I'm pretty new to the boards. Got my vert 3 weeks ago, (and been loving it) I have been looking at under braces by GTspec . I have trying to research if any one with the convertible has done this and witch ones work best for the convertibles to help reinforce the chassis and reduce flex and cowl shake? I have had no luck . Has any one has put on the under braces on, And which one do you think the convertible benefited from the most?

 

I don't have a 'vert but I have heard on this forum that the 6-piece rear gives the biggest effect out of all of them. I do have the 6-piece rear installed on my sedan and it definitely stiffens the chassis. I did a lot of research on which brace helps the most, just through searching posts about GT-SPEC. I hope that helps

 

I have all of the GT Spec Bracing.... If you want the best handling I highly reccomend the bracing,especially on a convertible... Convertibles will always have more body and frame flex because the lack of a solid pillar and roof.....I would call GT Spec and ask their advise.... Also, Hotchts sway bars should be considered if you want the best handling possible.

 

GTSPEC 6 Points Rear Subframe Brace 07+ G35/G37 | www.gtspec.com

"Note: Does not fit the convertible model"

 

Nice catch there Rochester!

Ratso, does having all of the braces stiffen the car quite a bit? Did you have them installed all at once or one at a time to get an idea of the effect of each addition? Kind of wondering which brace I should do next.

 

twin_snails, I'd love to read you talk more about the reasoning behind this mod, your before/after analysis, etc.

That 6-point brace is very appealing.

 

^^^

Sure thing. I really like the feel of a solid chassis. Not that the G doesn't have a solid chassis to begin with but I may be a little extreme. I did Hotchkis sways first which as many have said is probably the best bang for the buck handling mod you can do to these cars and I concur.

I did a FTSB next and in my research on the forum, I looked for people's impressions of the mod. Some said it didn't add much (sorry I don't have links off hand) and that the rear brace would offer a more noticeable difference.

I did the FTSB and did some abrupt steering changes at 40mph or so. I felt like the steering responsiveness was definitely sharper and more responsive, which I was impressed by. I don't consider myself a placebo kind of mod guy like just because I did the mod, it feels different. I guess I am just intimately aware of how the car feels every time I drive it so small changes are noticeable to me.

Regarding the rear, the 6-point looked very well engineered so I thought I'd give it a try. I didn't think the change was night and day dramatic, just that the feel of the car when going over pavement joints and bumps is more solid. I hope that helps.

Bummer that the 6-point isn't available for the convertible though.

 

x10 on the swaybars. Best suspension bang for the buck, hands down. Love my Eibachs.

Agreed on the FSTB. I know when it's on or off based on feel during quick turn in or hard launch into a turn. There's just more control. Just is. But it's also not a big deal.

So on the 6-point undercarriage brace, what I'm reading here is that the car feels sprung a little tighter, but it's not all that as a handling mod?

 

I think it helps on handling but I can't offer too much input on that because I've since gone back to my stock wheels and tires at 50/45 series, FR/RR. It was in the winter when I had it installed so I wasn't doing a lot of aggressive driving (maybe one aggressively driven corner or two), but with the bigger Michelins, the car handled like it was on rails and just felt solid. The tires I had on were 245/40-19 and 275/35-19 and going back to stock really softens the handling so any incremental and additive benefits afforded by the 6-point kind of get kind of blurry and lost in the smaller, stock tires.

I did let my Dad drive it to get his impressions while the bigger tires were on (w/ 6-point) and his impression was, "Wow, this handles REALLY nice!"

 

Vert already have under braces!!

You can only stiffen a 3 sided box so much.

As a matter of fact, I installed the Vert under braces to my coupe!!