Strut Tower Bars...

[Neodeuccio]

Beautiful engine bay Kristian.

What he said. Good job dude.


And on note related to the topic at hand, good info here. I was thinking about adding strut braces to the car with the current round of upgrades and never thought about whether or not it was really worth the money. So I've crossed them off the list and have moved sway bars up a few slots.

 

[destrux]

Has anyone had any experience with this type of brace on a supra before?

or this type?

I've read a lot of good reviews on those types on miatas, which can't be much more stiff than a targa top car (with the top out).

I don't see the former doing much on a hardtop supra (maybe I'm wrong), but the latter "frog braces" would work the same no matter what kind of roof the car has.

On a related note, I noticed on my hardtop that all of my old dried out factory seam sealer has cracked since I put on my wider wheels and tires. The chassis seems to flex a lot more with the extra grip.

 

[te72]

In many ways Miatas are similar to Mk3's with consideration to construction, so I wouldn't be surprised if these types of bracing didn't help targa cars out. Short of seam welding, this might be the next best bet.

Would like to hear what more experienced members have to say on the theory though...

 

[Poodles]

Miatas are considerably more stiff than our cars. They were designed as convertables from the start, and they have a main brace (power plant frame) that links the transmission to the differential.

 

[SWD Fredester 3]

Miatas are considerably more stiff than our cars. They were designed as convertables from the start, and they have a main brace (power plant frame) that links the transmission to the differential.

Hey Poodles, keep up the good posts, I'm really impressed by how much you know about various cars. Constantly learning things from you!

 

[te72]

Miatas are considerably more stiff than our cars. They were designed as convertables from the start, and they have a main brace (power plant frame) that links the transmission to the differential.

Ahh yes, the PITA brace... forgot about that one when I had to change out my transmission on the 2000. They're also a lot shorter than our cars, less chassis TO flex, which, to me at least, makes me think such a brace (what FM calls the "butterfly" brace) would have some benefit on a Mk3...