front and rear Strut braces and ARB`s?

[ben16v 0]

edited the title to encourage more input for braces and arb`s, so any experience please post!

ta

ben

 

i`m thinking about my back end!!!

i`m wondering which would be the best to tighten up the back end, i`ve been looking at trimsport braces and various rear 25mm arb`s, i feel my car suffers from some understeer which i think both would help to an extent. my questions is which to go for first?

the trimsport brace is easy to fit but would it make any difference?

the arb is god but would it be too much? i dont want over steer!

any one with any experience of both would be great!

cheeers ben

[ben16v 0]

anyone??

[Toad 0]

I've got a rear strut brace in my valver, and I couldn't say 100% that it makes a massive difference, that's on tired standard suspension. Can't hurt though, not for £60 or whatever I paid. The VR will have a rear ARB and a strut brace with a set of Koni T/As, so I guess the brace will be doing a bit more work.

 

I think the 4 cylinder cars are nicely set up. I'd not fit a rear ARB on it's own to them, maybe a set of front and rear bars, like Junkie is selling.

[ben16v 0]

cool just the type of info i need, so rear brace first them 22mm front, 25mm back?

whats the standard front? 18mm?

[Toad 0]

I'm not entirely sure to be honest. I'd speak to Junkie and see what he says about running with them. The braces are easy to come by, I think the guy on E38 who did some for the group buy on here still makes them.

[cdem 0]

Ive been told that the rear strut braces are useless and i should have put my money towards an arb

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Triangulated rear braces work best. A big pole simply anchored to each strut will give a smaller improvement, but it all depends on how flexible the chassis is. If it's an old car with loads of miles and has been jacked up numerous times, then it will benefit more than a newer car with less miles and has rarely been jacked up.

[dragon green 5]

I put 22mm on the front, 25mm on the back,ive had my valver nearly nine years,and its the BEST mod ive done !

I reckon ive picked up at least 10 mph in the corners, maybe more,the rear end feels so stable, rigid

I live in Kent, if you want a test drive give me a shout

[ben16v 0]

cheers guys my car is on 175k with original bushes etc but with new-ish (4yr old) suspension, koni & HR,

so 300 for arb`s assuming i need to do front and back at the same time + fitting

is there any make that are prefered?

H&R, eibach, KW, neuspeed? any pros and/or cons to them?

whats the score with fitting easy or tough 1-10?, is it on the drive job or on a ramp ( have access to ramp for some £) or just go to awesome etc and get them to do it for me?

thanks again

ben

[junkie 0]

As toad says mine give an almost perfect balanced car for the most part. 25 rear and 22 front. Odd occasion it will understeer cul only when pushed very very hard with 300 horses. Def do the rear 1st and them decide if you want a front bar as well after, foot bother with the brace, why do you think its shiny and polished, to look good thats about it. I like a bigger front as well to keep the front more level but just doing the rear will help turn in massively. Its a 1 hour job just jacking it up to do the rear car and use front is alot easier on a ramp but not impossible on axle stands i hope. The rear is the benefit though as it technically does not have a rear car as standard. In not trying to be a salesman either.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

foot bother with the brace, why do you think its shiny and polished, to look good thats about it.

 

'Foot bother'? Take it you meant 'don't bother'? :D

 

I agree with you there in respect to the Trimsport one, even though I have one myself, LOL! It does work as I said before, just not as well as a proper Neuspeed style 4 point brace.

 

On a more general note, the whole point of a rear brace is to give a hatchback the same structural integrity of a saloon car. Saloons are always more popular in BTCC than hatchbacks because they are stronger and flex less. Lift open the tailgate of a hatchback and what do you see? A big empty box (when the seats are down). And as with any big empty box, if there's nothing supporting the side walls, it's floppy and soggy. You'll notice with all the 2 seat track day specials you can buy now, they all have a rear brace.

 

Anyway, point laboured enough I think.

 

For ultimate strength, a (good) welded in roll cage is king, but impractical for most.

 

All of this is pointless if running tired old bushes and things though.

[The_Dude 0]

All of this is pointless if running tired old bushes and things though.

 

 

i'm running things so will need to get them replaced before i fit my arb's.

 

i think i'm gonna take simon's advice and go for a 25mm back and 22mm front. will report back in a month or two once i've fitted them and had a bit of a hoon.

[dukest 0]

Just a quick one, i've checked all the part numbers and they seem to match up 100% but can anyone confirm for my peace of mind that Mk3 VR Eibach ARBs are the same as Corrado VR Eibachs?

 

Thanks

John

[herisites 0]

All of this is pointless if running tired old bushes and things though.

 

 

i'm running things so will need to get them replaced before i fit my arb's.

 

i think i'm gonna take simon's advice and go for a 25mm back and 22mm front. will report back in a month or two once i've fitted them and had a bit of a hoon.

 

Take in to account Simon's is a 1.8 engine so the 22mm front is a good upgrade. You have a heavy VR up front so fitting a 22mm front will cause yet more understeer. I recently fitted a Neuspeed 25mm rear on mine (with tired axle bushes) and it made a good amount of difference, sharper turn in and less understeer, perfect imo. Will be much better when I finally get round to replacing the tired axle bushes!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Take in to account Simon's is a 1.8 engine so the 22mm front is a good upgrade. You have a heavy VR up front so fitting a 22mm front will cause yet more understeer.

 

Indeed. The 4 pots only have an 18mm front ARB to begin with, and it's drop links only anchor 3/4 along the wishbone. The VR has a 20mm front ARB as standard and the drop links anchor right at the end of the wishbone, so in effect, the wider ARB 'footprint' with a thicker bar will have the same effect as a thicker one pressing down more inboard. I'm sure I've typed that already somewhere else?

 

Still, it's worth experimenting with the front ARB as some people like a bit of US action :D

[The_Dude 0]

Take in to account Simon's is a 1.8 engine so the 22mm front is a good upgrade. You have a heavy VR up front so fitting a 22mm front will cause yet more understeer.

 

Indeed. The 4 pots only have an 18mm front ARB to begin with, and it's drop links only anchor 3/4 along the wishbone. The VR has a 20mm front ARB as standard and the drop links anchor right at the end of the wishbone, so in effect, the wider ARB 'footprint' with a thicker bar will have the same effect as a thicker one pressing down more inboard. I'm sure I've typed that already somewhere else?

 

Still, it's worth experimenting with the front ARB as some people like a bit of US action :D

 

 

 

Not me, was accelerating hard coming onto the m23 last night and i just kept getting pushed further to the outside. Luckily there was no traffic to crash into as i wandered accross two lanes. :eek: though that could be more to do with my tracking being out and lack of decent diff.

 

OK, well I'll start with just a 25 rear then, problem is, my front arb bushes are pretty much shot and i don't wanna have to buy new ones only to replace them a few weeks later.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Was that in the dry or wet?

 

And what speeds are we talking about? :D

[The_Dude 0]

Dry, 100ish...where the A23 London Road N meets the M23, it was a long left hander and every time i pressed the go pedal harder I'd drift out further.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Interesting, I've always found the C to be quite good on those sorts of roads.

Definitely time for some action on your C's under carriage then!

 

If it's any consolation, I saw a Porsche 997 lose it recently on a well known local (slippery) intersection. It was raining and he wasn't go fast, about 45mph, but it just understeered straight off into a barrier :lol:

[ben16v 0]

another one to throw into the mix.

i have just got my hands on a golf2 lower front brace, i`ve offered it up and it looks like it will fit which makes sense although it does look like the gearbox will be very close, has anyone fitted one and what difference will it make if any?

im gonna have a go at fitting tomorrow, any tips??

cheers

ben

[junkie 0]

If it does not fit i have a front corrado 22mm neuspeed for sale.