Applicable to: '90 - '97 1.6 liter
Brushed aluminium hollow tubing with black braces(poorly painted)
After waiting a total of 11 days for this product to arrive (due to the incompetence of Fed Ex not getting the address right), I quickly opened the battered box it arrived in. After examining the box, I found that it came with no instructions (not that it's hard to figure out, although some numbers on the proper torque per nut would have been nice.....thank you guys at www.miata.net !!!! ) The brace went in without a hitch. Started the vehicle without any shimmy. Took her out for a quick test run....WOW!!!!! What a major difference! The handling is way better than before, and the 65mph shimmy is all but gone!! For the price and ease of installment, this is the best mod that i've done to my ride thus far!!
STRONGLY RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT!!!
Under 5 minutes to remove
Applicable to: '90 - '97 '99 + 1.6 liter 1.8 liter
R-Speed Aluminum Shock Tower Brace. Strut bar is high grade polished aluminum. Towers are powder coated metallic silver and all attaches with polished stainless steel hardware.
Great looking bar. The only one I could find for a 2001 under $200. less than 10 min. to install, and could come off in half the time. Well worth the search.
Under 5 minutes to remove
Applicable to: '90 - '97 '99 + 1.6 liter 1.8 liter
This is a new aluminum shock tower brace that fits all years of Miata. Polished aluminum brace with heavy duty powder coated braces. Very nice looking and extremely easy install. Fit with my cruise control on my 1995 Miata. You can get it from Rosenthall Mazda www.finishlineperformance.com or R-Speed for the same price.
The unit took five minutes to install. There are two ways to install it. Finish is polished aluminum on the bar. Takes 8mm allen wrench and 14mm socket. Real nice look! Cost 99.95 plus shipping.
Good product overall. Purchased it from R-Speed and got quick delivery and good service.
Under 5 minutes to remove
Applicable to: '99 + 1.8 liter
Polished hollow aluminum shock tower brace with black brackets.
Installation is a no-brainer, although the instructions seemed generic (I guess to cover the various models available). I had already installed a roll bar, so there was little or no difference in the ride/handling. When I went to remove the tower bar, the nuts (where bar bolts to bracket) would not come off. Totally locked up! I'm not sure how that happened considering I took my time on installation being careful not to corss-thread or over-tighten, and to follow the instructions step-by-step. Fortunately I could still just remove the brackets from the shocks with no problem. It was then that I noticed the painted on the brackets was completey gone where the nuts held them down.
Although the finish is acceptable by my standards, the cheap materials and overall construction of this bar has me convinced that it is no better than a $15 eBay bar. In fact they are probably the same.
Under 5 minutes to remove
Applicable to: '99 + 1.8 liter
Aluminum bar that connects the two front shock towers together, providing added chassis rigidity.
The bar arrived quickly and in good shape. My friend and I installed this bar in about 7 minutes. I wanted a blue bar, but for the price - around $80 with shipping - I'll take the polished aluminum and pocket the extra $20-$40 for an anodized bar!
Car now feels great! Much more rock-solid feel overall and along with a new Brainstorm style bar the car has a super-solid feel and crisper handling.
Under 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to: '90 - '97 1.6 liter
RSPEED STRUT TOWER BRACE
I MUST HAVE HAD TERRIBLE COWL SHAKE. THIS BRACE TIGHTENED THE CAR UP. BEST ADDITION TO CAR YET. FOR THE MONEY A GREAT BUY.
BE CAREFUL. I HAD AN HKS POWERFLOW AND I HAD TO MODIFY IT TO MAKE BRACE FIT.
Under 5 minutes to remove
Applicable to: '99 + 1.8 liter
Very sturdy and inexpensive strut tower brace for the Miata. I installed this unit on a 1999 leather touring package with cruise and found the clearance on everything thin but acceptable.
Arrived promptly and installed very easily and quickly. I spent more time getting out and putting away tools than anything. Clear instructions and extremely good fit and finish.
Although very plain and low price I found the unit to be attractive installed. On the road the difference between stock was astounding. It now has that carved out of stone solid feel to it.
Under 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to: '90 - '97 1.6 liter 1.8 liter
Hollow, 3/4" diameter, polished aluminum shock tower brace. Sharply angled to fit over the engine. Mounts to the shock towers using two steel brackets and the (existing) 14 mm shock nuts/bolts.
Easy installation - thanks to the precise fit and finish of the parts. The shock nuts came off easily I had to work around a bit of the diagnostics cable but the brace was in in a matter of minutes. I used a torque wrench when re-installing the 14 mm shock nuts (28.8 ft. lbs.). Once installed my Miata smile froze on my face. I have a 91 stock B package - the brace cut down on vibration and generally made the whole car feel tighter - this has to be the least expensive major improvement one can make to an earlier example of this amazing vehicle. The polished aluminum brace bar looks good under the hood. R-Speed's mail order service is courteous and fast - and at $79.15 (including shipping) the shock tower brace is a bargain for such a high quality part. I highly recommend this product.
I am still not sure what the difference can be in other similar products that cost at least twice and close to three times the amount of the R SPEED Brace - I am glad I chose this one. If you can't tell yet I am happy with this product.
Under 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to: '99 + 1.8 liter
R-Speed aluminum Strut Tower Brace
The price was right when compared to similar products. The bar came with a small scratch on one end, but hardly noticeable. After installation steering seemed a little quicker and rough road shaking was significantly reduced.
The strut tower brace arrived overnight (one day)! Removing the shock absorber bolts required using a short breaker bar and a deep 14 mm socket. Installation was simple and straight forward and took about 15 minutes.
Under 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to: '99 + 1.8 liter
R-Speed Aluminum Shock Tower Brace
The brace looked very well-built but had a large scratch on the crossbar. I would have returned it, but it was not visible when installed. Installation was very simple and only took more than 5 minutes because I kept running back inside for more tools. Total time from opening the box to closing the hood was about 20 minutes. I noticed the difference in driving right away. The car felt smoother and less bothered by bumps. Cowl shake was noticeably reduced but still there. The biggest change was that the car was much more comfortable on longer trips. Rough roads don't rattle you around nearly as much. My wife noticed this as a passenger as well.
Excellent quality (other than the scratch). Easy installation. Noticeable improvement in ride. Great price! I was concerned that a brace this cheap wouldn't do much, but my concerns were unfounded. Recommended for those looking for an affordable upgrade.
Under 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to: '90 - '97 1.8 liter
Hollow, 3/4" diameter, polished aluminum shock tower brace. Sharply angled to fit over the engine. Mounts to the shock towers using two steel brackets and the (existing) 14 mm shock nuts/bolts.
Easy installation - thanks to the precise fit and finish of the parts. It is highly recommended to use a torque wrench when re-installing the 14 mm shock nuts (28.8 ft. lbs.). Once installed, I have experienced much better steering tracking, a slight attenuation of the "65 mph shimmy" (I have the 14", ultra-light alloys), and much less cowl flex.
The polished aluminum brace bar is a nice dress up item for those times when I show off the engine. R-Speed's mail order service is courteous and fast - and at $78 (including shipping) the shock tower brace is a bargain for such a high quality part. I highly recommend this product.
Under 5 minutes to remove
I am associated with a company that sells or manufactures this product. Applicable to: '90 - '97 1.6 liter 1.8 liter
Alloy shock tower brace made for RSpeed.
Extremely positive!
Alloy brace with alarmingly tall bends, 3/4" diameter, threaded ends fit onto the mounting brackets. Adjustments via 22mm nuts.
At first, I thought the tall bends would make this brace flexy, but upon some hard driving, and repeated running over railroad track crossings =o) I can say, perhaps they may be tall, but they DID button up the front end of the car.
65 mph shimmy gone, 90 deg corners approachable 10 mph faster than before, car tracks much more stable at speed, mysteriously fixed a steering wheel that was about 2 degs off to the left of center. I guess my car's bent or something =o)
Under 5 minutes to remove
Applicable to '90 - '97 '99 + 1.6 liter 1.8 liter
Aluminum Shock Tower Brace
I've been looking at getting a shock (strut) tower brace for some time, but have been putting it off due to the interference of factory alarm siren with most of braces available on the market.
Rspeed recently introduced an aluminum strut tower brace that appears to be similar to the one offered by Cork Sport. From what I can see from the picture on their website, it does not appear to interfere with the alarm siren.
I traded a M2 windblocker for the brace (great internet transaction) and received it the following week. It took me 1/2 hour to install it. I had to remove the alarm siren and move the brake lines out of the way.
The brace made the car tighter and greatly improved the handling. The alarm siren does not interfere with the brace and the bar really dressed up the engine bay.
Highly recommended - great price for a great product
Under 30 minutes to remove completely
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