Really cently installed the WMW strut tower brace and TSW X-brace on my 06 R53.

Summary: I'm really pleased with the perceptible difference they made in tightening up the chassis.

Background: I've had the car for six months. My first MINI. I immediately replaced the factory struts/shocks with Bilstein B4s and new bushings, still running factory springs. Added IE fixed camber plates and installed powerflex purple control arm rear bushings. Pretty happy with the handling, but here in town, the car felt unsettled on rough roads (light rail construction going on in my neighborhood so they're tearing up the streets regularly and temporarily patching them poorly).

Car is a DD with track dreams, and called into duty for semi-frequent stress-reduction therapy sessions in the twisties.

I'm skeptical of most aftermarket parts claims, but these two mods made sense to me based on extensive experience modifying and strengthening the unibody/suspension support in first gen Mustangs.

I went with the WMW strut bar, as it makes more sense to me to use a one piece bar over the M7 bar; in a perfect world I would have preferred a single piece including the mounting plates. Ideally, I would think it would have been even better to triangulate the bar to the firewall in the back, but that probably isn't practical.

The X-brace seems to perform a function similar to the Trans Am style crossmember mod on Mustangs, combined with subframe connectors to complete the "box" that consists of the two strut towers and the top brace, along with tying it into the car's longitudinal structure. Plu, it was on sale and seemed to present a much more solid connection than the convertible braces that were $100 more. 😳

Results: The top brace went on first due to time constraints. I can't say that I noticed a significant change; most likely it was mainly placebo effect. After about 4 days, I had time to install the X brace. The change there is definitely real and noticeable. Potholes, metal plates, angled road cuts that used to rattle the car now are actually much smoother, with the body staying rigid enough that the suspension is doing all the work to absorb the irregularities. Those angled cuts that make each of the 4 wheels impact individually? The car handles them with confidence, and a much more composed feel.

Sorry, no formal metrics to offer to back up my claims. Also, no real twistie testing yet to provide feedback on cornering different ES. And no, I'm not going to pull the strut bar to see if the x brace alone achieves the results. But, my overall assessment is that this is a worthwhile mod to really firm up the chassis, and ultimately improve the handling.

Just One old car guy's opinion...

 

Thank you for your feedback as we try to tell customers how well they work, but having a customer give their feedback is always best.

 

I love my WMW strut bar!

 

The X-Brace is an excellent piece that delivers results.

I tried the OMP lower brace first, and there was improvement, but still noticeable tramlining (or wiggle) due to chassis flex on grooved concrete highways. (I do run the alignment at zero degrees toe-in in the front, and that may have contributed.) I switched to the TSW X-brace when it first came out, after very positive reviews. My car immediately felt more "solid" for both street & track days, and the tramlining effect on grooved roads disappeared. (This was before Way acquired TSW, but it is still the same quality product today.)

Note: I also added the convertible braces a decade ago (when they were $25 for the pair, plus screws). Results were subtle, and certainly not as obvious as the X-brace.

 

These cars are pretty stiff as manufactured for all but the hardest forms of racing. Well...maybe the factory engineers should have payed more attention to the top of the front strut towers..!
As a Sr. Mechanical Test Engineer (retired), I've been involved in almost twenty years of various types of testing various components, sub-assemblies and assemblies in the Aerospace Industry, (aircraft and space vehicles)

Bent bars do little to NOTHING for strength. Additional triangular components may help.
Friction joints (large diameter or slotted holes) do NOTHING for strength. Fillers may help.

It's just simple high school physics.
With a couple of sensors and control boxes, the above can be proven pretty easily. I've tested both of these scenarios many times over. Bent bars and slotted connections...NEVER work. Maybe if the engineer was lucky, did achieve about 20% of their design limits during testing.
It seems that for many, just out of school, degreed Engineersthat want to reinvent the world, I see (saw !) try these ideas, they all had to go back to their proverbial drawing boards. I give them a "little" credit for trying...but lets be real..!?

Another dollar from car guys wallets, that thought they knew...
There are (still)...anti-sway bar manufacturers making anti-sway bars out of 1018 / 1020 (and similar) material. Just in case you don't know, 1020 is NOT a spring steel..! If you don't use a spring type material, the ONLY thing it did successfully is lighten your wallet and add pounds to your car.

Mike

 

1) Have you ever heard of force vectors? As long as there is a vector involved in the axis of interest, there is more than do nothing.
2) Oh, and you claimed to be Sr. Mechanical Test Engineer (note caps to signify the coveted title). You obvious know nothing about mechanical fasteners. I am not an ME non Sr. MTE but did pay attention in hi school physics. You claim of friction joints does nothing for strength is BS and just shows your ignorance in anything mechanical. What do you think that hold a screw thread from undoing? Friction do the lion share of the work (there is mechanical interference to small extent, and what they call stiction) but in that case the constraint is circular. Linear friction joints (as you are refer to as do nothing) are in majority of everyday engineering and implements. What do you think what affix the rear trailing arm bracket to hold the alignment? What you called friction joints.


a bent bar on this E30 M3


another bent bar designed by idiot ME

 

I'm not an engineer, and won't try to use a bunch of technical words that I can't properly define, and don't want to take the time to look up and understand.

Does a bent bar introduce the possibility of more flexing/less rigidity than a straight bar? Certainly. Is it possible to design the bar to minimize the impact to an acceptable level? Yes.

Does a slotted hole with a threaded fastener introduce the possibility of movement at the fitting? Certainly. Is it possible to design the fitting with sufficient holding power to minimize the possibility of movement? Yes.

I acknowledged in the beginning that the strut tower brace would have been more effective in my humble, unscientific opinion, had it been triangulated to connect to the firewall as well, but it will reduce movement of the shock tower flexing inward toward the engine from the forces applied by the front suspension. It's not a new concept and it has been successfully applied by some really smart automotive designers for over fifty years. Same goes for the x brace underneath. It's a similar design concept to the subframe connectors used in the Mustang unibody that I'm much more familiar with.

Here's the deal-I was skeptical, but saw similarities to designs in similar applications that I am much more familiar with. Designs developed by guys way smarter at building cars to handle than me, who supported folks like Carroll Shelby, Bud Moore, Parnelli Jones. If you asked me to write an essay explaining in technical terms how they worked and to what degree they were effective, I would fail miserably. I didn't try that. I considered the parts, compared them to applications where I have significant experience and knowledge, installed the parts, tried them (I won't use "test" in a dialog with a Senior Mechanical Testing Engineer), and discerned a marked improvement in my real world experience on my car--one that exceeded my expectations.

I reported my OPINION (note the subject line identifying it as such). You're welcome to share your OPINION as well. However, your theoretical opinion that the design does NOTHING demonstrates the limited validity of your opinion.

Thanks for playing.

 

pnw -


"Claim"...funny..! Bad mouthing people that you don't even know. Pretty sad.

1. Sure have. With that vector NOT pointing directly at its target...again, you get nothing.
No matter if you weigh 300lbs, stand 6"5", and can curl 200lbs... I can show you, VERY simply, that you DO NOT have the strength to hold your arm straight with just the smallest amount of your elbow being unlocked (bent bar). SAME THING with your "force vectors". Lock (a straight bar) your elbow, I (nor anyone else) wont be able to move it no mater how much anyone try's..!

2. No. Capital letters indicate (in my case) indicate a "professional career position". I apparently know something about many types of fasteners. No Aerospace company in the US would have paid me the salary that they did for 20 years without me knowing...something..! I'm able to be retired at a pretty comfortable position because of my past work.
You obviously know not what you speak. I've seen it too many times to even come close to agreeing with your less than knowledgeable comments. You've apparently read some of this in books, but obviously don't have the background to understand what you may have read.

Sounds like you may know something about terms and words, but not how they work or what they mean.
Funny thing, you can talk ****, but can't even sign your real name..?

Mike

 

You would be surprised how often these aerospace companies and especially defense contractors retain highly compensated deadwoods that had elevated to their level of incompetence. Ask why I know? Your biggest fallacy in your argument is you fail to understand the roles of friction play in our physical world. Without friction, majority of mechanical fasteners cannot function. Everything needs to be rivet together.

 

I'll jump in here... Your elbow is a flex joint, not a rigid member, regardless the position its in. A bent tube can still be a rigid member, as can a bolted joint. Just because there is a joint, does not automatically make a joint flexible.

 

Here is one strong proof friction joints with slotted holes can perform useful functions. The Trailex car trailer is unique in the business in that it is constructed with extruded aluminum with channels for t-bolts. So what the bolt "holes" are channels from end to end, and that the fasteners simply consists of one t-bolt and one flange nut. The entire trailer is constructed with what you bin as fiction joints, and they perform structural functions. This trailer happens to be the lightest and strongest trailer in the business pound per pound, and much lighter than welded aluminum trailer of comparable capacity.

It's load capacity is 4,500 lb and yet the trailer weighs 910 lb. That is living proof friction joints do more than nothing.





Even the suspensions for the wheels are held together and fixed from forth or aft shift by friction joints.

 

I also have the WMW X-Brace installed on my 2006 JCW. It has helped stiffen the car for autocross and saved my bacon during an off I had at the end of the season. The car snap oversteered during a high speed slalom and sent me careening for a curb and a chain link fence which I ran into. The X-Brace protected the underside of the car when it ran over and bent two of the fence posts. The MINI's underside ended up resting on one of the said posts. What was separating the MINI from the post? Yep, you guessed it - the X-Brace. It kept the curb and posts from ripping out the catalytic converter / centre pipe and other under car doodads. I got lucky but the X-Brace played an important role in saving me $$$ and grief. Thank, Way

 

Just ordered one . I'd been debating for a while and really like the location of the cross member, more rearward than most and right in the weakest part of the frame. What I'd really like to do is get a before/after relative torsional stiffness measurement. Brainstorming a jig I can make up for this......

 

You should consult with Mike for his decades of experience in test engineering with the simple boxes he uses.

Oh, I just realize you falls into his bucket of green and inexperience engineers that have more text book theory than real world experience to back up your work. Sound understanding of physics and applied science means squat. So go with you BS degree. Just make sure the brace you receive does not have slotted or excessively sloppy holes. Friction joint never works - he claims. BTW, what is tolerance stack up anyway? A myth invented by incompetent ME (mechanical and manufacturing Es).

 

Here is a link with some good discussion and tech notes for development of the Flyin Miata frame rails:
https://forum.miata.net/vb/showthrea...ht=frame+rails

Since the Mini has a roof, you might not see as much benefit from the x-brace compared to an older Miata. But, should give you some ideas if you want to test it out in a similar manner.

 

If you ordered this afternoon it will ship tomorrow. Can't wait to hear your feedback.

 

What is the status of the 2nd gen R56 x-brace? I’d like to get one, but 100 pieces?!

 

I think I have my test setup figured out on my build thread, looking forward to trying this out. Thanks Way, just got the ship notice.

 

Thanks for joining the conversation! Interested to see the results.

 

Yes that is how they are backordered on our site as no one needs 100

Once we have them completed and in our hand and ready to ship we will post about it. But we don't give eta's or guesses on what day we will have them as there are too many variables to control that.

 

Cool, thanks for the update!