[Tejas@perioimpl]

Sorry for bumping this thread up, but ram_hyundai's question is still unanswered. I also want to know the same.
For normal driving (at little higher speeds in the city) is a front brace enough or should the rear one be put in as well?
Can people who already have it give more information on long term issues.
Does it cause problems to suspension, etc. Does the quality of ride decrease or there is no change?
I am considering this for my OHC...

[abhayshanu]

I have not experienced, but people who have said that they do help, i wont say alot as it differs from car to car and driving style to driving style, but anyways having front is most common, having a rear one also doesnt do MUCH, it does help but not much, anyways it doesnt hurt to have both, as they cost 1250 each at automech.

[Mpower]

Strut brace is used to improve handling and steering. It has no impact on ride quality. Only negative is that it adds little bit of weight and crowds up the engine bay.

IMO, the Swift is already very good handling and so it not required. OHC definetly yes.
Tejas, Front brace is good enough for OHC.

Originally Posted by ram_hyundai

Are they available after market for swifts.The friend who mentioned about this had a baleno and he told me that after fitting the strut braces he found it hard to steer at high speed in bends.Something like under steer ,Any comments on this?
ram

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

Sorry for bumping this thread up, but ram_hyundai's question is still unanswered. I also want to know the same.
For normal driving (at little higher speeds in the city) is a front brace enough or should the rear one be put in as well?
Can people who already have it give more information on long term issues.
Does it cause problems to suspension, etc. Does the quality of ride decrease or there is no change?
I am considering this for my OHC...

[yzfrj]

In my experience its good, really good.
My Zen (2000) 90K on the odo now.

Once I got it fixed about 1 yr back I could really feel some difference under hard cornering on normal roads.

However it was really felt during the track day we had sometime back.
Really helps I'd say, then again the car is "old" now and after the Strut Braces it got back some of its 'Liveliness"

Hope this helps.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

For normal driving (at little higher speeds in the city) is a front brace enough or should the rear one be put in as well?

You don't need the front nor the rear for normal driving. Strut braces will only make a difference on the track or in extreme cornering.

[paras211]

the car does feel better during spirited driving on normal roads. at least my corolla does horrible handeling stock. could be in my head too but its cheap 1200 peanuts compared to the money spent on other mods.

[alexnazim]

Now a strut brace would be something that prevents the shocker from expanding beyond a limit. But is there something that prevents a shocker from contracting beyond a limit?

My esteem's new rear shockers tend to make the chassis touch the wheels pretty often with 3 people sitting at the back.

[k_shanz]

I guess there is no dealer for Automech strut braces in my area ie; Calicut. Am thinking of making one by myself with the help of a metal fabricator. Strut braces must be less in weight and strong in character, am i right?

[yzfrj]

Originally Posted by k_shanz

I guess there is no dealer for Automech strut braces in my area ie; Calicut. Am thinking of making one by myself with the help of a metal fabricator. Strut braces must be less in weight and strong in character, am i right?

Well you can, if you know a good metal fabricator.
Did you try mailing Automech guys, they will ship it to you.

IMO its better to buy it than make it, does't justify the pain and moreover neither you or me has a clue how to make a "proper" strut brace.

So I think it will be better to get it from someone who make them or make one (if the guy knows what he is doing or supposed to do).

There are shops at cochin/kottayam who can get if for you.

[k_shanz]

oh yeah R&T must be having! But i like DIY very much espacially fabricating something with metal, cause there is a good worker for the same next to my house!

[streetracer_919]

is automech strut braces available for swift VDI?if yes whats the cost?

[k_shanz]

Originally Posted by streetracer_919

is automech strut braces available for swift VDI?if yes whats the cost?

Why need of a strut brace for a Swift?? The stock car itself handles pretty well, if you wish you can go for it. I gues it will be under 2500 anyway! For zen it is around 2k

[abhik]

Originally Posted by alexnazim

Now a strut brace would be something that prevents the shocker from expanding beyond a limit. But is there something that prevents a shocker from contracting beyond a limit?

My esteem's new rear shockers tend to make the chassis touch the wheels pretty often with 3 people sitting at the back.

Bro, i think you are getting it wrong. Strut braces are not meant to controll vertical movement of the suspensions(mainly the struts).
They only control lateral flex, inward and outward movement rather than expansion and contraction if you will.


My two cents on the topic:-



This is what a lower tie rod/lower tie bar/lower strut brace looks like. The sole purpose of a lower tie bar is to prevent the lower ends of the struts to flex during hard cornering.


A strut brace/strut tower brace/upper strut brace on the other hand prevents the upper part of the chasis to flex under load(hard cornering) by connecting the struts together.

This strut brace has connectors to the firewall. As the struts flex under hard cornering they need to be connected to the strongest part of the chasis for maximum benefit out of a strut brace otherwise you do find a definate improvement in handling but with the tower to tower brace its just more of a weight transfer.


This is an anti-roll bar/sway bar/anti-sway bar/stabilizer bar. Its sort of a U shaped bar, connecting suspensions at two opposing points.
Out of the above two, this one is the most complex as the stiffness of the material, geometry of the mounting points, lenght of the lever arms, etc all contribute to the way it functions and to what degree body-roll is controlled. When the suspensions and wheels flex under stress of cornering the anti roll bar will rotate about its mounting points or twist. Of-course as the name suggest, its function is to reduce body roll by tranfering weight from one side to another.
There is lots to know about pros and cons of using an anti-roll bar.

DO KEEP IN MIND THAT NONE OF THE ABOVE CONTROLS REGULATES OR ALTERS SPRING RATINGS, DAMPER STIFFNESS, NOTHING TO DO WITH VERTICAL MOVEMENT OF THE SUSPENSIONS(SPRINGS AND DAMPERS).

Hope i could help.

MODS : Please delete previous post number 58 as i was having difficulties with uploading the pics and have sent a complaint through the Contact Form too. Thanks!

[S2!!!]

Bumping up an old thread. I have a Ritz running on 165 section Bridgestones on my car with stock wheels, run only 20k kms. Now I really want to do something about the body roll at slightly higher speeds due to the tall body structure of the car. Is a tyre upgrade the way to go or should I get strut braces (front and rear) to solve this problem?? I don't have a problem with grip as most of the time I am driving in the city but there are times on the highways and empty stretches when I just don't feel confident to go faster due to the body roll.

If tyre upgrade then approx how much should I get back on my older tyres??

Any other suggestions? I don't want to go in for expensive shocks and springs. Want to keep it simple.

[asit.kulkarni93]

My Corolla travels a lot on the highways. As the Ground clearance is high there is noticeable body roll. I have no complaints from the suspension stiffness. The vertical movement is well within its limits. The Body roll is noticeable in ghats when I am pushing the car around. I really need some expert advice- Will the installation of strut braces improve the issue with body roll or should I upgrade the anti-roll bar? Any particular store/tuner who works on these? TIA!

Asit