Initial Impressions of Vincent Doggy's Trunk Brace, Less body roll! Options

[razor7]

Hey Guys,
So today I got this little package in the mail.



So I went to unwrap it


And look what I found!



Note: Yes, it looks kinda crooked, but it's supposed to be. The way it sits in the trunk will make it look flush and flat.

So just as Vincent mentioned in his post, you'll want to pop off the rubber caps, and remove the 14mm bolts here:

and here:


As stated, you'll need one of these:


For the next part, I used a rubber mallet to get both ends in. It's a tight fit, but this will also mean that it'll transfer the energy across the bar in a better fashion. As you can see, the bar now looks flat and unbent, again, this is due to the way it mounts.



Now once you get the bar in, make sure that the holes align up, and go ahead and drop in the bolts and start tightening them down. I torqued them to 65lbs to ensure a tight hold (they came off around 60lbs). After they're both down taught, the next part is to figure out how you want your trunk lining to fit. I chose to make a cut strait up just in front of the bolt itself. I chose this way mostly because this is my DD, and I may need access to my spare at some point in time, and would rather not have to unscrew the bar in order to get to it. However, if you really wanted to, you could just let the carpet cover the bar entirely, it's actually low enough to where it doesn't look that weird, you'd have to point it out before anyone would notice.



After I got it installed, I took it out for a quick run around the block. From my experience (and remember this is on blown rear struts and with tires that are on wear indicators...) the back end does seem more lively now. Our cars naturally understeer, and this did make a noticeable difference in getting it a step towards neutral. I was able to hold tighter patterns through turns, and when put through an S-bend, there was FAR less body roll. However, if you have a working suspension, the body roll will probably be less obvious to you. All in all I definitely think it's worth the money. I'll be sure to update this once I get my new tires installed, I typically would be testing this on windy mountain roads...

-TC

[delusionz]

This has effect even additionally to the rear strut brace?

[razor7]

This has effect even additionally to the rear strut brace?

Yes,
This has made more of a difference then just the GT4 brace, but they're both meant for different purposes. The GT4 brace is to help with roll from the suspension, while the trunk brace is meant to tie the ends of the frame together, helping with body roll and frame tweaking under extremely hard cornering.

Tiga,
I have to look at what you've got, I know you were on GCs or coilovers of some sort. I think this part would yield similar benefits as the C-One underbody brace, you'll definitely feel the chassi flex less under stress. However, again, you probably wouldn't see a night and day difference considering what you've got installed already, but hey, every little bit helps!

Sunwukongg,
Try a search for "trunk brace" and find Vincent's post. It cost me $152 shipped to my house, but it may vary because of shipping/if he offers it with extras.

-TC