon lines out of the way. Haven't had a problem in the lines at all since I've done the mod maybe 2-3 years ago. That being said, they didn't need much movement. It's not like I had to physically bend the lines. There's just a little bit of a 'push' on them from the strut brace.

If you want pictures, let me know and I'll take some tomorrow morning.

hks_kansei · Postby **hks_kansei** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 2:09 pm

yeah, looking at the 10AE brace I think it would only need to slightly move the line, but on teh brace I've got it would need to move it over about 1.5 inches, which means bending needed.

I'll keep having a look in the bay, and work something out.

marcusus · Postby **marcusus** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 10:34 pm

I actually had a look at it today, and I did actually do some bending, although it's still quite minor compared to the 3-4 cm you're talking about.

You might just have to do the bend...

RG.net · Postby **RG.net** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 9:05 am

dont be scared to bend them, the pipes are quite sturdy for what they are.

i know this because i needed to bend the sh*t out of some of the pipes while removing my A/C.