Strut braces and how to fit them

Discover "Tips for fitting strut braces"

Due to the need for doors and windows in a car the whole body is subject to flexing.  For just commuting or the daily drive around town this is not a problem. 

However when driving near the limits or on the track, the flexing can seriously reduce your cornering ability. A strut brace is the solution to this problem and is actually an easy DIY modification.

The struts are located in each corner of the car and house the suspension components, namely the spring and damper.  Over time, the geometry of the struts changes, requiring camber and toe adjustments to maintain wheel alignment.

The job of the strut brace is to connect the two strut towers at the top, and give extra rigidity between the two.  Strut braces are typically machined from aluminium or steel.

These can help to reduce the separation of the strut towers in older cars. You should aim to get the towers as near to the 90 degree vertical as you can.

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The best strut braces are those which have adjustments allowing you to fine tune the setup.  These will typically have a nut and screw and one or both ends of the brace.

Fitting them is a relatively straightforward job.  Most aftermarket strut brace kits will come with complete instructions and all the required components included.

If your car has a set of screw and nuts at the top of the strut, these will typically be used to connect the strut brace to your car. 

In some vehicles there is only one nut which is directly at the top of the of the damper and this will not be suitable for connecting a strut brace.  In these circumstances it is necessary to create your own mounting points.

You will notice after fitting a strut brace that the car is more responsive on cornering, you get better feedback from the front wheels whilst steering, and the court car is able to corner at greater speeds.

Most drivers concentrates on the front struts, but you can purchase strut braces suitable for the rear struts, and these will give us slight performance benefits.

Do not confuse a strut brace with an anti roll bar.  The anti roll bar is fitted to the bottom of the suspension at the rear and prevents the rolling motion of the car which has a tendency to lift the inside wheel when cornering quickly.

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