KobayashiMaru86
Totally Hooked
I've ordered Cusco solid ones since the damped ones won't fit. Interested to see how those are.
mackie
Totally Hooked
I'm pretty sure after changing tyres (Goodyear Supersports) and fitting the Cusco strut brace that it's now quieter. The bizarre thing is that I also fitted coilovers with spherical bearing top mounts on the front and I was fully expecting a bit more buzz but it's actually pretty civilised.
I didn't find a significant change with the braces off, it was definitely quieter (and quieter than the braces wrapped in tubing) but not transformative quiet. I have sound deadened other areas of the car so it may be a bigger impact to an untouched car.
SJR202
Totally Hooked
So I've been avoiding using the 86 on long drives and anything that involves an A-B motorway etc. Read some comments from the US on the removal of the strut bars and thought why not, I hate the racket it makes on the motorway to the point of not using it seems like a silly thing to keep!
I have removed the bars completely, and the noise, well its still very noisy from the road but it removes a layer of resonance which was particularly painful, still cant have a quiet conversation at 70mph but its just not as irritating.
In regard to handling, if anything I slightly prefer it, the turn in is maybe 5-10% 'softer' and feels more progressive than with the bars which I felt was a bit artificial (like the throttle pedal - but dont get me started on that!), so handling I am fine with the change.
The biggest difference and to me improvement is a better ride, what I felt was 'jiggly' and on the UKs roads tiresome has been relaxed, its still firm and bumpy but its not got that secondary fidgeting.
So overall, while personal opinion and nothing more, removing the braces only improves the car for me. Its still far too noisy but I intend to add deadening in the rear boot, rear arches (which are meant to be a huge source of noise) and front footwells and see if that makes it a more liveable daily.
I have removed the bars completely, and the noise, well its still very noisy from the road but it removes a layer of resonance which was particularly painful, still cant have a quiet conversation at 70mph but its just not as irritating.
In regard to handling, if anything I slightly prefer it, the turn in is maybe 5-10% 'softer' and feels more progressive than with the bars which I felt was a bit artificial (like the throttle pedal - but dont get me started on that!), so handling I am fine with the change.
The biggest difference and to me improvement is a better ride, what I felt was 'jiggly' and on the UKs roads tiresome has been relaxed, its still firm and bumpy but its not got that secondary fidgeting.
So overall, while personal opinion and nothing more, removing the braces only improves the car for me. Its still far too noisy but I intend to add deadening in the rear boot, rear arches (which are meant to be a huge source of noise) and front footwells and see if that makes it a more liveable daily.
MTBMartin
New member
- Jun 17, 2024
- 17
- 18
Sound deading definitely reduces the bodyshell resonance and normal road noise. I've used Silentcoat 2mm deadening mat on the door skins, roof panel, rear panels in front and above the rear wheels and some on the floor panel under the rear seats - basically all the areas that resonate strongly that are close to my ears. Also used 20mm foam in most of those areas. About 7kg added if you're interested. Would be easy to add a lot more weight but I wanted to keep it to a minimum. The resonance will still start on concrete roads (though less strongly) and removing or isolating the diagonal braces is the only way I've found to really eliminate it. I've isolated the bars with rubber washers at the bulkhead end only and added a Summit strut brace and the combination of all these has made it a much quieter and less tiring place to be on long jouneys. Handling on road and track is fine with the V bars isolated.
Did a quick run up a smooth A road, removing the braces gave an approx drop of 3-4db (60mph 5th gear) and sounded noticeably better.
Felt a bit wobbly/weird to drive (can you tell I'm a former successful amateur Motorsport champ
).
Might have just imagined it all but think I'll be looking for a solution.
Felt a bit wobbly/weird to drive (can you tell I'm a former successful amateur Motorsport champ
).Might have just imagined it all but think I'll be looking for a solution.
I have ordered the TRD/Yamaha performance strut dampers, will report back on here if they do anything to reduce the front end resonance. After another 500 mile trip I will doing what I did with my GT86 and add some sound deadening, on some road surfaces at certain speeds the noise was unbearable, worse than I remember the old car and in anything else I've driven.
RumbleandSway
Totally Hooked
I've only driven 2 miles around the block so far but initial impressions are positive, I noticed the change straight away from driving the car earlier in the day. I have a very choppy road I use to get out of my village and car does ride it better. It feels calmer, when you hit a sequences of bumps in quick succession the suspension does it's work and less of the disturbance comes in the car, it settles quicker, less 'buzziness' which would make sense as it's taking the energy out of the chassis. I will give some more feedback once I've gone for a proper drive over the weekend.
Build quality is OEM standard, really nice to fit.
Build quality is OEM standard, really nice to fit.
Interesting. My new commute takes me down some (actually pretty fun) back roads through some villages, but there's lots of quite poorly surfaced sections...think where lots of different utilities companies have dug bits up over the years and you're left with lots of poor quality joints between tarmac sections. The car thumps over them a bit, I wonder if these would help soften that a bit. How much were they?
mackie
Totally Hooked
Is that on stock tyres? Mine is quieter after changing to Goodyear Supersports but also adding coilovers with solid top mounts which should make it noisier but really hasn’t at all.
Yeah im still on the PS4s, according the our friends in the states these are the main culprit for generating the noise. When my Michelins are spent I will be fitting something else, probably some Yoko V107s.
@PVGR yeah I am of the same view as you, given there is now a fluid and gas filled damper in place of the braces, I'd have thought it would have solved the issue but it doesn't, I suppose there is metal all the way through as there is a spring inside to make the assembly rigid.
@Conscript I ordered from blackhawk, the cost was £660 including the door stabilisers, that's with shipping, tax and import fees. The yen is weak at the moment so the exchange rate is really favourable.
@PVGR yeah I am of the same view as you, given there is now a fluid and gas filled damper in place of the braces, I'd have thought it would have solved the issue but it doesn't, I suppose there is metal all the way through as there is a spring inside to make the assembly rigid.
@Conscript I ordered from blackhawk, the cost was £660 including the door stabilisers, that's with shipping, tax and import fees. The yen is weak at the moment so the exchange rate is really favourable.
Silverye
New member
Like your thinking @Nick63 - I've found some nice 22mm Blue hose on AliExpress that'd brighten up my engine bay at the same time. Did you use a heat gun or hot water to expand the tubing? EDIT: Must have been typing my reply just as you were posting the above. I've plenty of PTFE spray in the garage so that should suffice ...
I'll just need to find the torque figures for those nuts now... Found it. 16Nm.
View attachment 27833
Did you end up fitting the 22mm Blue hose you ordered up? Considering buying the same stuff myself.
Cheers.
Yes, but I couldn't be arsed with undoing all of the nuts as I'd already fitted my Cusco bar; so I split the hose with a stanley knife, wrapped it around and used tie wraps to secure in place. See my image in the 'Keeping Engine Bay Clean' thread here.
Silverye
New member
Many thanks - and that's a great idea. Right, that's the same one ordered up and I'll take the same approach, much easier. Have you noticed any difference to the droning? I don't expect it will make much difference to the overall noise until I change the tyres but the lack of the resonance on certain motorway surfaces would be nice.
