see post #9
Strut Tower Brace For Supercharged 5.0L
- Thread starter SPRSTNG
- Start date
see post #9
Did you run a circuit with, and one without, and compared times? One against the other for time? Or are you going by buttometer?
Yep. Ran an autocross run with it on, then off. Easy since it's only 4 bolts. Zero difference. Brand doesn't matter, either.
https://www.americanmuscle.com/frpp-lca-brace-0512.html Ties back end of K frame together. Some cars came with em oem..... some didn't. Resides just below firewall, can just see it from eng bay..... with hood up obviously.
https://www.americanmuscle.com/bmr-aarm-support-red-0514.html This DOES tie the A arms together. It resides several inches in front of, and parallel to above FRPP brace. This BMR brace resides just aft of the oil pan plug. Made from DOM.
https://www.americanmuscle.com/bmr-aarm-support-black-0514.html Hammertone black version. DOM.
https://www.steeda.com/steeda-2005-up-mustang-g-trac-brace-555-5530.html This is steeda's version of the BMR brace.... mounts in same place. CM
https://www.steeda.com/steeda-mustang-front-swaybar-mount-brace-555-8113.html Front sway bar mount braceS. Aprx 14" long, each... made from CM. https://www.americanmuscle.com/whiteline-fca-brace-0510.html whitelines version.
I have all 4 x braces below.....and the steeda STB above the eng. 5 in total.
This is on my 2010 GT auto...with Roush M90 blower + JBA LT's, Steeda eng mounts, eng lowered 1/4"... and steeda upper strut mounts, with max camber dialed in. https://www.steeda.com/steeda-mustang-upper-strut-mounts-555-8120.html
CM = chromolly steel. DOM = Drawn over mandrel.
With all 5 x braces installed, the difference is readily apparent.
Last edited:
I'm not going to argue the effectiveness or lack thereof for a 2-point strut tower brace on a modern (ie: STIFF) chassis like the S197 or S550... but saying that you did a "test" by a single autocross run on/off, or "felt no difference" is hardly a "TEST". Let's be honest with ourselves, and watch our word choices.
I'm not saying that these opinions are irrelevant, and I don't even disagree with them, but please do not confuse opinion with real testing or scientific data. This is the problem I see with social media and forum responses much of the time... impressions, feelings and buttdyno opinions often become repeated so often that they can effectively become "fact".
Just... please be careful with the word "test".
I've had the factory 2-point braces on two of our heavy track Mustangs, including our S197 at the top and our '18 GT S550 above. I am of the opinion that if Ford decided it was worth the cost and weight to add these simple braces, how can it hurt? The strut towers DO take a tremendous amount of suspension loads through them.
Now on some builds we will add a STB simply for aesthetic and convenience reasons - they can often make a great place to hang shock reservoirs onto, which need to be kept away from heat sources and easily reached for knob access.
On some chassis with weak strut towers (BMWs!) we will always add a STB, to reinforce the thin, weak strut tower sheet metal. We've see these towers crack when going over big bumps in these cars without an STB.
In a modern S197 or S550 Mustang? NEVER. Multiple layers of really beefy American steel.
In the end, keep things in perspective. These STBs do not weigh enough to worry about, either way. We are talking about 3600 pound cars and the 2-point Ford brace above weighed in at a whopping 5.1 pounds. That is a .13% change in weight. Also known as a ROUNDING ERROR...
On the S550 there is an optional 3-point component to the factory GT350 brace, shown above. Its another 10.6 pounds, for a combined total of 15.7 lbs. Again, not a big number on a 3600 pound car. This car has a LOT of metal in it.
We never even ran our 2018 GT with the extra 10.6 pound black plate steel piece, but we're putting all of the STB bits on our 2015 race car build (see above - build thread in the Vorshlag sub-forum). Why? Well... with 335mm Hoosiers loading up the strut towers + aero loading, it is just cheap insurance. We are cutting out large amounts of metal elsewhere, too... that is how significant strut tower suspension loads are
Now I am in no way advocating that the S197 and S550 track rat drivers here in any way NEED to buy a 2-point or 3-point strut tower brace. For most of us here there are better ways to spend $100-300 to make our cars faster. Other than convertibles (which are hugely compromised in torsional rigidity) these ultra stiff modern pony car chassis don't really pick up anything from the PLETHORA of bolt-on doo-dad brackets, braces and plating that so many Mustang suppliers sell. We can point to many of these parts as a symptom of the diesease called "STEELITUS". Why do so many braces and reinforcements get sold? BECAUSE MUSTANG OWNERS WILL BUY ANYTHING.
Some of these doo-dads can come in handy, however, like these Watson Racing jacking point kit on the S197 race car above. These are handy AF if you need to do a FAST tire change on one side of a car. It was stitch welded in, of course.
Same thing goes for "jacking rails" like the ones on the S550 Time Trial shown above. I doubt there is any noticeable "chassis stiffness" added (opinion!), but they are a convenient way to jack the car and not crush the pinch welds on the chassis. If you change tires a lot it might be worth it for you - again, comfort and convenience, not performance.
I just wish the companies that sold these doo-dads marketed them like this, more honestly.
Cheers,
I'm not saying that these opinions are irrelevant, and I don't even disagree with them, but please do not confuse opinion with real testing or scientific data. This is the problem I see with social media and forum responses much of the time... impressions, feelings and buttdyno opinions often become repeated so often that they can effectively become "fact".
Just... please be careful with the word "test".
I've had the factory 2-point braces on two of our heavy track Mustangs, including our S197 at the top and our '18 GT S550 above. I am of the opinion that if Ford decided it was worth the cost and weight to add these simple braces, how can it hurt? The strut towers DO take a tremendous amount of suspension loads through them.
Now on some builds we will add a STB simply for aesthetic and convenience reasons - they can often make a great place to hang shock reservoirs onto, which need to be kept away from heat sources and easily reached for knob access.
On some chassis with weak strut towers (BMWs!) we will always add a STB, to reinforce the thin, weak strut tower sheet metal. We've see these towers crack when going over big bumps in these cars without an STB.
In a modern S197 or S550 Mustang? NEVER. Multiple layers of really beefy American steel.
In the end, keep things in perspective. These STBs do not weigh enough to worry about, either way. We are talking about 3600 pound cars and the 2-point Ford brace above weighed in at a whopping 5.1 pounds. That is a .13% change in weight. Also known as a ROUNDING ERROR...
On the S550 there is an optional 3-point component to the factory GT350 brace, shown above. Its another 10.6 pounds, for a combined total of 15.7 lbs. Again, not a big number on a 3600 pound car. This car has a LOT of metal in it.
We never even ran our 2018 GT with the extra 10.6 pound black plate steel piece, but we're putting all of the STB bits on our 2015 race car build (see above - build thread in the Vorshlag sub-forum). Why? Well... with 335mm Hoosiers loading up the strut towers + aero loading, it is just cheap insurance. We are cutting out large amounts of metal elsewhere, too... that is how significant strut tower suspension loads are
Now I am in no way advocating that the S197 and S550 track rat drivers here in any way NEED to buy a 2-point or 3-point strut tower brace. For most of us here there are better ways to spend $100-300 to make our cars faster. Other than convertibles (which are hugely compromised in torsional rigidity) these ultra stiff modern pony car chassis don't really pick up anything from the PLETHORA of bolt-on doo-dad brackets, braces and plating that so many Mustang suppliers sell. We can point to many of these parts as a symptom of the diesease called "STEELITUS". Why do so many braces and reinforcements get sold? BECAUSE MUSTANG OWNERS WILL BUY ANYTHING.
Some of these doo-dads can come in handy, however, like these Watson Racing jacking point kit on the S197 race car above. These are handy AF if you need to do a FAST tire change on one side of a car. It was stitch welded in, of course.
Same thing goes for "jacking rails" like the ones on the S550 Time Trial shown above. I doubt there is any noticeable "chassis stiffness" added (opinion!), but they are a convenient way to jack the car and not crush the pinch welds on the chassis. If you change tires a lot it might be worth it for you - again, comfort and convenience, not performance.
I just wish the companies that sold these doo-dads marketed them like this, more honestly.
Cheers,
Martin Sendra
Junior Member
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2019
- Posts
- 2
- Reaction score
- 0
Martin Sendra
Junior Member
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2019
- Posts
- 2
- Reaction score
- 0
Are you still making these? I just had this same problem and am looking for a new brace like the one you made.
Similar threads
Support us!
Support Us - Become A Supporting Member Today!
Click Here For Details
Sponsor Links
