As you all may know, I finally got my car lowered 2 inches with KYB struts, dobinson springs, polyurethane bushes, rear sway bar and strut brace.

Well there's been a few developments and here's the story:

Got everything fitted last week, took it home, opened the bonnet to see the strut brace and there was nothing there lol, so I rang the suspension place and talked to the owner (whom I know very well) and the supplier ended up being arseholes saying they had the brace when they didnt. Anyway, (btw I wasnt charged for it..so it was no big deal, the owner was furious tho!) I got the whiteline one today tell you about that in a second.

The rear swaybar was bumping against the muffler as the lukey lr2779, which I have, is substantially longer than the stock unit, and thus creating the hitting. So the sway bar got sent back to get the retun arms (if that's what they're called) shortened. That's all ready to go on tomorrow, also with these arms shortened the linkage is a lot straighter too so it'll be better. So that's that problem solved.

Back to the strut brace.

I had to go around to a mates place to borrow his tools so I could put the thing on, we spent some time making sure it was centred and nice and tight and everthing was torqued up. Then we went for a spin up Springwood Rd (and NSW ppl who know that road will know it's a GREAT road to test handling on!!)

All I can say about the strut brace is "Holy ****!" That thing made a massive difference! I didnt push the car to it's absolute limit, I'm obviously still only getting used to it, but I did push it a fair bit and I will swear on my own grave I experienced NO (thats right!) understeer.

The other thing I noticed was the steering response was increased. Pre-brace times I noticed when I turned hard into corners, the initial toe in (I think that's the correct term) was a little lacking in response, now with the brace it's instant, which scared me at first as I almost went too hard too early into a corner lol, but it's all good now! I guess that'd be because when you initially turn the wheel, the towers flexed, absorbing some of the initial steering, then the car responded. Now with the brace, the flex is eliminated so the steering happens straight away (is my theory right? Anyone in the know?)

Anyway, the brace cost more than I think I should've paid, from whiteline it cost me $224, but with the improvement it's made, I really don't care, it's f*cking worth it even at that price.

KB out! :D

Thats great news KB, Just what we wanted to hear..
theres a group buy going on for strut braces.. and there has been a minor setback due to lack of stock :confused: anyways cant wait to get mine...

You won't regret it!! :D

I'm itching to get the rear sway put in tomorrow and have another springwood rd run :D

Thanks for the feedback killbilly on the sturt braces!!

Im in now on that group buy :D

OH and i love you!!! your my hero!!!

OH and i love you!!! your my hero!!!

wtf?! :nuts: :bowrofl:

run!!!

Out of curiousity how much did all of the stuff u mentioned in your original post cost all up?

wtf?! :nuts: :bowrofl:
LOL

kb,

did you simply fit the brace on and screwed it on or... is there some way of tightening it to gain full benifit of it?

kev

Go Killbilly! Its amazing the difference a decent suspension setup does. You will notice a big difference when your sway bar is in also. The sway bar in the VRX keeps the car so flat around corners its excellent.

I think i need to adjust my strut brace but I agree they are money well spent, plus they look good :D

Can't wait to see this beast in Melb!

Chief: The entire package cost me just under $1300 installed. The only thing was that I had to do the strut brace myself (no biggie at all). RRP would've put that stuff around 1700-1800 bucks, I'm lucky enough to know the owner of a suspension joint. (Hi-Tech Brake and Clutch in Drummond St South Windsor - free plug lol)

Dajaja: The strut brace just simply goes under the 3 nuts that are on top of each strut tower, then you just tighten it all up (making sure the middle of the brace is as centered as possible) and done! Took me a whole 10 mins to do :)

If strut braces are that good, then **** it, I want one too!

so with lowered spring and urethane bushes it made a huge difference yeah? coz i'll be getting one through the group buy, it's always good to hear first hand experience.. :D

but wtf with 2nd gen strut brace is $10 extra from 3rd gen? $224 is now the RRP for 2nd gen strut brace... :nuts:

OH and i love you!!! your my hero!!!

:bowrofl:

another AM romance... keep your undieing devotions to PM's thanks.... :shock:

Yeah the price is pretty crazy, but it's still hell worth it!

i was thinkin of gettin extractors but mr characde said they dont do much, so i'm thinking handling mods will be the go in a few months time. Do they have strut braces for first gens? hmmm me hopes theres nother group buy around end of november *cough* :bowrofl:

those 1st gens are sloppy as hell :P have a look at the top of your strut tower... is there a ripple of steel there?

KB you noticed the massive difference of new flash bushes aswell or you didn't push the car enough untill you got the strut brace? or did you notice a difference but the strut brace made an even bigger difference? im very curious. every car ive been in before and after a strut brace didn't feel any better.

The bushes were done before the brace...so yes I fitted the brace and felt a huge difference

Yeah KB i forgot to show you under my bonnet when we were at Crispy Creme. I have the pedders strut brace, whiteline swaybars front and rear camber kits front/rear and whiteline anti-lift kit.
With this the new king Springs and new KYB's along with the 18" handles like it's on rails.
I'll show ya next time we hook up on a cruize
Adam :flame:

Hmmm - I take your word. Looks like The Killer Beast is about to get it's next mod then. :cool:
(what a tuff name for such a tame car!)
:badgrin:


The bushes were done before the brace...so yes I fitted the brace and felt a huge difference

I'll show ya next time we hook up

How do you do it killbilly? Thats like the 3rd one I've read about, so much love on these AM forums, and 99% of the time it involves killbilly :P . But then again maybe Im just taking that phrase totally out of context :D .

And also, theres been a bit of talk regarding strut braces lately, I never used to think they were really worth it, but from what every one is saying, they're worth every cent, I think I might invest in one before too long.

And also, what turbo_charade was saying about the first gens being pretty sloppy is very true. I had ripples in the sides of both strut towers on my old TP, wasn't a very comforting thing to see.

Good to hear someones experience with a strut brace, I swear by them others don't think they make a difference, ha, they obviously don't push hard enough.
The turn in you feel is simply because the srtut brace is holding your towers in position and you are getting the negative camber you are supoosed to on the turn in wheel, take the brace off the tower flexes and you end up with positive camber on turn in, not something you want. The rear sway on a VRX and Sports in my opinion are to small, I used whitelines sway bars and they also make a huge difference, front and back.

Have fun

Yeah whos gonna start a group buy on 1st gen suspension mods cause im keen to fit the entire car out, might have to be you Telemenohpee.

SexedTF'n i meant say g'day check out the cars , i'm a lad not a filly!! :roll:
Adam :flame:

Wow. I've noticed that on looser bodied cars (such as R33's) that a strut brace made a world of difference. I didn't think that it would on a TR as they are quiet stiff, or so I thought :shock: !

Glad top hear it was worth every last cent.

Took it for another run up Springwood rd with the rear sway bar fitted, the difference was a tighter feel in the rear, it feels like the rear of the car actually "drives" through the corner as opposed to just trailing along.

How do you do it killbilly? Thats like the 3rd one I've read about, so much love on these AM forums, and 99% of the time it involves killbilly :P . But then again maybe Im just taking that phrase totally out of context :D .

You havent taken anything out of context, I am a stud muffin :nuts: :bowrofl:

Yeah whos gonna start a group buy on 1st gen suspension mods cause im keen to fit the entire car out, might have to be you Telemenohpee.

hehe, i'd like to do suspension mods as well but am broke at the moment, let alone organise anything, i swear readings for law that i'm yet to do have reached about 150 pages already. grrr dammit and its boringness

You havent taken anything out of context, I am a stud muffin :nuts: :bowrofl:
LOL um for anyone who doesnt know paul, id just like to clear a few you things up here. NO, NO YOU ARE NOT!!!!!!!! oh and thanks for including me in the original story.

The strut brace and rear bar are one of the best handling things you can do however I am totally against polyurathane bushes as the bind, deteriorate in a lot shorter time.
I am a great believer of the original rubber even if they are a lot more expensive. In most cases the top race cars use rubber because of it's superior properties.

Good one KB, with the engine, handling etc will be a sweet as car now.

Ok then its all settled, Im buying a strut brace :D .

The strut brace and rear bar are one of the best handling things you can do however I am totally against polyurathane bushes as the bind, deteriorate in a lot shorter time.
I am a great believer of the original rubber even if they are a lot more expensive. In most cases the top race cars use rubber because of it's superior properties.

Good one KB, with the engine, handling etc will be a sweet as car now.

Polyurethane bushes can flex 360 degrees plus, whereas rubber becomes solid at about 20 degrees of turning, how is it superior? (Just asking, not flaming!)

And Magwgn: Sorry I didnt include you :P everybody, I met up with magwgn when I got the strut brace :D Happy now dude? hahah

Polyurethane bushes can flex 360 degrees plus, whereas rubber becomes solid at about 20 degrees of turning, how is it superior? (Just asking, not flaming!)

And Magwgn: Sorry I didnt include you :P everybody, I met up with magwgn when I got the strut brace :D Happy now dude? hahah

It's interesting, cuase on paper Polyurethane is supirior, yet the AWD VRX used my Mitsubishi in ARC is using rubber becuase it last alot longer??? :confused: , so whats better? :shock:

Yeah I've heard both things, so I'm just curious.

Just an observation, but better doesn't necessarily mean more durable, but in a rally situation I'd think you'd gladly sacrifice some performance for extra reliability and durability.

i think the difference is about a year, over the span of 5-8 depending on how you drive. I would go for poly every time. plus its not hard to replace them.