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ford strut tower brace - with and without.

Tim_

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Here in the UK we get the performance pack as standard however Ford never fitted the strut tower brace because they never had a RHD part available at the time of launch, Ford did however release a RHD strut brace sometime after the Mustang launched. We get everything else from the performance pack and all the other bracing for the convertible.

So for those who have driven with and without a strut tower brace, what difference did you notice?
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FreedomPenguin

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I installed one, could be placebo but I felt like it stiffened it up in long winding turns just a little, I bought it for aesthetic reasoning though. Mine isn't just a brace over engine though, its the rear cowl piece, I believe that provides more support than the bar itself. It has way more mounting points and a massive brace compared to just the bar fender to fender.
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Redcruzer

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You will notice it does stiffen things up a bit. Whether that’s good or bad is up to you. The cowl brace does quite a bit of the work already. I find the ride to be a tad rougher. Some days it bothers me but it looks to good to take it off.
 

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It's a "game of inches" so to speak, everything you do to stiffen up the chassis I believe contributes a bit. Given that's it's not that expensive, looks pretty neat under the hood, is an easy install, it seems like it's in the "why not?" category (and I'd say the concern over any additional NVH isn't necessary).
 

Redcruzer

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It's a "game of inches" so to speak, everything you do to stiffen up the chassis I believe contributes a bit. Given that's it's not that expensive, looks pretty neat under the hood, is an easy install, it seems like it's in the "why not?" category (and I'd say the concern over any additional NVH isn't necessary).

NVH might not be an issue to you. Could be it’s the heavier GT front end, but I bought my car for longer road trips in the West and it is an issue to me. It’s an individual thing. I certainly recommend one for the reasons you stated above The Ford Performance brace includes the cowl brace verts already have. I donated my spare to a base GT guy who's car didnt come with one.
 
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Tim_

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I know Ford wouldn’t have fitted it to PP cars unless it did something, they’re not known to chuck money away for nothing.

How about cowl shake and turn in?
 

CVCashmere

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Until your chassis is stiffer, it does not make sense to put stronger swaybars and springs on a car. With a stiff chassis, your suspension does not have to work as hard to keep the car level.

Flexing chassis are not conducive to accurate cornering.

CVCashmere
 
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Tim_

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Until your chassis is stiffer, it does not make sense to put stronger swaybars and springs on a car. With a stiff chassis, your suspension does not have to work as hard to keep the car level.

Flexing chassis are not conducive to accurate cornering.

CVCashmere
I’m not going to touch the suspension on the car.
 

boB

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I installed one, could be placebo but I felt like it stiffened it up in long winding turns just a little, I bought it for aesthetic reasoning though. Mine isn't just a brace over engine though, its the rear cowl piece, I believe that provides more support than the bar itself. It has way more mounting points and a massive brace compared to just the bar fender to fender.
IMG_6618.JPG
Not exactly a direct comparison but I installed one on my '94 Z28 convertible and felt like it helped stiffen the chassis. Maybe it's the placebo effect: when we spend that much $$$ and time installing something we *swear* it made a difference! ;) If I had a convertible Mustang I would install the brace.
 

TommyCardello

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Here are my 2 cents.

I installed strut tower brace on 3 bolts from CJ pony parts.
I daily drive my 2016 EcoBoost convertible.
When calmly driving to the office, I don't feel any difference.
I think it's a placebo effect if you feel something while driving calmly.

However, when I occasionally drive on mountain roads, I can definitely feel the difference.
Car feels stiffer and more stable on sharp, high-speed turns.

I'd say, if you are going to put car close to its limit – strut bar will help.
If you NEVER drive aggressively, then I'm not sure how beneficial it'll be for you.


BTW, it was a birthday present, so I didn't spend money on it, hence will not make any claims unless I actually feel something.
 

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Evidently it makes a noticeable difference on our EcoVert. We picked up the car from the Performance shop that does our cars tonight and they put the factory strut tower brace that came on my GTPP on the vert (wouldn't fit on the GTPP with the Whipple). She called me on the drive home and said the frontend felt noticeably more solid on the bumpy highway. I had followed her most of the way and she was only cruising along at 75mph.
 

CVCashmere

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Strut bars and K braces work. I remember the strut bar I placed on my Maxima and that definitely stopped some of the flexing.

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GW65

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I'm sure they work - after all, the front end of the car is basically a box with no bottom or lid, so any braces that act as corner stiffeners, or a partial top or bottom are bound to help. How noticeable that is, and at what point you hit diminishing returns is another matter. Either way, they look nice! Hopefully I'll be able to do a comparison soon as I have a reasonaly priced take-off brace arriving imminently from the US courtesy of a well-known auction site - baulked at the idea of paying ÂŁ400 for a Ford Performance brace in the UK just to get the RHD spacers when a bit of machining should sort out the take-off at ÂŁ150 including shipping and duty.
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