Chassis braces

[Vidal Baboon]

Are they worth doing?

I'm contemplating doing some small upgrades for both aesthetical reasons & to make it drive a little smoother.

I'm thinking, Apex springs, chassis braces & front/rear strut braces.
Depending on the condition of the shocks will dictate whether I replace them at that time.


Regarding the strut brace, I've seen one which bolts to the bulkhead in the engine bay & then to both strut turrets, is this better than the one which go directly across? I still need to be able to work on the engine, so will the diagonal bars make that tricky?

Also, i'm putting the original minilite style wheels back on, are there any recomendations for a good tyre?

[MX-5 Lazza]

Chassis braces under the car - most definitely.
Front strut brace - makes a small bit of difference. The 3-points are supposed to be the best but not sure you'd notice the difference between them.
Rear strut brace - tiny difference if any and only worth doing if you get one dirt cheap (like free).

[Vidal Baboon]

Any recomendations on tyre choice?

[towelie]

hi, ive got falken ziex 912's 185/60 r14 there ok have a nice amount of grip, but not too much..pretty cheap aswell. only thing is, i think there quite soft ive done nearly 2000 miles on them and ive probably only got 3 mm on them left, but i do drive quite enthusiastically

[jazzybee]

The rear brace - Do you mean across the back of the seats in the cabin? It came as standard on the 1.8s, but not fitted to the early 1.6s. If so, then yes they do make a difference reducing scuttle shake. I would say front and rear chassis braces are essential as is the rear cabin brace - I have the front brace across the turrets - came with the car, but out of all of these, this should be the last option.

[The Tea Boy]

towelie said:

hi, ive got falken ziex 912's

i have these too, seem pretty good, although not so good if getting enthusiastic in the dry (lots of squeel on spinning and sliding) but good for the price. not sure how much bridgestone potenzas cost, but had them on the car when i brought it and were fantastic in both wet and dry.

Matt

[MX-5 Lazza]

He said rear strut brace which is the one that goes between the rear suspension mounts (like the one under the bonnet at the front).
I agree that the rear cabin brace is well worth having though

[Vidal Baboon]

Are there bolt holes in place on the 1.6 for the brace behind the seats?

[skinny]

nope - but you can still do it, you just need to hold the nut on underneath as there is not one captive

[Vidal Baboon]

Thanks for the info. Does anyone have any pictures of this brace and where it bolts to?

[B3njamin]

I had an epic job getting it in, but the 4 point bolt-in roll bar I fitted some weeks ago has stiffened the chassis up nicely and looks good.

[towelie]

B3njamin said:

I had an epic job getting it in, but the 4 point bolt-in roll bar I fitted some weeks ago has stiffened the chassis up nicely and looks good.

+1