Braces

[Petrus]

Cause I noticed that my 05 seems more flexing than my previous 03.

That makes no sense. The 05 should be as the 03.
Screwing a brace under would mask the symptom of something else going on.
First check the basics; shocks, measure ride hight, check the subframe, check the OEM bracing brackets etc.

[Carolyn]

David and I just went up to Sywell for a special 'Solstice lunch'.  We gave the new brace a proper work-out.

The car is truly, honestly, transformed. So pleased with the result.

[jonbill]

David and I just went up to Sywell for a special 'Solstice lunch'.  We gave the new brace a proper work-out.

The car is truly, honestly, transformed. So pleased with the result.

Brace sounds like it's as good as it looked when I saw it a few weeks ago.
I reckon you're a day early for the solstice celebration though!

[Carolyn]

David and I just went up to Sywell for a special 'Solstice lunch'.  We gave the new brace a proper work-out.

The car is truly, honestly, transformed. So pleased with the result.

Brace sounds like it's as good as it looked when I saw it a few weeks ago.
I reckon you're a day early for the solstice celebration though!

You must come by and give it a test drive.  I always do solstice on the 21st!

[steveash]

Super-brace arrived safely at the garage, thank you Carolyn. They were all wondering what it was! May be some time before I can get over there and get it fitted but the instructions look excellent.

[Carolyn]

Super-brace arrived safely at the garage, thank you Carolyn. They were all wondering what it was! May be some time before I can get over there and get it fitted but the instructions look excellent.

Let me know how you get on.

[Gaz2405]

Did you get your minimum order in the end Carolyn?

Only asking as I'll take one if there's one left

If not no worries.

[Carolyn]

Did you get your minimum order in the end Carolyn?

Only asking as I'll take one if there's one left

If not no worries.

Sorry - all gone!

There's an other list started.  Do you want to go on it?  Price is going up, though. £250, I'm afraid. I really under-charged on the first lot.

[Gaz2405]

Not to worry, I was in two minds with this and the Barbarian one.

As I've got the Barbarian front brace, so I'll go with the Barbarian so it all matches under the car. (that no one can see!) 😂

Good luck with the next batch!

[steveash]

Did you get your minimum order in the end Carolyn?

Only asking as I'll take one if there's one left

If not no worries.

Sorry - all gone!

There's an other list started.  Do you want to go on it?  Price is going up, though. £250, I'm afraid. I really under-charged on the first lot.

Oh dear, I'd be happy to pay the difference Carolyn. Wouldn't want you to be out of pocket.

[Carolyn]

Did you get your minimum order in the end Carolyn?

Only asking as I'll take one if there's one left

If not no worries.

Sorry - all gone!

There's an other list started.  Do you want to go on it?  Price is going up, though. £250, I'm afraid. I really under-charged on the first lot.

Oh dear, I'd be happy to pay the difference Carolyn. Wouldn't want you to be out of pocket.

That's lovely of you, Steve.  What a Gent. However, a deal is a deal. I named a price, so that's it!

I'm not actually out of pocket, I just didn't realise how many woman-hours I would have into them.

That's how one learns!

 

[steveash]

Did you get your minimum order in the end Carolyn?

Only asking as I'll take one if there's one left

If not no worries.

Sorry - all gone!

There's an other list started.  Do you want to go on it?  Price is going up, though. £250, I'm afraid. I really under-charged on the first lot.

Oh dear, I'd be happy to pay the difference Carolyn. Wouldn't want you to be out of pocket.

That's lovely of you, Steve.  What a Gent. However, a deal is a deal. I named a price, so that's it!

I'm not actually out of pocket, I just didn't realise how many woman-hours I would have into them.

That's how one learns!

 

Fair enough. I'll hopefully get the opportunity to return the favour at some point.

[Carolyn]

Thank you DPD!


'Igla' has been in touch.  His brace has finally been delivered to his home in Slovenia, after some dithering by DPD.

They have managed do damage a lump of powder=crated steel, in transit.  I took special extra packaging precautions of the corners with bubble-wrap and gaffer tape.

Must have been thrown onto a hard surface, from height.

Nothing that can't be fixed quite simply, but just so disappoinitng.

He's been a real gent about it.

[J88TEO]

Mine arrived with small dings and scratches - Parcel Force is not much better that DPD!
Couriers are couriers - I have seen them load and unload parcels at their depots.
They don't care - parcels with "fragile" stickers are just thrown from the van onto the conveyor belts!

[igla]

Man my kitchen floor is a mess Well, i don't know how to treat the areas where the powdercoat was damaged... maybe some paint and then some undercoat over it?

[Carolyn]

I'd touch them in with an artist's brush and some decent paint. Modeller's enamel (like Humbrol) would be perfect. Several coats.

Edit:  It's not going to be seen.  Well hidden under the car.  The main thing is to prevent rust. 

[Chilli Girl]

Thank you DPD!


'Igla' has been in touch.  His brace has finally been delivered to his home in Slovenia, after some dithering by DPD.

They have managed do damage a lump of powder=crated steel, in transit.  I took special extra packaging precautions of the corners with bubble-wrap and gaffer tape.

Must have been thrown onto a hard surface, from height.

Nothing that can't be fixed quite simply, but just so disappoinitng.

He's been a real gent about it.

This reminds me of Bahnstormer's hardtop that we packed so well for Nvy last year and that arrived damaged.  It was so well packaged and the couriers still managed to damage a corner.  Bloody annoying.

[J88TEO]

All,
I bought one from Carolyn but decided to keep my 2 standard.
With Carolyn's permission I am offering this at cost to members here - £190.00 inclusve of postage to UK mainland only.
Thanks.

[mschol17]

All,
I bought one from Carolyn but decided to keep my 2 standard.
With Carolyn's permission I am offering this at cost to members here - £190.00 inclusve of postage to UK mainland only.
Thanks.

Interested- pm sent

[Carolyn]

I'm afraid we may be operating outside the club rues here.

While this thread is not a 'for sale' thread, deals must be done openly, not by PM.

I believe Joe has agreed to sell the brace to Boris ('Snelbaard').

I'll send some messages and try to clear this up.

[J88TEO]

Carolyn,
Apologies for this.
Will post it here when I next log in.
Some interest but nothing confirm yet.
Regards.

[mschol17]

I am interested, but obviously want to comply with the board rules.

[Snelbaard]

In order to comply with board rules I'd like to formally call dibs.

[J88TEO]

All,
Apologies if this has violated club rules.
This has been sold to Snelbaard STP etc...
Thanks.
Joe

[shnazzle]

Just fitted my AutoDiverse "Carolyn's" brace this weekend at C's workshop. Fit like a glove. 

One thing that you'll notice when you unpack it is the amount of work put into this brace. It's not just a couple of metal pipes welded together. Tabs are strengthened, cuts are considered, brackets fit perfectly. Then there's the pipe bracket you get, made of stainless sheet metal. Super light, won't rust, but a lovely touch to make sure your pipes are kept in place in an OEM-way.

Fitting time commences and the instructions are thorough. The biggest challenge is making sure your bolts come out without shearing. Especially the 2x 10mm (M6) bolts at the back middle of the brace. Make sure you plus gas the day in advance. Thoroughly and into the rail where the captive nuts sit.

Bolts out, marry it up, put bolts in. None required "work" with the exception of one little bolt hole on the center part. Bit of filing, sorted. 5 minute detour from instructions. This brace was very thoroughly measured for the MR2. That's for certain. 

Results:
I had a TTE brace before this, which as we all know is very effective indeed. It really ties the frame together and makes the car behave like a structurally more significant car.
This brace takes that up a notch. It's MUCH stiffer. It does not flex. It's box steel segments and it's immensely solid, while still light. This means that the suspension on my car (front brace, door brace pads) is doing all of the work, along with the tyres. 
Communication across the chassis is immediate. Turn-in is sharper, and the car eats bumps for breakfast. 
Although, I did have to turn my coilovers down 4 notches. The ride was noticeably harder. Just shows how much flex the body still takes up with the TTE brace. 4 notches worth BC coilover adjustment. Crazy!
This is definitely the mother of all braces. It's a second chassis. I dare say, you need no more than this and a front strut brace. 

I also drove Carolyn's car again. Last time it had older suspension and no braces. It was a lovely smooth drive, but I did miss the directness of my coilovers. 
This time she has renewed the suspension and fitted this brace. 
It's amazing. It's a stock car, but feels like a proper sports car. It has handed in that scarf in hair and toodle at 45mph with the roof down feeling for a "come on then, let's have some fun" feeling. 

So in conclusion; on a stock car, this brace is night/day. It transforms the car. It feels more capable, more stable, more involved. On a car with more suspension mods, it takes your triple sundae, adds 2 more scoops, 2 twirls and a couple of cherries. It makes it that much sweeter. 

Rant over. It has been a while since I "modified" my car and I'm so glad I did.