Steeda Extreme G-Trac Brace Now Available

[2wheels4me]

Mine is in my garage but not yet installed. Hopefully by or before Saturday...

Sponsored

 

[tj@steeda]

Keep us updated as to the before & after the install!

Best Regards.

TJ

 

[2wheels4me]

Scheduled for installation tomorrow morning at eight.

 

[2wheels4me]

Installed the G-Trac Brace this morning at my favorite installation/service dealer for $47. How good is that???

The feel and handling is greatly improved for backroads driving and hard cornering with the G-Trac Brace. Really. The car already had the Steeda springs and sway bars, each of which gave very noticeable and necessary improvements in cornering and roll reduction, not to mention cornering confidence that just wasn't quite there with just the stock PP setup. The G-brace makes the car feel more solid and makes for near-instant turn-in now. Confidence when cornering pretty darn hard has gone another step higher. It's almost like a slot car now.

Folks, if you have done the springs and sways, get this next. I was shocked at the improvement. It probably needs the other two items first to fully realize the benefits of this brace, but this mod makes the handling closer than ever to being flat awesome for a muscle car on the street. It is much more of a true sports car now.

Very well designed and necessary product; go get yourself one if you love handling precision. Great job, Steeda.

 

[Ryan1112]

Good to hear that it's that big a difference. I had the g-trac brace for my 05 and it was only a very small improvement. Sounds like I'll have to get one of these.

 

[2wheels4me]

Good to hear that it's that big a difference. I had the g-trac brace for my 05 and it was only a very small improvement. Sounds like I'll have to get one of these.

The noticeability of the product will be subtle until you push the car a bit hard, like some of us do here in twisty-canyon country in SoCal. Driving on straight flat roads you can still notice a feel of increased solidity under you and in front of you, though.

BTW, was the brace for your 05 just the straight brace, rather than the K-shape of this one??

 

[Ryan1112]

Yeah, it was a straight brace. I didn't even notice the difference until I autocrossed it.

 

[2wheels4me]

Yeah, it was a straight brace. I didn't even notice the difference until I autocrossed it.

I'm guessing that the K-shape of the S550 brace with four attach points, two of which are close to the front axles, would make a big difference.

 

[icarumba]

Will this work on a convertible? I'm thinking that convertibles may already have some extra bracing that the coupes don't have, perhaps causing fitment issues.

And have you had a chance to check fitment of your STB on convertibles yet?

 

[2wheels4me]

Good question!

 

[Youngmustang]

Installed the G-Trac Brace this morning at my favorite installation/service dealer for $47. How good is that???

The feel and handling is greatly improved for backroads driving and hard cornering with the G-Trac Brace. Really. The car already had the Steeda springs and sway bars, each of which gave very noticeable and necessary improvements in cornering and roll reduction, not to mention cornering confidence that just wasn't quite there with just the stock PP setup. The G-brace makes the car feel more solid and makes for near-instant turn-in now. Confidence when cornering pretty darn hard has gone another step higher. It's almost like a slot car now.

Folks, if you have done the springs and sways, get this next. I was shocked at the improvement. It probably needs the other two items first to fully realize the benefits of this brace, but this mod makes the handling closer than ever to being flat awesome for a muscle car on the street. It is much more of a true sports car now.

How does your 15 compare to your 911 with these suspension upgrades?

 

[2wheels4me]

How does your 15 compare to your 911 with these suspension upgrades?

Long answer:

It's a lot closer, but they are still very different cars with differing personalities. The Porsche's capabilities are WAY up there; it is really hard to have it put a foot wrong. It weighs almost 500 pounds less and costs three times as much (it was a lifelong dream finally realizable after finally paying off my mortgage on my modest house) and has a really low center of gravity and superb suspension. It also has the amazing Porsche PDK double-clutch transmission that reads your mind.

My expectations for the Mustang GT were quite different; I wanted a car that was inexpensive, powerful, gutteral, with decent handling and much fun but still with good looks and build quality, all of which the stock S550 has in spades. Given the Porsche's amazing attributes, I expected the Mustang to be a daily driver that would still entertain me. What I didn't expect was to fall in love as much as I have with its inherent capabilities and potential.

The FRPP exhaust really woke the car up and personalized the car for me, making it REALLY fun on the backroads even with the stock PP suspension. But, because of these forums, it started becoming clear to me that it could handle too with some more personalizing mods, including the Steeda products that I have lauded. I decided to take a step-by-step approach so that I could register the effects of each change, even expecting that some of them could negatively affect the car, which, luckily, none of them did.

First the Steeda springs greatly improved the cg and handling and I was pleasantly and excitedly surprised. Then with just that as my suspension mod, I drove the Porsche and the Stang back-to-back; one was as fun as the other, but the Porsche still could corner more effortlessly. SO, I ordered the Steeda sway bars, and suddenly the yet improved cornering and new lack of body roll made it a closer fight. Yes, the Porsche was still more assured in the same turns, but they were no longer wildly different in their abilities. The Mustang could still do it well and almost as fast as the Porsche (for backroad driving), but without the full assurance that the Porsche always gives you.

With the G-Trac Brace the car feels REALLY reassuring and confidence inspiring like never before and makes the car overall a more solid piece. Time for another back-to-back, but I know it will be even closer this time.

In any case, it now handles way better than a 3800 pound, $38,400 (after XPlan and incentives) car with $1200 parts and labor changes to the suspension has any right to, and is a thoroughly enjoyable and fun car that handles better than many if not most of cars of its own ilk.

I really love it now more than ever. As I do my Porsche, and as I do my much-modded little Fiat 500 that is a little terror. They are all different cars for different moods.

But, damn, that Mustang really handles well now on the backroads that I love so much far better than I ever thought possible. And I'm kind of picky...

And that high-revving V8 sound pumped through the FRPP (Borla) exhaust! Whoa!

 

[cyril185]

Stupid question : what's the difference in effect and feel between more rigid sway bars and this?

 

[2wheels4me]

Stupid question : what's the difference in effect and feel between more rigid sway bars and this?

No such thing as a stupid question when one is trying to understand...

The more rigid sway bars significantly reduced roll and helped the car's spring rate further, making up/down motion more controlled and unified from front to rear during cornering and traversing uneven pavement. Bumps are dealt with quickly with less aftermotion, allowing the suspension to be ready for whatever comes next. With that motion controlled better, the car was more stable while executing turns. The car felt more confident when going through turns, rarely feeling like it could "lose it."

The brace reduced front chassis flex for the components that attach to the front subframe, which is now more fixed relative to the car body, helping with initial turn-in precision and stability, and allowing the front suspension a more solid platform from which it can do its job. It makes the car feel more solid and makes the steering more precise, also contributing to stability while executing turns. The concern about "losing it' is even less now, even when pushing it pretty darn hard.

Side note: Many folks have complained about Pirellis not being as grippy as Michelins, and probably for good reasons. But I have Pirellis on my Porsche and now also as stock fitment on my much improved Mustang, and both handle exceedingly well and have plenty of grip. I think that the Pirellis just need a really good suspension to do well.

 

[HalfMoon]

I installed mine last week and have just over 1200 miles on the car with the brace, but I'm not seeing the extremely obvious results that 2wheels4me is seeing.

Don't get me wrong, the car is slightly tighter feeling in hard cornering and I think it's worth the money, but nowhere near feeling like a HUGE improvement. For the price of the unit I cannot complain for sure and I really didn't expect this brace to make some night and day difference.

For reference, I drive my cars hard. I have a long commute that includes a 20 mile moderately fun mountain road and a 15 mile twisty back road that has some great turns. In my C7 and previously on my C6 Grand Sport I would ruin a set of Michelin PSS in 8k miles. My very modified Golf R with KW coil overs only lasted 11k miles on the PSS before they were shot. As a comparison, the PSS usually last much longer, on my slightly modified 2011 GTI I was able to keep the tires for 20k miles, but I drove that car more normally since all it had for suspension was springs.

My overall feeling is that the S550 can use all the suspension and brace upgrades you can afford. Overcoming the weight of the car to make it handle as good as it could takes some effort. With the Steeda swaybars, springs and brace it's a really good package, but I can't wait for the coil over options to become more available and mate those adjustable dampers with my Steeda bars.

The Steeda parts are top shelf and their service and support are second to none in my opinion. I don't think anyone that is considering these parts should have any reservations, the parts are a steal for the price you pay and the quality of goods.

Sponsored