Rear strut brace...

Kitchster_uk

Kitchster_uk

Kitchster_uk

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I've been mooching through the (big) box of ancillaries that the guy who sold me the GTO so kindly filled my boot and DPU's* with and it turns out there is a rear strut brace. Now, from what I understand, this is supposed to assist handling by stopping the car 'flexing' so much. Are they any good and if so, how do I fit it?



*DTU - Dwarf Transportation Unit or GTO rear seat.
 
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Are there any suspension turrets in the boot? They'd normally be designed to fit on the top of them.

Shouldn't it be DTU btw?
 
my uncle had an e36 m3 evo (still has actually... just doesnt use it) well he tuned it, a lot.

it had braces. first on was the front. that made barely no difference. the rear one, however, he said was like night and day, and really made the car nicer to drive hard in the twisties etc.


i never drove it so cannot comment further
 
penski said:
It's designed to transmit suspension forces to the opposite shock tower, not to reduce body flex ;)

*n
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news to me.
strut braces are fitted for 2 main reasons:-

1.to reduce the bodyshell/chassis flexing.
2.to ensure the suspension geometry settings stay as they should be instead of being compromised by point#1

if they were used to do as you describe then where would the force go?
as the brace is bolted to the suspension tower itself and not any part of the shocker/spring then all you're doing is transmitting vibration to a different part of the shell.
you might as well not have the towers connected if that's the case.
 
The_Dark_Side said:
news to me.
strut braces are fitted for 2 main reasons:-

1.to reduce the bodyshell/chassis flexing.
2.to ensure the suspension geometry settings stay as they should be instead of being compromised by point#1

if they were used to do as you describe then where would the force go?
as the brace is bolted to the suspension tower itself and not any part of the shocker/spring then all you're doing is transmitting vibration to a different part of the shell.
you might as well not have the towers connected if that's the case.
Click to expand...

It's connected to the top mounts of the shock absorber.

*n
 
penski said:
It's connected to the top mounts of the shock absorber.

*n
Click to expand...


Are roll cages to spread the force to every shock absorber too then :confused:

Strut braces stop the top mounts from flexing, nothing to do with shock absorbtion, in fact the lack of flex means less shock is absorbed by the chassis
 
Simon said:
Are roll cages to spread the force to every shock absorber too then :confused:

Strut braces stop the top mounts from flexing, nothing to do with shock absorbtion, in fact the lack of flex means less shock is absorbed by the chassis
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........is the correct answer.

give that man a kewpie doll. :p
 
If you have one, add it and see what difference (if any) it makes.

Some cars feel better than others afterwards.

try the owners club for info
 
Axeboy said:
If you have one, add it and see what difference (if any) it makes.

Some cars feel better than others afterwards.

try the owners club for info
Click to expand...
it's unlikely you'll feel the benefits of a rear strut brace...although it's a little more likely a front brace will tell the driver it's there.
unless your car's bodyshell is tired then you simply can't press on hard enough on the road to feel the difference.
add to this the fact that road car suspension and steering geometry aren't setup anywhere near as aggressively as a race car and for all intents and purposes you come to the conclusion the vast majority of strut braces are bought for cosmetic reasons.
 
Sparky191 said:
What if your car comes with one from the factory?
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that's different mate.
some manufacturers have no choice but to fit one as for design and manufacturing reasons there just isn't enough metal in the front/rear end to maintain structural integrity.
basically, try removing a factory fitted strut brace if you dare...it's there for a reason.
 
The_Dark_Side said:
that's different mate.
some manufacturers have no choice but to fit one as for design and manufacturing reasons there just isn't enough metal in the front/rear end to maintain structural integrity.
basically, try removing a factory fitted strut brace if you dare...it's there for a reason.
Click to expand...

Usually the models with strut braces will have more "metal" in the body shell, bulkheads etc to stiffen the structure. Why on earth would they have less "metal"/ less stiffening?
 
Sparky191 said:
Usually the models with strut braces will have more "metal" in the body shell, bulkheads etc to stiffen the structure. Why on earth would they have less "metal"/ less stiffening?
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a car that leaves the factory with a strut brace has one because due to the design chosen the chassis would flex without one.
as a brace is an extra cost to a manufacturer they don't choose to fit them because they're desireable, they do so because on that particular vehicle they're necessary.
 
Sparky191 said:
Usually the models with strut braces will have more "metal" in the body shell, bulkheads etc to stiffen the structure. Why on earth would they have less "metal"/ less stiffening?
Click to expand...

Depends on where the suspension towers are in the vehicle. Ones at 'strong' points in the car won't need a brace as they will be pretty rigid anyway.

Fitting one to a car with a big tailgate will certainly see an improvement
 
Sparky191 said:
Usually the models with strut braces will have more "metal" in the body shell, bulkheads etc to stiffen the structure. Why on earth would they have less "metal"/ less stiffening?
Click to expand...
removing metal allows a lower kerb weight and by fitting a brace the same level of integrity is acheived.
 
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