Strut Brace - Worthwhile or Not?

[Baron_Samedi]

Hi,

I was wondering, like you do....

Would a Mercedes... say a W209. benefit from the addition of such a component?

Ta

 

[grober]

Some of the big engined AMG models had/have additional chassis strengthening I believe but mainly to accomodate the weight of their larger engines and stiffer suspension. Mercedes cars are pretty rigid structures from the start so in a 4 cylinder model I seriously doubt you would see much benefit.

 

[wemorgan]

I think you'd have to be pushing the car quite hard through the corners to notice any difference. If you do any track days there should be some benefit however.

 

[Baron_Samedi]

Thanks grober,

I just wondered because there seems to be little discussion of such things on here

 

[vijilants]

I was under the impression that in order to make a strutbrace work, your car needs to be fitted with struts in the first place.

 

[Baron_Samedi]

Yep, Mcpherson Struts.

Don't Mercedes-Benz use them?

 

[Uberwagon]

You just need to re-inforce the location points of the suspension.

On my jelly mould 405 you could feel the difference just driving off the kerb.

In my MK1 Golf I had a weisman lower brace but the upper brace was largely seen as a awaste of money. I had a welded in rear brace and it made a huge amount of difference, it was like I had new rear suspension fitted.

It all depends on the car, like has already been said, modern mercs, and cars in general, will probably benefit far less than the less rigid cars of 20 years ago.

Dave!

 

[rf065]

I think the 209 would benefit from a strut brace, you can feel & hear the body flex on mine & the windows move against the rubbers when I park or leave my driveway which is on a slope. Pillarless coupes or convertibles will always have more flex than a normal car. Go for it.

Russ

 

[Baron_Samedi]

Interesting comments Russ,

Before I make my mind up, I shall have a look and see whats available

 

[flango]

Strut brace a definite benefit it is one of the to do jobs on my CLK will go for polished alloy front, don't think it really needs a rear but we'll see. Had one on my Subaru and got one on my Volvo definiely sharpens up handling and a secondary benefit is it stiffens the front end in a crash and you get less damage, dont forget to tell the insurance company though !

 

[Howard]

Where are you getting one from Ian ?

Could be tempted if the price is right

 

[Will]

Strut brace a definite benefit it is one of the to do jobs on my CLK will go for polished alloy front, don't think it really needs a rear but we'll see. Had one on my Subaru and got one on my Volvo definiely sharpens up handling and a secondary benefit is it stiffens the front end in a crash and you get less damage, dont forget to tell the insurance company though !

Hi Ian,

I'm not so sure that you'll notice the sort of difference that you did with your other cars such as your old Subaru.

Firstly - your 208 model CLK has seperate coil springs and dampers, it doesn't have the same 'struts' as on the other cars you mention like your Volvo.

Also, I'd imagine that your CLK is quite a bit stiffer than many of the cars that these braces are aimed at - such as jap stuff and hot hatches etc.

You'll almost certainly see more of an improvement with fresh OEM shocks and springs than with the addition of a brace, IMHO

Modification wise - perhaps performance springs/dampers, or thicker (stiffer) anti-roll bars etc might be what you're after?

Will

 

[flango]

Hi Ian,

I'm not so sure that you'll notice the sort of difference that you did with your other cars such as your old Subaru.

Firstly - your 208 model CLK has seperate coil springs and dampers, it doesn't have the same 'struts' as on the other cars you mention like your Volvo.

Also, I'd imagine that your CLK is quite a bit stiffer than many of the cars that these braces are aimed at - such as jap stuff and hot hatches etc.

You'll almost certainly see more of an improvement with fresh OEM shocks and springs than with the addition of a brace, IMHO

Modification wise - perhaps performance springs/dampers, or thicker (stiffer) anti-roll bars etc might be what you're after?

Will

Subaru was rock solid but the brace sharpened the handling.

My CLK has full Brabus suspension and is 30mm lower than the standard sport model and it rides pretty hard. Although I agree that it could be getting a little worn now. I just feel that when I turn in at high speed the front is not as solid as it could be and there is a little flex ( maybe I'm a perfectionist?) I think the brace would take this flex out.

Thanks for the comments much appreciated.

Howard

I have not really looked in detail but I know OMP do them and when I asked the rep how much he thought about £150 + VAT which I thought was a bit steep.

I'll do some more research and see what I can turn up

regards
Ian

 

[Howard]

I've got some 55 ARB's to go on mine ....

 

[popuptoaster]

Most aftermarket strut braces are like many boyracer addons, they mainly make a difference in your head if they are the bolt on jobs as they flex where they bolt to the car.
You need a proper welded in tensioned bar to make any real difference to the handling, bolt on ones do pass more vibration into the car so make it feel more alive but dont really do much else, racers put up with welded in ones being in the way (much like welded in cages) because they do actually improve laptimes on some cars, cant see the point in adding weight and inconveniance in most road cars especially ones without any struts to brace in the first place!

Not much point bracing the top of the dampers as there shouldn't be any sideways forces on them anyway.

Forget it and spend the money on better tyres, speak to any racer and they'll tell you the best way to improve laptimes is to buy better tyres, only once you have the best ones possible is it worth worrying about spending large sums elsewhere.

 

[BlackC55]

Get a bilstein coilover kit.

That WILL improve handling.

 

[flango]

Most aftermarket strut braces are like many boyracer addons, they mainly make a difference in your head if they are the bolt on jobs as they flex where they bolt to the car.
You need a proper welded in tensioned bar to make any real difference to the handling, bolt on ones do pass more vibration into the car so make it feel more alive but dont really do much else, racers put up with welded in ones being in the way (much like welded in cages) because they do actually improve laptimes on some cars, cant see the point in adding weight and inconveniance in most road cars especially ones without any struts to brace in the first place!

Not much point bracing the top of the dampers as there shouldn't be any sideways forces on them anyway.

Forget it and spend the money on better tyres, speak to any racer and they'll tell you the best way to improve laptimes is to buy better tyres, only once you have the best ones possible is it worth worrying about spending large sums elsewhere.

You're talking to a racer been in rallying and circuit racing for 30 years act as a driver trainer / consultant to manufacturers and been a test driver for works teams.

I agree a welded in brace is best but not practical on a road car. What you need is a brace that can be tensioned same as I have on my Volvo and had on my scooby.

If you are runing the best tyres already, have one of the best suspension set ups possible and you still have flex then a brace is the way to go.

Never experienced any vibration coming back into the car resulting from fitting a brace on any car I've had.

Our racing Puma has upper and lower front and rear braces and handles as though it is on rails, without the braces its terrible.

Handling aside theres always the crash protection benefits that are probably worth the spend alone

 

[flango]

Get a bilstein coilover kit.

That WILL improve handling.

Totally agree with Olly, My Brabus suspension is originally made by Bilstein, coilover kit is a great way to go, would spend on this before a brace

 

[popuptoaster]

not sure about increased crash protection on a road car, the front is supposed to crumple up on one side if you have a three quarter impact not stay rigid, may be differnet on a race car with a big cage in it and full harness but im not sure a brace is a good idea for that reason, still not convinced about bolt in braces, made no difference to my sierras laptimes round brands and the 3 door shells are knwn for being floppy, did have a welded in one in there afterwards but not tested seperately from other mods done at the same time, ive found more benifit in tying the strut tops to the bulkhead rather than each other, as they are feeding forces into a much stronger area.

 

[flango]

not sure about increased crash protection on a road car, the front is supposed to crumple up on one side if you have a three quarter impact not stay rigid, may be differnet on a race car with a big cage in it and full harness but im not sure a brace is a good idea for that reason, still not convinced about bolt in braces, made no difference to my sierras laptimes round brands and the 3 door shells are knwn for being floppy, did have a welded in one in there afterwards but not tested seperately from other mods done at the same time, ive found more benifit in tying the strut tops to the bulkhead rather than each other, as they are feeding forces into a much stronger area.

You right about one thing I used to drive the Sierra Cossies for Ford, the 3 door lived up to it's jelly mould reputation took a lot of stiffening and bracing to get it anywhere near, things got a little better in the late 80's with the 4 door and 5 door Cossies. Strangely enough the 4 door saloons were the best handling but all of them were a step up from the RS 2000's although they were good tail out fun. Then things got really serious with the Escort Cossie and then the Focus WRC, just been doing some work on the new Focus RS and that is a cracking car.

Must admit, miss my fast Fords, now there's an admission