Gday,
I'm in the market for a front strut brace for 'normal' road use i.e. not for any racing application.
Apart from RPW's range and "Googling" it (as some would suggest I'm sure :-), I was wondering if anyone has installed a front strut brace and would like to share your thoughts.
* How would you rate your cars handling with a strut brace installed?
* What brand you would recommend?
Thank you.
SAVRX03

adjustable whiteline strut brace is the go
didnt feel alot of difference after installing it, though it does help if your gonna throw your car into corners
mainly all these do is to stop the strut towers from flexing under hard cornering
i would go a whiteline adjustable rear sway bar too, you'll notice the difference with one of these ;)

Installed one yesterday (Whiteline adjustable). Steering feels a little firmer and better response on turn-in, but not expecting to see the full benefits til the front & rear swaybars go in as well.

Fire off an email to http://phillcomrally.com/ - they're on the forums here, but respond to emails quicker. Pickup from Marion area.

I put mine on and it made a decent difference to the handling. Front end felt more planted and turn in is sharper. Definately combo with a rear adj sway bar although you might be ok as the VRX got one as standard

i had a diy guide to make one, but madmagna deleted it. if you are interested, you should ask him.

also, mine made a difference when it comes to really throwing the car into the corner. it is really strong though, i used it to support my motor when i did the clutch.

Definately combo with a rear adj sway bar although you might be ok as the VRX got one as standardAs did the Sports - it doesn't do that much.

I bought one from Sharkie via ebay - was the cheapest source for a whiteline front strut brace.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting to notice a difference, but I believe that making the suspension components a little less flexible is a good thing.
But I was really surprised that I noticed the difference on the first corner.

Turn in is sharper, just as everyone else has commented.
Before I would turn the steering wheel, the car would lean, the tyres would roll under and then the car would turn the corner.
Now I turn the steering wheel, the car starts to turn, then depending on speed of corner the other two things happen :)

I plan to add lower springs, rear sway bar, bigger wheels and lower profile tyres to fix all of these eventually.

All this is on my TJ II Sports AWD.

Cheers, Oggy.
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Swaybars = reduce bodyroll on turn in
Strut braces = reduce chassis flex

Upgrading rears - promote oversteer
Upgrading fronts - promote underster

the people that will notice the most difference from simply upgrading front strut brace (if any) are the ones who have upgraded springs/dampers

***EDIT***
"Low Springs" of any sort don't count as an upgrade unless the spring rates are stiffer

"Low Springs" of any sort don't count as an upgrade unless the spring rates are stiffer

Incorrect.

Lowered springs = lower center of gravity = better handling.

However it is practically a given that lower springs are stiffer, otherwise they'd bottom out sooner.

FWIW, I can't stand my stock suspension - it's really jittery over light bumps and having a hernia operation combined with rice quality suspension is just pissing me off ultimately. I'll be visiting K-Mac for some custom progressive springs pretty soon.

^^it does have a lower centre of gravity but... the best way to describe it is in the exact words of Mike Kojima

"Do not lower your car too much! This perhaps is the number one no no. It is a symbol of a true rice-boy (not a racial slur, means all show no go, typical car that has $5000 bucks of wheels and tires, a big 5 inch tip, aero kit, a thumping stereo, vinyl graphics, no springs and not much else). Lowering looks really cool and can make a significant improvement to a cars cornering capability but going too low is detrimental to both handling and even safety. Going too low can cause bumpsteer, where the tie rods and control arms are traveling different arcs resulting in the wheels steering themselves with no steering wheel input. When a car is so low that the suspension bottoms under cornering loads, the end of the car that bottoms first will violently slide out. Super low guys are convinced that they are driving super touring cars but if you take them out on the track they will suck incredibly. So install some good springs , DO NOT CUT THEM MORE TO MAKE YOUR CAR LOWER. If you have the Ground Control springs do not adjust them to lower your car more than two inches except if you are going to compete in car shows where the car will be a stationary display. You want to maintain at least 1-3/4" of travel."

***EDIT***
I too had a hernia operation in April... still hurts lifting anything above 20kg's.. sux balls.

I have read some decent articles on here but the majority of threads involve "king springs lows or superlows" and 18inch+ wheels for the look factor.

Actually better yet, if there as to be any talk of suspension tuning this would be my only contribution as it covers everything that needs to be known:
http://www.se-r.net/car_info/suspension_tuning.html