I’m looking for views and opinions on: ND turret (‘strut’) braces
I’m about to fit a set of coilovers with 10kg / 6kg springs. It’s being used mostly on track days with 205 width track day tyres. My car is a ND SE-L model, so did not come with any upper ‘strut’ braces. While I’m swapping parts, is there any advantages to fitting front or rear (or both) braces to an ND, or am I just adding unnecessary weight?
I’ve looked at some after market braces, and they seem to have joints in them in places which makes me think they’re only ornamental and designed for cheaper shipping rather than better bracing. There is a much cheaper option on ebay with no joints, which seems like a better option, or there is this fancy Carbing brace, which looks very effective judging by its appearance, but I can’t find any way of actually purchasing it:
I realise I’ll need to change what the workshop manual refers to as an ‘airbox’ in order to fit the front brace.
I’ve just swaped the original one for a red painted IL purely for the bling as I’ve got a bit of a “red and black coordination thing going on” - it will also give me access to the top adjusters on the shocks but I don’t know why as I will never alter them anyway - but I suppose it’s better than whazzing money up a wall at the pub
Handling wise it does naff all. Bling wise it looks brill.
But I will 100% say that there is less steering wheel vibration with my 1 piece Cusco one fitted, than there was with the OEM mazda 3 piece one. Feels much more pleasant at traffic lights etc.
The auto doesn’t have it, plus some of the underbody braces are missing as well. I think the only way to find out for definite is point loading various pick up points and and measuring body deflection.
A lot of manufacturer fitted braces are for NVH reduction. The front strut brace on the NC (at least) for instance is to combat ‘scuttle shake’.
Back in the 80s and beyond some chassis were a bit floppy and additional bracing was sometimes useful, those days are gone, but still this rubbish is sold and bought because old habits die hard.
If any tube or bar which connects two points together has a bend in it walk away, it’s utterly pointless. Think about it.
The other rule already alluded to; if a race car hasn’t got it, you don’t need it either.
Sits back and waits to see if some muppet uses an isolated post start another thread…
Also, if it’s got any single bolt joints in it (as the OEM one) it is not going to be as stiff as a single welded fabrication without any bolted joints.
I have to say the one shown in the original post looks like a well thought out design and would do a much better job then most.
Well it’s relatively straight and straighter than most and has a brace going direct from turret top to turret top. I wouldn’t put it as useless though. It is far better than the OEM job and if you had to have one it is the best that I have seen. I would say that there will be more give in the suspension bushes than this. Personally, I wouldn’t bother though.
Again, unnecessary is completely subjective. It obviously meets some criteria/target that Mazda have for the vehicle. If it was ‘useless’ as has been described with some of the other features, it wouldn’t be on the car. Any object/system on the vehicle increases the vehicles CO2 g/km emissions, and costs money to design, manufacture, and assemble. Designers need good justification for keeping these things on-car.
With regards to the Front Strut Brace, I agree with DuratecNC, that it is most likely there for NVH purposes. It only seems to be there on 2.0L manuals, so it is likely there to eliminate high frequency structural vibration that is ‘unacceptable’ by Mazda standards for this configuration.
Thanks for all your views! I went ahead and fitted the coilovers and didn’t fit any additional braces at the same time. I don’t think there are that many ND2 2.0 SE-L Nav+ models about. I have no factory upper brace, no sound tube, and no bilstein dampers. I do still have the LSD. And I’ve just found I have no auto headlight levelling (assuming I’m looking in the right place). That explains why the headlamps didn’t aim lower despite the car now being much lower at the back, which initially surprised me. My one year older ND2 1.5 SE-L Nav+ did have auto levelling on the lights.
Edit: According to the spec sheet I should have auto headlight levelling. I’ll double check under the car!
The ND2 does have auto leveling but it does NOT have the electro/mechanical actuating lever arrangement under the rear.
You can manually adjust the height/aim on all versions if needed.
That would be my conclusion as well.
If you find that the height is not to you liking then manual adjustment is still available using good old fashioned ‘tools’.
I’m guessing they now have an accelerometer / gyro somewhere so the level depends on the car’s pitch, rather than the height of the rear of the car.
I know my 1.5 ND2 had levelling because I pointed the headlamps at my garage door and leaned on the back of the car. I could see the lights adjust themselves. I assumed at the time that there was a lever under the back of the car, but I never actually looked. I guess there wasn’t one.
I can’t easily test the levelling in my 2.0 now I have 6kg springs on the back… I’d have to add a load of bricks to the boot!
I’ll stop worrying about it now and will adjust it manually if needed.
Rodders, does your roll cage extend to the turret tops?
I did a track day a couple of weekends ago where it was raining on an off. When cornering hard I believe I had a few drips of water leak in between the roof and the windscreen, just behind the interior light. Certainly something small fell sideways from that position several times, but I was concentrating on other things at the time. I’m not saying it’s a problem or that I think a brace would sort it. Just an observation that might be relevant to the discussion.
