has anyone bought this for the r56?

curious to know how much of a difference it makes

contemplating getting it for my base cooper

 

yea, so i just ordered the tsw x-brace

 

let us know?

 

sure! should be gettin it Wed

after reading all the posts i chose the tsw over the m7 for a few reasons

1. one solid piece, not four separate pieces
2. steel, not aluminum
3. cylindrical X design, not rectangular ladder design
4. more positive reviews for tsw in general over m7
5. imho one solid piece is stronger than four separate pieces bolted together

not hating on m7, i've had their strut tower brace for over a year n love it

also talked to Jeff on the phone, cool guy

reassuring to know this is their 3rd prototype for the r56

dont know about m7 however

 

I'd also be interested to know what handling improvements it provides. I see that TSW doesn't have an installation PDF on their web site. How about taking photos and writing a how-to as you install it?

 

 

got it today! ordered last thurs

lighter and smaller than i thought: about 5 lbs. you can see from the pic how big it is in comparison to the mini key fob

solid and beefy, reminds me of my h-sport rear hollow 25mm rear sway bar:

same black coating, hollow, light, very solid!

didnt come with any instructions or tools, haven't put it on yet

 

put it on now and haul a$$ around your hood and tell us everything.

 

Once you have it installed. I would like to see pictures of it to see how low it hangs from the ground? please

thanks
J

 

I've had this TSW "X Brace" on my '07 MCS for about a month now. Installation is a piece of cake! Mine came with an instruction sheet which is basically removing 4 bolts and reinstalling them in the same locations with the same bolts (through the brace brackets of course) and torquing them in place. The front bolts appear to be the connection of the front sub-frame to the unibody. The rear bolts are about in the middle of the car. If you hold the brace up to car while you are underneath it is self explanitory. You can see the installation instructions at the following link:

http://www.txwerks.com/images/Instal...ce_install.pdf

I believe the brace stiffens the front suspension structure which improves steering response and mellows out the torque steer or anti torque steer that is felt through the steering wheel when driving agressively on uneven road surfaces. Great mod, I'm very happy with the product.

 

no i haven't put it on yet, i will Monday

i went under the mini and saw that it lines up nicely w/the four bolts

however, the x-brace scratches very easily and i dont want it to rust

any ideas of what kind of protective coating to apply?

 

get some of the bed liner spray in a can. it should work . iam going to save up for the m7 unit it looks to be the best with all the bracing it has. front ,back and the middle .

 

Let us know how it works out, and how much it reduces ground clearance. The latter is a critical point for me.

 

 

I've sold and installed several TSW X braces and been totally satisfied with the fitment and performance of it.

 

ok i finally installed it yesterday

install was very simple and easy

jack up car, remove four bolts, attach, screw in bolts - done

the 2nd pic looks bad but its not off-center and it doesn't touch the cat

as u can see in the 3rd pic it has plenty of clearance between the exhaust

mine is stock but it looks like it should clear aftermarket ones no problem

went over a few speed bumps, no problems

handling:

the only handling/suspension mods besides this is rear sway bar & front strut tower brace

the difference is not as much as i thought it would be,

the chassis feels stiffer and the car rotates more easily,

car is flatter in the turns, more controlled, not like before where the rear sway bar was doing all the work

tail still kicks out during throttle lift off oversteer but its more controllable/predictable, whereas before it happened very suddenly

never had problems w/torque steer (justacooper) but i feel less understeer

but then again, this could all be in my head?

-you have to really push it to feel the difference-

its not like the rear sway bar where you instantly feel it in the smallest turn

this x-brace is more like the front strut tower brace i have (m7)

they both have simple install and basically do the same thing (stiffen chassis)

my friend who knows more about cars than i do said he barely felt a difference, only when really pushing it

overall i feel that this complements my rsb & stb nicely, almost ties them together in the middle

it was hard to tell the difference at first

but after driving yesterday and all day today through the usual commute i've been taking for years i can confidently say that i can feel the difference, but only when really pushing it

it is expensive ($403 including shipping/handling) but it does the job so i do recommend it

 

forgot 2 things

i got some minor scratches on the brace before so i put 3 coats of black spray paint on it prior to install

also forgot to take pics of ground clearance, i'll do that tomorrow

as long as ur mini is not lowered u should have no problem

like i mentioned before, i went over a few speed bumps and made no contact, thank god

 

You have an m7 STB on a justacooper? Any problems with that? m7 told me it wouldn't fit mine because of the shape of the hood in the non-S.

 

yes i bought the m7 stb last year in July for my 07 justacooper

it fits fine, and i've had it on since

i should probably mention that i removed the stock airbox + resonator and replaced the whole unit with a cone filter, right after the MAF

i dont know if it will fit over the stock intake but it fits under my hood no problem

 

 

-drewstermalloy

 

I imagine that thing must turn on a dime. I had a strut tower bar and a 4 pt lower tie bar similar to what you have there on my Spec V and man it made worlds of difference. You should invest in getting a rear support bar that goes behind the backseats. You might crap your pants from the gs being forced on your body after that. Nah J/k about the crapping your pants but get that rear brace.

 

lol Porthos

its rly hard to describe how the x-brace feels,

the rsb reduced body roll, the stb made the front stiffer,

the x brace just ties the 2 together

the best way i can explain it is that before,

the rsb was doing all the work in the back,

and the stb was doing all the work in the front,

the x brace just brings the 2 together

i notice a lil bit less body roll and a lot more chassis stiffness rigidity

i kno that description sounds elementary but thats just how it feels

all in all a good mod,

expensive, not as much bang for the buck as a rear sway bar but does the job

anyway Porthos, i dont have a rear strut brace but i do have this:



its snug tight, i know its not the same as an actual brace but i imagine it does the same or close to it?

 

Nah man that thing is weighing you down ditch it. That Tie bar in the middle is meant to reduce the amount of body roll you get so if you notice a lot less of it it did its job.

 

Great pics of the STB, thank you. I agree with Porthos for the rear though. Dropping that weight should be pretty beneficial. Just taking out the seats and the spare tire I've noticed a decent difference in handling and acceleration..