Strut brace that will fit top mount super charger

[Bobby57]

Hey folks.... New member, and first post in the forum. Also sorry to resurrect an old thread, but there is limited info out there on this topic, and this is probably the best thread online to address it.

When I bought my current car ('21 6spd PP GT) and was doing my Roushifying research, this was a question that consumed me. I had a 2017 non PP car previously with 20" factory wheels. In that configuration, you got the lower K brace, but not the strut brace. I added the strut brace to that car, and it in fact makes a very noticeable difference if you like to toss the car around a lot.

That being said, if I was going to bolt a supercharger to the new car and push it past 750HP, I didn't want to give up any handling or stiffness. The Ford dealer that did my car, has kept the brace on all of their builds by simply using spacers under the brace. It is very tight, but it does in fact work. The hood liner can also stay on the car as well. In fact a nice side effect it, it pretty much completely reduces hood flutter, and the brace makes enough contact with the hood liner to keep it very stiff. There is also just barely enough thread left on the bolts on the drivers side to make this work as well.

Anyway, I am pretty sure this is a common question for people looking at the Roush kits, and I have used this forum a lot over the years as a lurker to answer a lot questions I've had with my cars, so I felt I'd give a little back to help anyone else with this issue. Attached is a pic of the brace, and of course the required garage shot. Up here our Mustangs are in hibernation until May.

Cheers from Canada.

Sometimes the best solutions are the simple, inelegant ones. ...and it cuts down on hood flutter, to boot!

I wound up putting down $230 plus shipping from Germany for a brace that fit over my Roush 2.3 SC. It never occurred to me to take your approach. Here is the first one I bought. I since replaced it with one with a matte black finish and put this aluminum finished one up for sale.

Thanks for posting this!

I

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[Stang 19]

I still have my strut tower brace off of my 2019 PP2 that I am giving away. Local pick up only (South Bay Area, Ca.) if you can use it. Please PM me.

 

[FUN2RIDEFAST]

I saw an Orange Roushcharged GT with factory strut brace on American Muscle. Not sure how he pulled it off.

He cut out the bottom to make it fit thus rendering it non functional.

 

[Matthewstorm]

My stock strut tower fits after the dealer installed an engine lowering kit.

 

[SH!FT]

The Ford dealer that did my car, has kept the brace on all of their builds by simply using spacers under the brace. It is very tight, but it does in fact work. The hood liner can also stay on the car as well. In fact a nice side effect it, it pretty much completely reduces hood flutter, and the brace makes enough contact with the hood liner to keep it very stiff. There is also just barely enough thread left on the bolts on the drivers side to make this work as well.

Awesome post Trevor!

• Am I correct by saying that the top of the factory nut is now flush with the top of the driver side studs?
• Did the dealer have a solid spacer for each stud or just stack some washers?

It would be super helpfully if you could post a picture from this angle to show the spacer(s).

Thanks!

 

[Rickycardo]

If you're trying to determine how much room you have between the supercharger and your hood here's an old school trick.
Loosely crumple a ball of tin foil and place it on top of the SC then close the hood all the way. When you open the hood the foil ball will be as thick as the gap between hood and SC.
We used to do that to figure out how tall the air cleaner would be on our old rides.

 

[FUN2RIDEFAST]

I have a Roush Phase 2 kit on my 2019 GT and was successful at placing the strut tower brace in place with no bolts secured and it fit and I was able to close the hood. This tells me there is enough clearance but it was minimal at best. you will need 1/2~3/4 inch spacer under the brace.
It would just be a matter of finding the perfect spacer size.
I know you will have at least 1/4 inch over the blower and 1/4 inch under the hood.
Maybe add a rubber pad between the hood and brace?

Did you finish the project and did it work? I'm going to give it a shot today.

 

[imxz28]

I did not finish the project. Sold my Mustang and have a 2023 z06 on order. If GM ever decides to release the darn thing. It's been a rollercoaster.

 

[Matthewstorm]

I did not finish the project. Sold my Mustang and have a 2023 z06 on order. If GM ever decides to release the darn thing. It's been a rollercoaster.

You paying 100k over MSRP?

 

[imxz28]

$100k over MSRP is insane. Lucky for me I placed a deposit for a Z06 in Feb of 2020. Should be at straight up MSRP

 

[rjoseph1960]

Awesome post Trevor!

• Am I correct by saying that the top of the factory nut is now flush with the top of the driver side studs?
• Did the dealer have a solid spacer for each stud or just stack some washers?

It would be super helpfully if you could post a picture from this angle to show the spacer(s).

Thanks!

After reading your post, I installed 4 Spacer under the Cross Brace, and my mounting nut are now flush with the top of the stud. I added a few drops of Red TherdLocker, just to make sure it won't come loose. Now the brace clears the supercharger.
The only part of adding the Roush Supercharger I did not like, was leaving the Cross Brace off.
Thank you for your Post.
Bob Joseph

 

[Matthewstorm]

My dealer lowered my engine to get the strut brace to fit.

 

[Angrey]

The issue isn't getting to clear the blower. That's easy. It's getting enough space between the blower and the hood so that you don't have rubbing or rattling contact. Which is ostensibly why the GT500 brace goes around the blower and behind it. After installing my whipple, I realized why the issue isn't all that big of a deal. The triangle brace bolts to the back of the engine bay and stiffens the towers already. While it has some miniscule amount of natural elasticity, the towers would have to move well beyond that, to the point of permanently bending them for the driver to notice any appreciable suspension differences (beyond placebo).

 

[monte87]

Hey folks.... New member, and first post in the forum. Also sorry to resurrect an old thread, but there is limited info out there on this topic, and this is probably the best thread online to address it.

When I bought my current car ('21 6spd PP GT) and was doing my Roushifying research, this was a question that consumed me. I had a 2017 non PP car previously with 20" factory wheels. In that configuration, you got the lower K brace, but not the strut brace. I added the strut brace to that car, and it in fact makes a very noticeable difference if you like to toss the car around a lot.

That being said, if I was going to bolt a supercharger to the new car and push it past 750HP, I didn't want to give up any handling or stiffness. The Ford dealer that did my car, has kept the brace on all of their builds by simply using spacers under the brace. It is very tight, but it does in fact work. The hood liner can also stay on the car as well. In fact a nice side effect it, it pretty much completely reduces hood flutter, and the brace makes enough contact with the hood liner to keep it very stiff. There is also just barely enough thread left on the bolts on the drivers side to make this work as well.

Anyway, I am pretty sure this is a common question for people looking at the Roush kits, and I have used this forum a lot over the years as a lurker to answer a lot questions I've had with my cars, so I felt I'd give a little back to help anyone else with this issue. Attached is a pic of the brace, and of course the required garage shot. Up here our Mustangs are in hibernation until May.

Cheers from Canada.

Hi, thanks for the great information. What size are the spacers under the brace? I am in same situation w my 21 GT w roush blower and would love to retain the upper brace.
Thanks Anthony

 

[FUN2RIDEFAST]

I went the expensive route and bought a strut bar from a German shop that makes them for supercharged applications and stock hoods from what I can observe. Their website is in German, but Google translate does a great job of translating it to English. Looks like they have strut towers for the 2018 models, mines is a 2017. I got mine through the forums from Schropp Tuning @N/Angel. website to them is here: (https://www.schropp-tuningshop.com/cat/index/sCategory/525980). There is also another guy from the Carbon Fiber Addicts Anonymous Thread who did it too:



Here's mines, but I do like that GT500 brace though:

Can you please tell me who to contact for one of these. Thank you

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