Okay, I just got the 04 bumpers, exaust tips and OEM front lip. The bodyshop guy also threw on the brace. I have been waiting for this stuff to go on for awhile so I am going nuts in anticipation.
Where do I start? well I find the bumps in the road are eaten up alot better. Before it would sometimes feel that the car was going to break. Now the jarring has been reduced by probably 75%. A couple guys stated that the brace helped in oversteer. Not true, I am very sensitive about oversteer And noticed that it actually induced it easier and more quickly.
Don't fly off the wagon because I use this as a criticism before I clarify that it at the same time improved it. I find the oversteer much easy to predict and that it is easier to control. All in all, Shinji charged me 160shipped. Great buy, good improvement. My rating 7.5/10. Enough Said

 

thanks for your review...i have to invest myself

 

Is this the bar that goes over the engine? Or are you talking about the X Brace that goes below?

 

i believe hes talking about the lower brace as the stb wouldnt make noticeable differences.

 

It goes under the engine and is not an x-brace. Same fundamentals, but rather it is shaped like a horshoe. Cameron

 

It looks like a nice piece, but I feel the Ricks design is stronger in all directions. A re-inforced X seems a better engineering paradigm than a horseshoe.

 

I don't know it seems to me that the body can only be tightened so much. Then any excess is pointless. I think that they all do the same thing and to be honest I remember reading a post with a crapload of replies comparing braces to cusco. Some of the guys owned several braces and said they all pretty much did the same thing. Someone said that x braces had different mounting points than the cusco brace. I wonder if you could mount both?
My next step is a saner adjustable front sway bar. I am trying to dial out over steer.

 

I think that is the question. I don't think there's any doubt that some of the others are physically stronger. But does the extra strength translate into real world difference that can actually be perceived? In other words, how much is enough to get the job done? There is always a point of diminishing returns. And then there is the question of mounting points and vectors. Do any of the other braces utilize the front center mounting point like the Cusco? Perhaps that provides some alternate advantages? There have been numerous posts from people who have used/driven multiple braces and it seems to me that basically everyone has said they could not tell any difference between any of them, including the Cusco, from a driving standpoint.

ron

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by R11
I think that is the question.