DarkLight
Senior Member
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2016
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- 606
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- Location
- LA
- Vehicle(s)
- Civic-2016 LX 6MT
Yes! Sorry, this got pushed back because of my front pipe project.IT's been almost a month since the install. Any impression updates?
This brace has been good to me. I’ve been periodically checking the torque and it hasn’t loosened up at all. I’ve been jacking the car up multiple times this month and one thing I’ve noticed is that when jacking up the rear on one side, both sides come up at the same time. The rear end didn’t use to be that stiff!
The difference it makes is similar to the trunk brace, but it’s not quite as pronounced. I would say it’s a complementary brace, not an essential one.
The best way I can describe it is that it feels very neutral during cornering. It reduces understeer and makes the rear suspension work a bit harder. You won’t feel a noticeable change in steering response or an increase in ride harshness like the trunk brace.
Having installed all of them, the biggest improvements come from the rear braces.
If you only buy one brace, buy the 4 point trunk brace. It improves steering feel as much as the strut brace and makes the rear feel so much more planted. Once you install it, you’ll realize how just much chassis flex there is in the rear.
I also installed the subframe brace, and felt almost no difference with stock-ish suspension. I wouldn’t recommend that one unless you’ve substantially upgraded the front suspension. It’s also very difficult to install, compared to the others. Plus it makes it harder to use the jack point on the subframe.
The front power brace, which goes just behind the OEM radiator brace, is easy to install and works primarily by preventing flex in the most flex prone area, at the end of the “k” arms. It changes steering feel and increases front end grip, but not as noticeably as the strut bar.
Regarding the middle lower brace, it cannot be installed except on the hatch, si, and ctr because the bolts needed to install it are not present. So, it requires riv-nuts if you have an FC1/2 like me.
Cliffs:
-Front strut bar: essential
-Front power brace: complimentary
-Front subframe brace: complimentary
-Middle lower brace: complimentary
-Rear lower brace: complimentary
-4 point trunk brace: essential
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