Ok, this guy had a mostly stock TSX, Work rims and wider tires, stock suspension I believe except for an rsb. I am posting the comments because there is some question as to if the Cusco chassis braces help much. I think it is a matter of feel so I don't say for sure that they really make a huge difference. But to those who know their cars, their roads, and are experienced enough to tell the performance advantage is significant.

We installed a Cusco OS upper brace and a Type-2 lower brace.

Holy Smokes Marcus:

To start of with, whoa Nelly! Nelly!! Nelly!!! Starting off, the upper and
lower chassis brace is a subtle change in normal straight line driving, but
when you pitch that car into a corner, it is now TENACIOUS, for a stock
suspension car in any case. I gotta tell you about three of my favorite
corners I hit today while running around.

Cloverleaf from La Paz onto 405 North
This is a big looping right turn onto the freeway in which there are really
two apexes, one very early at entry, and another at the 3/4 point to the
exit. The one at the exit is right where the transition from tarmac to
concrete occurs. This is tricky because with too much initial entry speed,
momentum carries you outward forcibly and there is not enough straight-away
so to speak to let the suspension take a reset for the balance of the
sweeper. With stock suspension and 235/40/18 Michelin PS-2s, I had "brisk"
speed with the feeling of the front end washing out just a bit. Accelerate
to 60 with very even throttle application and hit apex number 2. No Cusco,
the car feels very nervous and as you approach apex 2, it is actually quite
scary to push it because the front end is washing out the entire arc with
throttle application and you just know the back end is light and will swing
around - heeby geebies just thinking about it!! With Cusco, where do I
begin? Slightly higher speed on apex one but now, no front end wash out and
the car now REALLY takes set evenly and you can feel the tires really biting
around the corner as you come to apex 2. By then, the you are safely late
apexing and the car does a tiny drift if you carry enough speed. Wow. Now
this an odd commentary about driving position, with no Cusco, I used to
formerly brace myself hard with my left knee against the door panel while
approaching apex 2, but this time, I just stayed in my seat and pushing down
on the dead pedel was good enough to keep me in the seat. Weird, but the
truth.

Big Cloverleaf from Bake Parkway to 405 N Access Road
With no Cusco, this used to be a tire squealing / front end wash out if you
carried too much speed. This is really a single apex turn. Stay outside on
entry, slow turn into mid lane at center with steady accelerationm and at the
3/4 point, that is where the late apex is and you slowly turn into it while
squeezing on the gas, and then nail it hard when unwinding. With no Cusco,
this was not really a fun turn because of the chassis flex and not letting
the suspension do its job by keeping the contact patch square. Now with
Cusco, the car's cornering attitude now is that it takes set evenly, the
tires bite hard, and at the bottom again (because you're descending in
elevation), a tiny bit of front end washout from being hamfisted on the gas.
Feels safe the whole entire way, and that nervous flexing feeling is gone.
Good stuff.

90 Degree Cloverleaf from Jeronimo to 405 S
Hard to describe the apex on this sweeper in that the quickest way around I
found is to take the inside lane and put the passenger front wheel inside the
white line and almost onto the grass, and it is hard on the gas the entire
time with no let-up. Today, I hit 85 mph coming out with only a very tiny
complaint from the PS-2s. With no Cusco, the you could really feel the front
end wanting to washout but because of the tight cambered surface and tight
driving line, a guy can carry lots of speed, but it always had that scary
feeling of the rear end going-off so to speak if you didn't get the approach
right, and put that wheel inside of the white line, especially while hard on
the gas with the vtec engaging. With Cusco, no nervousness. Again, corning
attitude is that the car takes set evenly as the suspension is loaded, the
tires bite really hard and on exit, you just unwind the wheel and let
momentum carry you out to the left - easy peasy japaneasy!! Wow, no more
heart stopping feeling of the rear flinging out because the front corner tire
is just down so hard in its set.

In my opinion, high speed street driving is so risky because you carry so
much exit speed and if the communication that the car is giving you is that
tippy-toe / front end washout feeling, then what happens if you get it wrong
is that the tail will come flinging around and that is really really bad.
With Cusco, man, the car takes set as the suspension is now evenly loaded,
which allows the tires to bite down hard.

Lastly, without Cusco with the Michelin PS-2s, I couldn't figure why
journalists were singing praises about the PS-2 because my car still had the
nervous feeling. I thought, "Bah, PS-2s were a waste of cash!" With Cusco,
I now understand the hype around PS-2s. They bite just as hard if not harder
than the other tire I consider to be an all-time great, the Pirelli P-Zero
(yellow) for that secure - high speed conerning feeling, and this is where I
feel handling is most important - simply due to the high speed involved on
corner exiting.

Sorry I got so wordy Marcus but this is the only way to convey the overall
feeling. I wish I had met you when I first got the car! In any case, thanks
again and apologies for coming late. Be well.


Lol, I COULD NOT have made this up!

Marcus

 

now thats what i call positive feedback!

 

WOW. COOL! hahaha

 

great feedback.

my only concern about the type II brace is that I've read posts about it rattling against the heat shield on the catalytic converter.

is it a foregone conclusion that you need to remove the lower half of the heatshield?

 

Good read. Thanks for the post.

 

All you need to do is remove the lower portion of the shield. The upper portion is retained. 4 simple 10mm bolts.

Some people have expressed some unfounded concern about doing this. I have yet to hear what the actual problem really is. The thought that it is a bad thing in any way is beyond my comprehension.

 

I think the only concern would be if one parked in a field, or if it's autumn and there's alot of trees around. Last week, my accord was parked on the street, and I found it surrounded by a layer of leaves that reached the bottom of my car. I think without the heatshield, I might have ignited the pile when I drove off.

Other than that, it shouldn't be noticeable unless a stray cat decides to go under the car after one parks lol

 

I HIGHLY doubt that it would. In order for the car to cause it to ignite, it would have to be really REALLY hot. And the conditions would have to be just right.

Anything that would be in danger would be a problem, heatshield or not. If stuff catching on fire was a real problem, I doubt the car companies would continue putting them under the car. Look at car-sound cats, or most other aftermarket cats. There is usually only a heatshield on the top. There is nothing wrong with removing the bottom one.

Marcus

 

Hey Marcus.... one question.

I had the Cusco Lower Arm Brace Type II, can I add Type I (Single Bar) as well??? Or no?

Thx

 

^

Nope....its one or the other. The type I brace uses the same mouting point of the type 2 brace.

 

 

is the lower heatshield the one above the catalyic converter?

 

Actually, that'd be the upper shield. The lower shield is UNDER the cat converter.

Marcus

 

Actually, fire's have been started (actual occurrences from work) because of catalytic converters in fields of grass/weeds/etc. I work for PGE (Norcal's Electric/Gas utility company), and I perform a lot of work in the field on our gas/electric lines. When the Fire warning is high on a hot summer day, we are not allowed (by law) to drive onto fields that have tall grass/weeds/etc. that will make contact with the undercarriage of our vehicles. Even when we rent Kawasaki Mules / ATVs, the same goes. Now maybe it's a big corporate thing to protect our name, but it does seems quite likely considering the temperatures the exhaust gases can possibly reach.

just my 2 cents.

-steve

 

thanks for the info heeltoe

 

And, this field work is performed with a TSX? That's my only point. I am not really trying to say it can't happen, just that it really is something that a sporty-luxury car owner should really be too concerned about.

I know that fires can be started that way, but first you need two things. 1- The right conditions for a fire to start, and 2- to drive a car with a REALLY HOT cat in a field with tall grass. Leaves blowing around are not going to cause a problem. The conditions are not right. Too much wind, it is unliky that it would be dry enough, and the temps are not going to be high enough.

Marcus