[Mk2] [Generic] Underbody Bracing

[Moo]

I've got some Cusco strut braces to go on and will shortly be getting a set of TRB ARB's. I've read that underbody braces can also be fitted to stiffen things up.

What options are there for front and rear underbody bracing?

Cheers

[Jimbob]

Loads, I can reccommend from personal experience the Tanabe Sustec front brace, works a treat. Easy to fit and you can notice an improvment in turn in IMOA. There are other options about on ebay, mostly all doing the same thing.

[Moo]

Is this the same as the Toms underbody brace that fits between the control arms or can you have them both?

Do Tanabe, or anybody else, do a rear underbody brace?

[tarmac terrorist]

ultra racing do the front under body brace & wing braces i have both,you can also buy a front brace that goes between the front track arms,as for the rear brace dont know of any as you have the subframe but if you find any let me know
here is a pic of the wing braces:

& look behind the pic of me & you will see the under brace


my current chassis spec:
1)rear cusco strut brace
2) standard rear strut brace
3)front cusco strut brace
4)front under body brace(ultra racing)
5)front wing braces (ultra racing)
6)front lower track control arm brace
7) full poly bush kit(soon to be changed to rose jointed tension rods)
apex coil overs
any one know of any other braces let me know
here is also a link to ultra racing
www.ultraracingaustralia.com/

[Moo]

Cool, thanks for the information.

I don't see the ultra racing front underbody brace listed on that website. Where did you get yours from?


When you say you have a front lower track control arm brace, is that the same as the Tom's one and fits in the same place as the one in the picture?



I'm looking at buying a Tom's brace like above and just want to make sure I will still be able to fit a front underbody brace as well.

I notice you have Cusco strut braces fitted. Can you still keep the standard front brace when fitting the Cusco or do you have to remove it?

Cheers

[tarmac terrorist]

bry got my brace,send him a pm
you will not be able to fit the full strut brace wiith that one there as it bolts in them places as well, as for the track bar see in your picture the tie bars(they look abit like hammers) it goes between them,. not worth keeping the front standard brace its usless

[Moo]

Thanks

[Jimbob]

You need to decide what you are trying to get mate. Just putting loads of braces on won't make it handle better alone. It's about balance. Normally you would attempt to get a characteristic from what you are doing.

MR2's tend to be tail happy so for my car I have softened the back end up and tightened the front end. This has a tendency to make the rear understeer and front oversteer. That makes it feel more planted and helps turn in. Sticking braces on all over the car will negate your hard work.

My spec

Tom's front upper
Tanabe front lower 4 point
No rear brace
Whiteline ARB's
Polybushes
Tein Flex
Pillow ball tension rods to go on

When I add the pillow ball tension rods that should help a touch more up front. Then I can fit a rear X brace just to stop too much flex when launching, the rear softness helps it remain compliant when applying throttle in my experince as well.

Just have a thing about how you want the handling to change, what I have now suits me great.

[KoLaBoTTle]

Completely agree with what Jim said ^^

My spec
Tein flex
Front/rear cusco braces
xxxx front underbody brace (Which is what your after by the sound of it)
Standard ARB's etc

Front end is solid, its only my crappy front tyres that let it down. Rear is on T1R's and kicks out when I want it to.. completely controllable and mucho fun lol


Edit: Lol good script to instantly change the company name on the brace. Surely *Banned trader* would be better though

[TheRoadWarrior]

I think if you're trying to promote or reduce oversteer it can still be advantageous to stiffen up both ends of the car- this gives the suspension as stiffer platform to work off as possible and its the springs that flex not the body.. you can then tune the characteristics of the car with damping, spring rates and roll bar thickness as required.

[Moo]

Completely agree with what Jim said ^^

My spec
Tein flex
Front/rear cusco braces
xxxx front underbody brace (Which is what your after by the sound of it)
Standard ARB's etc

Front end is solid, its only my crappy front tyres that let it down. Rear is on T1R's and kicks out when I want it to.. completely controllable and mucho fun lol


Edit: Lol good script to instantly change the company name on the brace. Surely *Banned trader* would be better though

Basically just trying to get rid of body flex a little and sharpen up the front end.

Currently running yellow billes with stock springs, have Cusco strut braces to go on and looking at buying a Tom's front underbody brace. Was also planning upgrading to TRD ARB's.

Running on 17" rims.

[slipping clutch]

Moo, I fitted a cusco strut brace and the refitted the stock as well - its pretty simple to do - just shorten the stock brace slightly redrill the holes and gently bend the arms back and bolt it down. You may have to put a slight "dent" in the back of the right hand arm to clear the electrical multi block ( right hand- with you standing at the front of the car looking at the windscreen.
I dont have the car at the moment but when I get it back I will post you up a couple of pictures.
As for Ultra racing they have their own website if you do a search and the guy that runs it is called Elson Tong . When I bought mine they did a deal on the shipping as I bought the under wing braces and the chassis brace together. They were cheaper to buy direct fron there than on ebay but you will find that you have to pay import duty on them - the courier company they use will phone up as soon as they arrive in the U.K. and tell you what that is - they wont deliver until its paid.
I have read some where on here of some fitting problems with the chassis under brace - mine went straight on with only a bit of filing of one of the holes (the problem was an extra amount of powder coating in that area which made the hole a little smaller) and minimal stress so I may have got lucky or some one else may have had a bad one- I will see if I can find the link.

[slipping clutch]

http://www.imoc.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=108047
There you go - a different opinion to mine on the under body brace.
This guy is building an absolutley awsome car by the way well worth reading the whole thing - but if you dont have the time spool down about halfway down the page for his opinion of the fit and worth of the brace.

[tarmac terrorist]

in my opinion i would def go with body stifferning,its made a massive difference with the cars handling, as for over steer under steer you just alter that with ARB stiffeness front & rear,also adjust wheel alignment to suit, if my car wasnt resprayed i would of gone with seam welding the body as well, as for the ARBS i would go with whiteline as they are adjustable i dont think the TRD are (i may be wrong there)

[Moo]

Excellent, cheers for all the input guys