Margarita Girl

Both Granatelli and Steeda have a good looking dual strut tower brace. I like the theory that it is an easy way to firm up the flex on my convertible. Does the brace add any true stability or is it just a $200 fashion mod?

GreyStang

I'm sure if you roadrace your car a strut tower brace would help firm up the handling quite a bit, especially if you're using stiffer/lower springs.

But if you're just cruising the streets Saturday night with your Stang then, yup it's just a fashion mod lol

undecided.steve

A good brace like MMS in addition to full length subframe braces makes a big difference in 99-04 verts.
I have a 2003 vert and a friend of mine has a 2002 which has a 3 point strut brace and full length subframes and his
car is definitely tighter than mine even in normal driving.

FWIW the verts come with factory subframes but they are short and crappy, but better than nothing.

chath_brick

well i'm not sure about your car, but i took the strut tower brace off of my '95 so i could change the plugs last weekend, and when i unbolted it i could feel the whole car flex under me. so they do some good i guess. the newer 'verts have a much better unibody structure though, so you might not need it unless you race.

CHIC

I will tell you that the first thing I did was invest in a strut tower brace. Its a three point and believe you me, it firmed up everything. I bought the sub frame connectors to tighten up the bottom as well, but decided to leave the stock ones on. I still have them and will change them out eventually. With the tower brace, i was able to take turns 10-20mph faster than before. I felt immediate stability with it verse with out it as the car would flex a lot.

It seemed that when I took turns with out the brace, the nose dove into the turn. Once i put it on, the nose seems to glide through the turn, keeping the froont end. I would say it is well worth the cash. you will feel a difference, and if you dont like it, take it off and ebay it.

undecided.steve

I agree 100 percent!

The verts are loose up in the front end due to not having the metal roof to assist in supporting the car and preventing twisting.
All Mustangs in the 99-04 range and possibly the earlier models as well, are known for "cowl shake" but the verts take it to a whole new level [&:]

Do this: Take your radar detector and suction cup it to the windshield near the bottom on either the drivers or passenger side.
Now drive around and watch it wobble.
What you are seeing is the front cowl /windshield actually flexing.

Now try it in the family sedan, non vert and you will see that it remains still.

The 05+ cars improved the body structure 1000 percent, even on the verts.

Margarita Girl

Is the 3 point tower brace the best way to go? (I don't want to drill holes under the hood.)

I'm also looking at the undermount brace from Steeda. You think there is clearance issue?

http://www.steeda.com/products/chassis_stiffening.php

Margarita Girl

Forget underneath. Just saw note, does not fit convertibles.

undecided.steve

In theory, the 3 point is the better way to go because it directs the energy (the flex) to a strong part of the car instead of transferring energy
from one flexing tower to the other tower which is probably flexing as well.

However in practice, I don't know how much of a difference this will really make.

My friend has a 3 point however I have never driven a vert with the 2 point so I have nothing to compare it with.
Remember the vert is more jiggly than the coupe, so I would "guess" the 3 point is the way to go.

FyouGitive

I've heard the 05+ convertibles are a bit stiffer than earlier models, but still prone to the dreaded "cowl shake". I put a BMR strut brace on mine, and ran it over a notorious test section (Balboa Avenue east from Clairemont Drive, left lane just before the first "Mount Street"). There was still some cowl shake, but it was dramatically reduced. Very much worth the (relatively) small investment in money and time (five minute install). I reinstalled it with body washers in place of the simple ones that didn't quite cover the holes in the bar brackets, and which showed evidence of "settling" by showing depressions where they bore on the hole edges. I torque the nuts every time I torque the wheel lugs.

As to the triangle brackets, I'm sure they would work better than a tower-to-tower bar, but there must be some reason Granatelli and FRPP and BMR don't offer them.