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Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour
I've thought about adding strut braces back and front on my car. Can you tell me what the real world difference is before and after installation?
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Hi,
IMHO, the addition of the Front/Rear Strut Tower Braces is the single best MOD you can do to a Boxster. The improvement is so significant, it's hard to imagine that Porsche didn't incorporate them into the original design.
Every Convertible loses some rigidity due to the lack of a Hardtop. Even the Boxster, which is one of the more Rigid Convertibles out there, experiences more flex than you would imagine.
And, every Uni-Body Car equipped with MacPherson Struts experiences some flex as the Strut Towers move in opposition due to differing Road Planes, Bumps, etc. This flex can change the Camber, and the relationship of one side to the other.
Adding a Strut Tower Brace prevents the Strut Towers from moving out of sync and the Camber and Camber relationship is preserved. Additionally, since these Strut Towers are part of the Uni-Body system, preventing their movement adds to the overall Rigidity of the Chassis.
Significant improvements in Handling are achieved and, in my case at least, virtually all rattles were eliminated as well. The Car acts much more as a
Unit, whereas before the Front and Rear Suspensions were very pronounced.
At first, I thought that only a Front Brace would be needed - that the Roll Bar System would provide sufficient Rigidity to the Rear End. I was very pleased with adding the Front Brace. Thinking this was as good as you could do, I elected to forego the Rear Brace as redundant. Then, Mid-America (Tweeks) had the Rear Brace On Sale at a significantly reduced price, so in a bit of compulsion, I bought it. Not expecting much, I installed it and WOW...!! It totally pulled the whole thing together, meaning that the Rear Strut Towers were moving waaay more than I had imagined, even with the Roll Bar. My conclusion is that to derive MAX benefit from the Front Brace, you need to add the Rear as well.
I had a friend drive my Car when I first got it and he remarked how rigid it was. Several months later, after I installed the Strut Tower Braces, but without telling my friend, he drove it again and asked what I had done, that the Car seemed much more
Solid (his word), confirming what I had experienced as well. BTW, this friend owns a couple Lotus and a Westfield 11, all of which are tracked regularly, so his opinion is pretty well-founded.
For the money, I have not found a better Cost/Benefit Mod for the Car. Hope this helps...
Happy Motoring!... Jim'99
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