Turner strut brace

[Redd]

I believe they mount at the same place as the Cusco bar using existing bolt holes. I had them installed by a shop so I didn't do it myself.

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by M43S7RO

Does the rear bar mount using existing mount points at the shock towers? I believe I've seen the Cusco bar does not mount at the shock towers.

looking at the limited pictures i have been able to find, the UR bar is in the same location of the cusco bar, so probably a very similar design. the actual shock mount is more into the wheel well area and the bar would be much lower.
bracing the rear shocks probably wouldn't yield a significant benefit since they don't support the weight of the car (the springs do).
i think a great setup would be a true rear coilover conversion with a true strut tower brace.

[M43S7RO]

Thanks for the input, I've got both the front/rear bars coming and was curious to know how the UR bar mounted at rear.

I don't like adding parts that require drilling/etc into the chassis or body panels (unless they can be easily replaced). I will report back with pics of the rear bar for those interested.

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by M43S7RO

Thanks for the input, I've got both the front/rear bars coming and was curious to know how the UR bar mounted at rear.

I don't like adding parts that require drilling/etc into the chassis or body panels (unless they can be easily replaced). I will report back with pics of the rear bar for those interested.

Did you see the pics of my install? You'll have to take all the carpet/etc out of the trunk for a clean install. I used a piece of paper to determine where to cut the carpet using a dremel. Not very scientific, but it couldn't have come out better. the black part pictured below is the part you'll likely be replacing (it is what the cusco bar replaces. same shape, a little thicker, but with tabs on it for the bar). get some huge torque star sockets if you don't already have them. i had to use a breaker bar for the lower one. good luck and post pics!

[M43S7RO]

Roast, I remember you had shared pics once on a different thread and I couldn't remember which. You trimmed the trunk panel very cleanly!

If I'm not happy with the way it installs, I may not put in the rear at all. Going through search, I've found pics of the ACS bar which installs a bit differently.

[roastbeef]

thanks, i was really happy with how it turned out. i simply put that piece of paper against the wall of the car and poked a hole through the paper at that fastener plug location with a pencil and then traced the top part of the carpet and the beginning of the bracket. i measured the brackets, and cut out the dimensions on the piece of paper. after a quick test fit, it looked good and i traced it on to the carpet. i tried to overthink it by using a ruler/etc., and it just wasn't working out. just know that the carpet is like a hard plastic material and you'll need something like a dremel tool- a razor blade won't work well at all. good luck.

i'm planning on getting the bar painted space grey for the oem look.

[Redd]

I definitely felt a difference with the UR rear bar. The UR design allows you to extend it and after it was installed, I had it extended to push up against the car tightly.

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by Redd

I definitely felt a difference with the UR rear bar. The UR design allows you to extend it and after it was installed, I had it extended to push up against the car tightly.

i could be wrong, but i think it is the general consensus that adjustable strut braces are supposed to be pulled in rather than pushed out.

[Redd]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

i could be wrong, but i think it is the general consensus that adjustable strut braces are supposed to be pulled in rather than pushed out.

Any reason why? Pulling in puts tension on the bolts, whereas pushing out puts pressure on the strut tower walls. The latter seems more logical.

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by Redd

Any reason why? Pulling in puts tension on the bolts, whereas pushing out puts pressure on the strut tower walls. The latter seems more logical.

i'm not the source of this info, i'm merely relaying what i have read in the past. i would theorize it is because you're pulling the body into its self where it would potentially flex to when hitting a bump/etc. therefore, it is at its flexed limit, plus it is braced.
i think when a brace is pushing outward, there is more room for the car to flex inward, it is more reliant on the brace providing the rigidity as the body flexes- rather than the body being at its max tension inward and the brace providing support rigidity.

again, i'm just regurgitating what i've read. i'm definitely not an authority on this topic.

[dj_dub]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

Did you see the pics of my install? You'll have to take all the carpet/etc out of the trunk for a clean install. I used a piece of paper to determine where to cut the carpet using a dremel. Not very scientific, but it couldn't have come out better. the black part pictured below is the part you'll likely be replacing (it is what the cusco bar replaces. same shape, a little thicker, but with tabs on it for the bar). get some huge torque star sockets if you don't already have them. i had to use a breaker bar for the lower one. good luck and post pics!

Ugghh...that looks so legit. I wish this fit the E90s. Does anyone know why it wouldn't? I'm so tempted to try...lol

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by dj_dub

Ugghh...that looks so legit. I wish this fit the E90s. Does anyone know why it wouldn't? I'm so tempted to try...lol

It might. Take the carpet out and look at the brace. If it looks like the black one I have, it should fit.

[M43S7RO]

I received the rear UR brace this weekend and got around to putting it in. The bar is very sturdy and seems to be fairly well made. I'm not a fan of the white color that they come in so I spray painted it a greyish color that more closely resembles the trunk liner as to make it more inconspicuous.

No instruction was included but I think the UR bar was designed to have the black brackets removed but I didn't want to remove those as they appear to be for structural reinforcement so I put the brace over the black brackets which worked out as they are both flat surfaces. Ideally, it would have been better if the brace endplates mirrored the existing black brackets like the Cusco bar does.

The install was straightforward with the exception of getting the rear seats to latch. The fit of the brace is tight to the backs of the seats and care must be taken to ensure you can re-latch the rear seats before tightening the bar down.

I took the car for a spin after install and cannot say that I felt any difference which is what I was expecting. I have no means of objectively knowing or demonstrating any benefit but for the small weight penalty, I have no problem putting it in as I believe it does add reinforcement.

[roastbeef]

Looks good. Good call with simply putting it over the braces. Those braces and bolts are thick enough to tell me that they are there for a purpose.

[Redd]

Were the bolts long enough to install the brace on top of the black plates?

[M43S7RO]

Yes, thankfully they are sufficiently long to install over the existing brackets.

Originally Posted by Redd

Were the bolts long enough to install the brace on top of the black plates?

[cliverman]

Originally Posted by r8ders

Here is a pic of one of the rubber bump stops I had to shave to remount the windshield cowl properly. There's one on each side of the two top strut brace mounting bolts. I loosened one of the cowl screws to get a better pic of the rubber bump stop for you. The new stress bar is about 1.25 mic thicker at that spot than the stock bar which is why it needs to be trimmed. You can probably just leave the bump stops off but I wanted to keep them.

Thanks r8ders! Great info and pics.

[kyrix1st]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

I have a cusco rear brace. Not a commonly used part, but good quality and high and out of the way in the trunk, so I figured what the hell.
It's a brace that replaces the black plate pictured below. The Cusco brace is a little thicker and has tabs on it to tie the two braces together. It's a good design.

Arc tower brace is going in on mine soon, mainly for 4 point harness.

[Redd]

Is it a good idea to introduce bending forces into a component designed for tension/compression forces?

[Richbot]

omg

The driver is the second heaviest single component of a car. Please don't rely on a strut bar to mount a harness, even if the meat sack in the driver's seat is light you will put a nearly 500lb, high-impulse side load on the bar in a moderate 10g crash... also please don't rely on the glue bonding the carbon parts of a strut bar to the aluminum parts to hold up to crash loads + holding you in place when you're doing a barrel roll...

We are only able to survive crashing above about 30mph because we design safety systems well, humans suck at going faster than 30mph, we die almost every time we stop from that speed or faster without help from technology.

Please design all safety systems with barrel rolls in mind

I'm only trying to advise, do what you want, but know the risks and know that bad wrecks that hurt and kill people don't just hurt the person in the car, corner workers have feelings too, please don't be mad, thank you for reading this nervous nellie post

[Richbot]

Originally Posted by Redd

Is it a good idea to introduce bending forces into a component designed for tension/compression forces?

This was diplomatically put... heh

[Redd]

Lol. Most people don't realize CF is only strong in the axis it was designed to take loads for.