At what point did the front lower chassis brace become standard fit on the Mk1?
My '93 Eunos 1.6 has what I think is a factory fitted rear chassis brace but no front brace.
Is the front brace a simple, bolt-on modification for early 1.6 models, and am I likely to notice any benefit on my car?
Here`s what you need…Stiffened up my MK1 nicely. £20 a go from Mr fast
http://www.mx5nutz.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=25422&st=280
I have joined that forum and it wont lt me use it, does anyone else know i can get hold of him, or any of the other guys that do fron and rear braces for the mark 1
You have PM.
Front brace was introduced, with longitudinal rear braces in Sept 1993, with the introduction of the 1.8 model. Later 1.6 cars have all the hard points, but the braces themselves are deleted, to save weight.
4 major braces available; Brainstorm (and its rip-off clones from IL-Motorsport and other places on Ebay); uses a box section with tabs welded on (check that the version purchased has a good rust resistant coating), Moss (tubular, with flattened ends, a bit flexible), Cusco (extruded alumnium, hangs a bit low), Racing Beat (also extruded aluminium, proper engeeered design). There are some others, but these are the most common available in the UK. It will tie together the lower portion of the subframe, which distorts under cornering. Most people will say it tightens up the handling, though there is a hardcore who will argue that even the rear brace (added in late 1991) was only added to make the MX5 easier to drive for less able drivers. Unless you drive the car hard, I doubt you will notice much of a difference.
You can’t add a factory brace without modifiying the subframe, or fitting a later subrame. Aftermarket braces use pre-existing assembly holes to locate nuts and bolts.