Engine bay brace

[Barry]

Looking for opinions on adding a Ford strut brace over the top of the engine to a 2019 GT 5.0 stock standard Mustang. Cars delivered to Australia came without these and I've been advised that they improve body rigidity and reduce body flex when cornering. Any advice would be appreciated.

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[ice445]

I recommend it. Do you have the black firewall brace that goes to each strut tower or nothing at all? You need the complete set for it to be worth imo

 

[vaeevictiss]

I kept mine on for years assuming it made some massive difference to handling. I always hate it though because it just made it difficult to do anything, especially simply checking the oil.

Got my transmission rebuilt by Scott Richardson a couple weeks ago and asked his thoughts on it while we were shooting the shit. He said they aren't worth keeping on and wouldn't change much if anything.

Got home and took it off and while i haven't gotten really crazy with it since removing it, i can't tell a difference.

I do have the performance pack however which also comes with the firewall brace (not positive if the base has this, thought i read it was a PP thing) and I've read that does far more for the handling than the strut tower bar. Technically, it is a strut tower bar that also straps to the firewall.

 

[SBR70.3]

"they improve body rigidity and reduce body flex when cornering " is what the people selling them will say. I took had the Steeda brace on for about 30k miles. Took it off and can not feel a difference. That money is better spent on things like springs/dampers, control arms, IRS supports, tires, bushings, etc.


Any Explorer ST owners in here? The strut tower "braces" are laughably flexy. They serve as a place to put tools on when changing oil and that's about it.

 

[stannypack]

Mine's just a daily and there's no where I could push it hard enough to notice a difference on or off. I just like how it looks in the engine bay

 

[HKusp]

They have done studies, Mishimoto for one. There is less than 1 % deflection on the S550 chassis. People like the looks of them, but they do absolutely NOTHING on this chassis.

 

[SBR70.3]

They have done studies, Mishimoto for one. There is less than 1 % deflection on the S550 chassis. People like the looks of them, but they do absolutely NOTHING on this chassis.

I conducted a study (n=1) and found a significant increase in the difficulty of checking the oil level when the brace was installed.

 

[SheepDog]

I doubt that Ford would go through the trouble and cost of installing these on every PP GT, MACH1, GT350 if they did nothing.

 

[HKusp]

I doubt that Ford would go through the trouble and cost of installing these on every PP GT, MACH1, GT350 if they did nothing.

They would if it cost them $8 and they add it to a package that cost them $600 and they charge the consumer $3,000+ for it.

 

[GT Cruiser]

I conducted a study (n=1) and found a significant increase in the difficulty of checking the oil level when the brace was installed.

Make that n=2.
looks cool though.

 

[Keeffa]

I got the Steeda brace because I liked the look of it and you can reach between the bars to check the oil.
I also fitted the Steeda k frame brace which I felt made a difference to the way the car steers. Just felt a little sharper when pushing it.

 

[Superspirit]

I got the Steeda brace because I liked the look of it and you can reach between the bars to check the oil.
I also fitted the Steeda k frame brace which I felt made a difference to the way the car steers. Just felt a little sharper when pushing it.

This was my experience also as my gt came with no brace I then found the thread on all the pp bracing and ordered and instslled all that. Made the car feel better, then came steeda rear braces and bushings even better so now comes the sway bars and endlinks. Finally came the steeda min drop springs. This is now the best handling car I've ever driven. Yes the front strut tower brace makes a difference when you push it in the twisties.

 

[K4fxd]

I forgot to install the bolts on mine one time when I changed intake manifolds. It popped off the studs in a fairly tame corner. Yes it does help.

 

[ice445]

They have done studies, Mishimoto for one. There is less than 1 % deflection on the S550 chassis. People like the looks of them, but they do absolutely NOTHING on this chassis.

The entire package improves turn in for sure. You can call it placebo i guess but I've owned both back to back and the difference is small, but there.

 

[GrabberBargeCaptain]

I think that big chunk of steel of a firewall brace does a lot of the heavy lifting tbh, but yes you will feel the steering get a decent bit more direct. It's not a mod that you will be able to quantify really. Anything to help the shitty modern car steering of these cars is probably worth it imo.

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