Ultra Racing Chassis Braces for the TSX CL7/CL9
06-25-2009, 12:31 PM
#1
Ultra Racing Chassis Braces for the TSX CL7/CL9
DRIVING IMPRESSIONS BEFORE:
I drove the car before and after install. Suspension was Tein FLEX (which rode remarkably well as a matter of fact...this kit is NOT hands off for street performance drivers!). The car handled reasonably well before, but the owner was complaining the car was too soft, and I felt what he was talking about. The FLEX is firm, but is tuned well for the street. For some performance drivers I'd definitely say the are not really firm enough.
For lack of a better suspension option we recommended bracing the crap out of the car. It just so happened the Ultra Racing bars had come in so we went test fitting. The hope was that we would keep the suspension more rigid and add a significant amount of feel to the car. We hoped the chassis would tighten up and allow the suspension to do it's job better. We wanted to eliminate the springing effect the weak chassis was injecting into the car's ride and handling.
First Impressions of the Product:
First off, the staff at Ultra Racing are nice and attentive to our requests. We look hard for such qualities in our vendors because being able to communicate well with them directly impacts the service we can give to our customers! The first major reason to pursue sales with them is their great initial service.
Now, THE BARS. What seemed be really reasonable prices for some intriguing products came in nearly on point. The bars offered by Ultra Racing fit well and work great. We give the product a high ranking on these points. We found overall finish quality to be certainly acceptable but hampered by lack of detail refinement and unconvincingly durable painted finish. However product labeling was quite good and clear. There is a definite pride in the branding. It could just be that since these bars are made in Malaysia they could benefit from higher end manufacturing practices. That being said, we were more than happy and confident to install the bars to see how they'd work, and were not deterred or depressed at all by the finished-product observations. Should you benefit from these parts, we'd encourage you not to be either. These observations were made only in comparison with arguable overpriced masterpieces from Japan. For parts that will essentially get destroyed under the car we felt better installing these than Carbing museum pieces.
Before we get to the pics:
* We did not get a chance to install the fender braces because of a lack of time. Unlike the J's braces these will require removal of the fenders to install properly. We did line them up and they will fit. We also like the welded-up construction versus the J's braces. We anticipate these braces to offer more in the way of rigidity, especially when considering torsional forces that could act on this area of the car.
* For some reason I forgot to take some pictures of the Front Lower Arm Brace installed. This is a 2-point brace, fitting in the same location as the Cusco Type-1 brace. It appeared to us that this brace offered good exhaust clearance
* There are two small bars (Front Outer Frame Braces) that come in a pair that don't fit in conjunction with the Side Lower Floor Bars. We certainly expected to see the greatest improvement in the Floor Bars so we installed these instead of the Outer Frame Braces.
* WE DID LINE THESE PARTS UP ON A UA6/UA7 3G TL. The Front Outer Frame Braces will fit. All the other braces do not QUITE fit. The designs all will fit but the bars need slight length adjustments to work properly.
* Ground Clearance LOOKS to be severely hampered. We do want to note that the customer we tested these bars with told us he had a very gnarly driveway entrance that we did scrape on and thus needed to raise his car. We did see evidence of grounding out. The concern was that as quick as these bars went on they'd need to come off because of ground clearance issues. ---- The customer did have some rubbing on the ground !BUT! it was not that much and they are keeping the bars on. The reason the rubbing is not bad is simple: These bars keep the car straight and rigid over bumps and dips. The chassis flexes enough to bow the car when large bumps are encountered. These braces prevent the bowing and actually helps the suspension work the car over the bumps better! So while these bars do hang lower than the car, we'd encourage people to try them out anyway.
Now for some pics:
Bars Laid out. Clockwise from upper left:
Fender Bars
Front Outer Frame Braces
Side Lower Floor Braces
Front Lower Frame Brace
Front Lower Arm Brace
Rear Lower Arm Brace (not pictured)
Front Lower Frame Brace Installed
Side Lower Floor Braces installed. Driver's side, front to back
Side Lower Floor Braces installed. Driver's side, front to back
Side Lower Floor Braces installed. Driver's side, back to front. You can see the Front Lower Frame and Front Lower Arm Braces there. The Arm Brace is the one sitting closer to the cat.
Side Lower Floor Braces installed. Driver's side, back to front. Altered Angle
This is the area where the rear of the Side Lower Frame Brace is installed.
Pull back the plastic and there is another hole revealed. The supplied bracket installs this way.
Rear Lower Arm Brace installed. This is a 4-point brace. See all the other bars? It's looking like an Indiana Jones Stunt Vehicle now.
Rear Lower Arm Brace installed. Detail shot.
Rear Lower Arm Brace installed. Detail shot again.
A look at ground clearance from the side, frame level.
A look at ground clearance from the side, below ground level.
A look at ground clearance from the rear, frame level.
A look at ground clearance from the front passenger side, slightly above ground level.
DRIVING IMPRESSIONS AFTER:
After installing the bars and pulling out the drive, we could feel a difference right away. You can actually feel the suspension articulating over dips and bumps at slow speeds. The steering felt a little lighter and more responsive. I'd speculate that the steering felt lighter because the power rack was able to move the tie-rods better without power being lost in chassis deflection. It makes me want to revise the steering rack mounts actually!
Once we pulled out onto the street you could certainly feel the car was more rigid. It reminded me of my M3. We took a couple turns at reasonable pace and I can say without a doubt the car was more confident feeling and certainly more capable. People with less experience tuning have a hard time grasping the benefits of bracing because it seems so obscure. Bracing adds a certain je ne sais quoi to the driving experience that just makes it more fun! A major reason why European cars drive so much better than Japanese ones is because they come from the factory like this!
Combine bracing, mild suspension like the ones we offer on www.heeltoeauto.com, or even the A-spec kit, and a rear sway bar, and you are going to have a FWD street warrior! The braces really show off how good the TSX platform is!
Marcus
I drove the car before and after install. Suspension was Tein FLEX (which rode remarkably well as a matter of fact...this kit is NOT hands off for street performance drivers!). The car handled reasonably well before, but the owner was complaining the car was too soft, and I felt what he was talking about. The FLEX is firm, but is tuned well for the street. For some performance drivers I'd definitely say the are not really firm enough.
For lack of a better suspension option we recommended bracing the crap out of the car. It just so happened the Ultra Racing bars had come in so we went test fitting. The hope was that we would keep the suspension more rigid and add a significant amount of feel to the car. We hoped the chassis would tighten up and allow the suspension to do it's job better. We wanted to eliminate the springing effect the weak chassis was injecting into the car's ride and handling.
First Impressions of the Product:
First off, the staff at Ultra Racing are nice and attentive to our requests. We look hard for such qualities in our vendors because being able to communicate well with them directly impacts the service we can give to our customers! The first major reason to pursue sales with them is their great initial service.
Now, THE BARS. What seemed be really reasonable prices for some intriguing products came in nearly on point. The bars offered by Ultra Racing fit well and work great. We give the product a high ranking on these points. We found overall finish quality to be certainly acceptable but hampered by lack of detail refinement and unconvincingly durable painted finish. However product labeling was quite good and clear. There is a definite pride in the branding. It could just be that since these bars are made in Malaysia they could benefit from higher end manufacturing practices. That being said, we were more than happy and confident to install the bars to see how they'd work, and were not deterred or depressed at all by the finished-product observations. Should you benefit from these parts, we'd encourage you not to be either. These observations were made only in comparison with arguable overpriced masterpieces from Japan. For parts that will essentially get destroyed under the car we felt better installing these than Carbing museum pieces.
Before we get to the pics:
* We did not get a chance to install the fender braces because of a lack of time. Unlike the J's braces these will require removal of the fenders to install properly. We did line them up and they will fit. We also like the welded-up construction versus the J's braces. We anticipate these braces to offer more in the way of rigidity, especially when considering torsional forces that could act on this area of the car.
* For some reason I forgot to take some pictures of the Front Lower Arm Brace installed. This is a 2-point brace, fitting in the same location as the Cusco Type-1 brace. It appeared to us that this brace offered good exhaust clearance
* There are two small bars (Front Outer Frame Braces) that come in a pair that don't fit in conjunction with the Side Lower Floor Bars. We certainly expected to see the greatest improvement in the Floor Bars so we installed these instead of the Outer Frame Braces.
* WE DID LINE THESE PARTS UP ON A UA6/UA7 3G TL. The Front Outer Frame Braces will fit. All the other braces do not QUITE fit. The designs all will fit but the bars need slight length adjustments to work properly.
* Ground Clearance LOOKS to be severely hampered. We do want to note that the customer we tested these bars with told us he had a very gnarly driveway entrance that we did scrape on and thus needed to raise his car. We did see evidence of grounding out. The concern was that as quick as these bars went on they'd need to come off because of ground clearance issues. ---- The customer did have some rubbing on the ground !BUT! it was not that much and they are keeping the bars on. The reason the rubbing is not bad is simple: These bars keep the car straight and rigid over bumps and dips. The chassis flexes enough to bow the car when large bumps are encountered. These braces prevent the bowing and actually helps the suspension work the car over the bumps better! So while these bars do hang lower than the car, we'd encourage people to try them out anyway.
Now for some pics:
Bars Laid out. Clockwise from upper left:
Fender Bars
Front Outer Frame Braces
Side Lower Floor Braces
Front Lower Frame Brace
Front Lower Arm Brace
Rear Lower Arm Brace (not pictured)
Front Lower Frame Brace Installed
Side Lower Floor Braces installed. Driver's side, front to back
Side Lower Floor Braces installed. Driver's side, front to back
Side Lower Floor Braces installed. Driver's side, back to front. You can see the Front Lower Frame and Front Lower Arm Braces there. The Arm Brace is the one sitting closer to the cat.
Side Lower Floor Braces installed. Driver's side, back to front. Altered Angle
This is the area where the rear of the Side Lower Frame Brace is installed.
Pull back the plastic and there is another hole revealed. The supplied bracket installs this way.
Rear Lower Arm Brace installed. This is a 4-point brace. See all the other bars? It's looking like an Indiana Jones Stunt Vehicle now.
Rear Lower Arm Brace installed. Detail shot.
Rear Lower Arm Brace installed. Detail shot again.
A look at ground clearance from the side, frame level.
A look at ground clearance from the side, below ground level.
A look at ground clearance from the rear, frame level.
A look at ground clearance from the front passenger side, slightly above ground level.
DRIVING IMPRESSIONS AFTER:
After installing the bars and pulling out the drive, we could feel a difference right away. You can actually feel the suspension articulating over dips and bumps at slow speeds. The steering felt a little lighter and more responsive. I'd speculate that the steering felt lighter because the power rack was able to move the tie-rods better without power being lost in chassis deflection. It makes me want to revise the steering rack mounts actually!
Once we pulled out onto the street you could certainly feel the car was more rigid. It reminded me of my M3. We took a couple turns at reasonable pace and I can say without a doubt the car was more confident feeling and certainly more capable. People with less experience tuning have a hard time grasping the benefits of bracing because it seems so obscure. Bracing adds a certain je ne sais quoi to the driving experience that just makes it more fun! A major reason why European cars drive so much better than Japanese ones is because they come from the factory like this!
Combine bracing, mild suspension like the ones we offer on www.heeltoeauto.com, or even the A-spec kit, and a rear sway bar, and you are going to have a FWD street warrior! The braces really show off how good the TSX platform is!
Marcus
06-25-2009, 05:43 PM
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06-25-2009, 11:27 PM
#8
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I was curious if you had any pics of the ground clearance while the car was on the ground... also curious how visible the braces are... these look like exactly what I have been looking for.
06-26-2009, 02:22 PM
#9
Order here:
http://www.heeltoeauto.com/_search.p...ltra+racing%22
The ground clearance when the car is on the ground is going to depend on how low you are. With the car on the ground you can see the side ones if you are looking but you gotta squat down. You can probably seem them from behind the car on the freeway but not standing near it.
http://www.heeltoeauto.com/_search.p...ltra+racing%22
The ground clearance when the car is on the ground is going to depend on how low you are. With the car on the ground you can see the side ones if you are looking but you gotta squat down. You can probably seem them from behind the car on the freeway but not standing near it.
06-30-2009, 12:59 AM
#11
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So now that you have the rear brace in hand what are your thoughts as to whether it will fit under the rear diffuser. Also my car is sitting extremely low. I constantly, well at least once a week scrape the front sub frame. With that being said will it even be possible for me to fun the side sill braces as those and the rear brace are the primary ones I would like to run. I know the 4 point middle brace just like the cusco and the other front steering rack brace would be awesome as well but I really don't want to raise the car cause I love the look. Heck I am still trying to go 1/4in lower it I can.
06-30-2009, 03:46 PM
#13
No exhaust issue are forseen at all.
Clots, you might know better than me. I don't see what the diffuser looks like installed in the flesh. The brace looks well out of the way of a lot of stuff for sure and doesn't go as far back as the trailing-most control arm....you might have a better guess than I do.
Clots, you might know better than me. I don't see what the diffuser looks like installed in the flesh. The brace looks well out of the way of a lot of stuff for sure and doesn't go as far back as the trailing-most control arm....you might have a better guess than I do.
07-02-2009, 09:48 PM
#16
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I would think the triangulated fender brace would be one of the better braces being the design and the area it braces. 
Would the triangulated fender brace effect crash deformation in the chassis? That would be my only concern. All the other braces I don't have any question of their performance or issue with deformation in an accident.
Would the triangulated fender brace effect crash deformation in the chassis? That would be my only concern. All the other braces I don't have any question of their performance or issue with deformation in an accident.
07-03-2009, 04:49 AM
#17
Let me help you!
07-04-2009, 04:32 PM
#18
07-04-2009, 06:49 PM
#19
Let me help you!
It just means that the crush zones won't crush as designed. The manufacturer designs the cars so that they absorb energy and give way so that the passengers don't have to absorb as much energy.
With braces, I'd imagine that the crush zones will still crush, but either to a lesser or more extent. For example, if the brace's inner-most connection is connected to something strong, the brace may slow down the crush. If, on the other hand, it's connected to something equally weak (as its outer-most connection), energy could travel through the brace quickly so that the crush happens faster and deeper (e.g., if the car would have only crushed to a point somewhere in the middle of the brace, the brace will have caused damage beyond that point).
This doesn't mean that there would be a higher risk of injury. The braces don't go all the way to the bumpers, so that means there is still some crush abilities. The only way there would be a higher risk of injury would be if the braces were to break through the cabin and strike you (like the front fender-well one). That would be a freak 1 in a billion chance, though.
As auto enthusiasts, we value some characteristics over others. If we want to strengthen the chassis to make it more rigid so that our cars handle better, then we have to sacrifice the chassis's ability to absorb energy by collapsing.
With braces, I'd imagine that the crush zones will still crush, but either to a lesser or more extent. For example, if the brace's inner-most connection is connected to something strong, the brace may slow down the crush. If, on the other hand, it's connected to something equally weak (as its outer-most connection), energy could travel through the brace quickly so that the crush happens faster and deeper (e.g., if the car would have only crushed to a point somewhere in the middle of the brace, the brace will have caused damage beyond that point).
This doesn't mean that there would be a higher risk of injury. The braces don't go all the way to the bumpers, so that means there is still some crush abilities. The only way there would be a higher risk of injury would be if the braces were to break through the cabin and strike you (like the front fender-well one). That would be a freak 1 in a billion chance, though.
As auto enthusiasts, we value some characteristics over others. If we want to strengthen the chassis to make it more rigid so that our cars handle better, then we have to sacrifice the chassis's ability to absorb energy by collapsing.
07-06-2009, 05:40 PM
#20
Hey guys, if you were in an accident that was bad enough for these braces to become any kind of issue, I think you'd have a lot more to worry about than getting stabbed by one of them or compromising crumple zones. They are not made to be strong in the direction of a crash. I am willing to bet in a front end collision the damage would be marginally less severe with the fender braces until you got to the point of no return. The side sill braces would be absolutely worthless for strength in a t-bone. They'd bend.
These bars are designed to strengthen the chassis in the case of flexing under its own load. I doubt they'd be a significant factor in an accident because they are not designed to do that. I can see them breaking and crumpling with the rest of the car.
These bars are designed to strengthen the chassis in the case of flexing under its own load. I doubt they'd be a significant factor in an accident because they are not designed to do that. I can see them breaking and crumpling with the rest of the car.
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