Only late 07s got them. My 07 was Job 1 and did not come with the factory brace. I installed the OEM brace and that's about it. The Steeda G-Trac brace doesn't do as much as the OEM brace, and it relies on the weakest part of the bolts for stiffness. The OEM brace ties the rear-most part of the cross-member together.
If you're going to actually buy the brace, why not get the CHE one with torque limiters? Then you'll stiffen your chassis as well as benefit from smoother shifts.
If you're going to actually buy the brace, why not get the CHE one with torque limiters? Then you'll stiffen your chassis as well as benefit from smoother shifts.
The 2005-2006 S197's did not come with any sort of brace between the back of the front control arm bolts...and from what I understand this can lead to some flexxing while cornering.
Some of the road-racers on other forums have said you can feel this one. My car can already corner better than I am willing to push it on the street, so this mod may be overkill, but I don't care, that is how I roll.
From what I understand, in 2007 Ford went ahead and added a stamped steel brace in the same location where this mod goes.
This is a mod that costs less than $70.00 shipped (Overnight, by the way, with free shipping direct from Steeda).
Let's get to it. I did my standard drive "drive the car up on homemade wooden ramps and chock the rear wheels to prevent my untimely death" routine.
Here are the contents of the box:
I put a short bolt in for reference (the kind that came with the kit). See the two longer ones? I had to source those myself locally...I have the Steeda control arm relocation kit to correct my car's geometry since it is lowered, and if you have that you have to buy your own 100MM long bolts. The ones that come with the kit are 80MM and will work fine if you don't have the control arm relocation kit. It would have been nice if Steeda would supply both lengths of bolts.
Here are the "instructions" - a sticker affixed to the packaging. Pretty skimpy, but this install is not rocket science:
Under car shots in area where it will be bolted. You can see my control arm relocation kit spacers:
I grabbed a breaker bar and metric wrench to hold the top nut and went to town...
I got the old bolts removed...
I threw some blue Lok-Tite on the new ones...
...and bolted the brace in. Torqued to 129 LB/FT. Note to self...Sears Craftsman torque wrenches SUCK! The rubber grip is held to the wrench by two sided tape...and when you are putting 100+ FT/LBS on something, it takes a kung-fu grip...and the stupid rubber handle WILL rotate. There is no longer a lifetime guarantee on Craftsman torque wrenches. DO NOT BUY THEM! OK...rant over...
Final pics:
I'll let you know if it brings me one step closer to being Lightning McQueen.
If you're going to actually buy the brace, why not get the CHE one with torque limiters? Then you'll stiffen your chassis as well as benefit from smoother shifts.