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Review Bell Raceworks rear differential brace

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Old 01-08-2019, 03:59 PM
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4DRZ
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Thumbs up Bell Raceworks rear differential brace

This part is surprisingly good and I think the best bang for the buck in the drive-train/suspension you can get. (Keep in mind my car already has Z1 motor mounts, transmission mount, differential bushings, and rear subframe bushings.) It can be found here:

Bell Raceworks 370Z / G37 Rear Differential Brace, Z1 Motorsports
http://bellraceworks.bigcartel.com/p...ck-diff-covers
http://bellraceworks.bigcartel.com/p...-finned-covers


BUY-IN

There was a Group Buy thread that came about because of this review. https://www.myg37.com/forums/group-b...ial-brace.html


PERFORMANCE

Even with all the mods listed above my car was still sloppy in putting the power down. There always seemed like a delay and a real lack of precision. With this part it is noticeably more precise and the power delivery is much more immediate. The shifting is even improved. I would compare the improvement in the feel of this mod to the motor mounts- which are also substantial. (All the subframe inserts and differential bushings made very little difference) This is a surprising discovery as my car is currently on snow tires. I imagine that the difference will be even more noticeable in the spring when I am back on my sticky summer tires.


NVH

Thankfully, I noticed no additional NVH after the install. Know that my car also has the Z1 400 hp package so your results may vary if you have stock exhaust and bushings.


INSTALLATION

Both Jon and the technician I spoke to at Z1 told me that it typically takes an hour to install and the G37 was more difficult to do as you need to disconnect the rear differential and slide it forward. Because I did not want to screw with this on my back in my garage, I had my shop do it. It turns out that you DO NOT need to disconnect the rear differential and it only took about 20 minutes to install. I am not sure if the G37 coupe is the same way or if the fact that I have the Z1 differential cover makes it easier.


Last edited by Rochester; 01-12-2019 at 10:23 AM. Reason: Cross-referencing to the closed Group-buy thread
The following 9 users liked this post by 4DRZ:
abrecos (08-20-2022), Bravo at (02-05-2019), Entcee (01-10-2019), obsidiansamurai (01-10-2019), Rochester (01-10-2019), slartibartfast (01-10-2019), slowg562 (01-10-2019), thezinfan (01-10-2019), VIVID (01-21-2019) and 4 others liked this post. (Show less...)
Old 01-08-2019, 04:23 PM
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Rochester
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Originally Posted by 4DRZ
It turns out that you DO NOT need to disconnect the rear differential and it only took about 20 minutes to install.
That's makes all the difference (no pun). The Z1 cover is sexy as hell, and the added cooling is a fine tweak if you're on a course track. But if this $128 brace can be installed without dropping another $198 on the diff cover... I'm very interested.

Good job, OP. Here's the link and the pic:

http://www.z1motorsports.com/transmi...e-p-14117.html

Old 01-08-2019, 05:19 PM
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slartibartfast
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Bell Raceworks offers a brace for OE covers.
Old 01-08-2019, 05:24 PM
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4DRZ
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Originally Posted by Rochester
That's makes all the difference (no pun).
What is with all of your puns lately? Thanks for the link. I added it to the op.

Originally Posted by slartibartfast
Bell Raceworks offers a brace for OE covers.
I forgot to mention that. Jon at Z1 said the brace I got fits their cover as well as the oem unit.
Old 01-08-2019, 06:28 PM
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Rochester
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Originally Posted by 4DRZ
What is with all of your puns lately? Thanks for the link. I added it to the op.

I forgot to mention that. Jon at Z1 said the brace I got fits their cover as well as the oem unit.
I literally said "no pun", so any punage you're feeling, that's on you.

By "the brace I got", are you saying there's different braces? Wait... here's the manufacturer's website: The first is for stock diff covers, and the second is the one you bought:

http://bellraceworks.bigcartel.com/p...ck-diff-covers
http://bellraceworks.bigcartel.com/p...-finned-covers
Old 01-08-2019, 07:05 PM
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4DRZ
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Originally Posted by Rochester
I literally said "no pun", so any punage you're feeling, that's on you.

By "the brace I got", are you saying there's different braces? Wait... here's the manufacturer's website: The first is for stock diff covers, and the second is the one you bought:

http://bellraceworks.bigcartel.com/p...ck-diff-covers
http://bellraceworks.bigcartel.com/p...-finned-covers
Well that's interesting. The brace for the stock diff looks pretty beefy. I wonder if the results will be the same. Let us know when you get one Rochester.
Old 01-08-2019, 10:16 PM
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jpowersjr2
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Oh wow the one for the stock cover looks really cool.

Damnit, put it on my list.
Old 01-09-2019, 08:15 AM
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Rochester
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For clarification, I wrote to Bell Raceworks and asked, "Does your G37 diff brace for the OEM diff cover work with the RWD Sedan, or just the Coupe?"

He responded with, "Yes it is the same as the coupe rear, we even have a customer running one on an AWD sedan! " The signature was "Arthur Bell", so that's the guy. Right from the horse's mouth.

Sure would like to see better pics of the brace for the OEM cover.

Last edited by Rochester; 01-12-2019 at 10:25 AM.
Old 01-09-2019, 09:50 AM
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Rochester
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Arthur gave me some pics off his phone for his brace designed around the OEM diff cover.

And he floated the idea of a group buy with a minimum 10 orders.










Last edited by Rochester; 01-09-2019 at 10:01 AM.
Old 01-09-2019, 10:30 AM
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Rochester
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We worked out the details this morning, and I'll be creating a Group Buy thread today sometime.

Then we shake the tree and find 10 members willing to hop on in. We've got two right here, I'm thinking.

Here's the Group Buy thread: https://www.myg37.com/forums/group-b...ial-brace.html

Last edited by Rochester; 01-09-2019 at 11:21 AM.
Old 01-09-2019, 11:42 AM
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Originally Posted by Rochester

Oh wow, that is a totally different design than the part I have for my Z1 diff cover. I like how it mounts to the subframe in 2 places instead of just one like mine. This should make it even more solid. I wonder if the reviews will be any different with this part.
Old 01-09-2019, 11:44 AM
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I proved to myself this morning that this part definitely makes a difference. I was tired and started out at an intersection like I normally would by habit before I got this part installed (expecting the initial hesitation in power delivery). The car was ready to go before I was and jerked forward. Whoops! I guess I have not retrained my brain 100% yet.
Old 01-09-2019, 11:47 AM
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Rochester
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Originally Posted by 4DRZ
Oh wow, that is a totally different design than the part I have for my Z1 diff cover. I like how it mounts to the subframe in 2 places instead of just one like mine. This should make it even more solid. I wonder if the reviews will be any different with this part.
I like that too, spreading the connection along the frame instead of the single point. I'm sure it doesn't matter really, except for armchair engineering. An actual ME would likely say, "You know nothing, John Snow."


Originally Posted by 4DRZ
I proved to myself this morning that this part definitely makes a difference. I was tired and started out at an intersection like I normally would by habit before I got this part installed (expecting the initial hesitation in power delivery). The car was ready to go before I was and jerked forward. Whoops! I guess I have not retrained my brain 100% yet.
Poly motor mounts, transmission mount, rear diff bushings, and now this diff brace... your throttle response is probably as good as it can get with that car now. By that I mean, pretty instantaneous.

Last edited by Rochester; 01-09-2019 at 11:54 AM.
Old 01-09-2019, 02:17 PM
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4DRZ
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Originally Posted by Rochester
Poly motor mounts, transmission mount, rear diff bushings, and now this diff brace... your throttle response is probably as good as it can get with that car now. By that I mean, pretty instantaneous.
Agreed. It is very fun to drive and responsive even if it is not the fastest thing on 4 wheels.
Old 01-09-2019, 02:24 PM
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If you have no power mods (unless you consider HFC's one), is this really all that useful?


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