Strut Braces - any good on a clio

7MAT · Jan 14, 2006

I've seen these OMP strut braces on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWA

IC
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... RK:MEWA:IT

Would look great on a Trophy - I guess the rear bars are more for show but the front bar must help?

Any body planning on fitting one?

7MAT

Day · Jan 14, 2006

Look good but unsure of the benefits to be honest unless they are welded in to frim up the shell.

y0z2a · Jan 14, 2006

7Mat,

I would suggest in the back welding in a strut / harness bar as the OMP ones are made of butter.

The front braces are ok, but are only held in with self tappers.

We going to be working on a proper job that will hold everything in the right place that is suitably strong and all that.

/y0z

mr StinKa gob · Jan 14, 2006

Yozza, the Clio Cup braces were welded onto the struts and they had a removable cetre section that enabled easy access to the engine bay when removed. The centre section bolted out, and when in place was solid.

If you made one like this i would buy one. Remove it for road use, bolt it in for track use. Doesnt effect your insurance then and also has the same benefit of allowing easy access to the back of the block. The fact its welded to the struts at the ends also means its doing its job properly.

y0z2a · Jan 16, 2006

^ I agree whole heartedly ^

I just wish it was that easy LOL

It just isn't as easy on the road car.

/y0z

mr StinKa gob · Jan 16, 2006

What are the problems associated with fitting one like this?

SteveC · Jan 16, 2006

I agree with KS there is no point what so ever putting in a strut brace which is held in with self tappers, unless you want the engine bay to look pretty.

I have a friend who has a Nova which is totally stripped out running 250Bhp Calibra Turbo lump. When it came to fitting front a rear strut braces he ended up getting a custom set made up for him which he welded to the front struts and to the roll cage in the rear. Straight away you could feel the difference in the car, it cornerd better, and had more traction under extreme accelartion.

His front strut brace has a removable centre section to allow the engine to be worked on which make life a lot easier when problems arise.

I personally would prefer to have a strut brace that looked pants but did the job it was intended to do rather than a fancy chrome bar which did nothing.

y0z2a · Jan 16, 2006

this was what i think we have all said Steve.

KS - the problem with this is as follows.

Our initial design idea was as follows:

remove damper top mount.
plate sits under top mount
new strut top mount holder intstalled
strut brace is either (pre) welded to the plate or is bolted to the plate.

problems:

the hole that the strut comes through is not the right shape for this - to fit it, you would need to modify the top mount. most people don't want to do this.

Second Idea

Weld a plate to the strut top (Chassis, not the strut itself) and run strut brace from here

problems:

this area is curved and not very access to weld in.
metal would need to be removed from this area to make this solution work, again, people won't want to do this.

So...

we are looking at another solution, but it will be a few more weeks - maybe even months before we have it sussed.

Welded in solutions would be by far the best solution, but people will not commit to such a "dramatic" modification. (obviously with a welded solution, the centre bar would be removable)

/y0z

mr StinKa gob · Jan 16, 2006

You want to weld my car to test let me know. But i want the brace free if you do.

ducks butt · Jan 17, 2006

What do strut braces really do?

SteveC · Jan 17, 2006

The idea of a strut brace is to eradicate or at least reduce the flex from the chassis/body.

When done correctly the car feels totally different to drive, turn in is much crisper, and handling is better.

That is a very basic description of how they work.

ducks butt · Jan 17, 2006

Does it make the car skip across the road?

Day · Jan 17, 2006

Too many trackdays and your roof will kink.

ducks butt · Jan 17, 2006

Day said:
Too many trackdays and your roof will kink.

wow really.

Day · Jan 17, 2006

Seen it on a few Clio 16v's

y0z2a · Jan 17, 2006

but to be fair Day...

if they hadn't had strut braces, then they would have kinked anyway with that kind of abuse, and... I have never seen that be a result of the strut brace, normally the kind of punishment that the car was given...

/y0z