PVD Strutbrace
Last updated: 30-12-02

Figure 1	Figure 2

When driving round bends there is a certain amount of flex in the chasis. On older cars like the Astra mk2 and Nova this flex would appear to be pretty bad. Even with worn out old suspension the strutbrace made a huge difference in the handling of the car once fitted. So what does it do?
Basically, a strutbrace is a metal brace which fits between the two suspension turrets at the front or back of the car. It is fitted under a little tension so there is no 'play' in either direction, but it shouldnt be pushing or pulling the 2 turrets either way, as it is there to maintain the geometery of the suspension turrets, not alter it.
Because the brace maintains the geometery of the suspension turrets, it also maintains the vertical alignment of the wheel, thus the camber of the wheel stays constant and the tyre sits properly on the road around corners. There is no point having wide tyres for extra grip if when you go round a corner the suspension turret leans over and some of the tyre contact leaves the deck.
The strutbrace supplies extra grip which helps eliminate that classic understeer that a FWD car has.
The GTE is a little tailhappy. When I get decent tyres on it I will be able to asses the rear grip and find out if the handling is nice. If I am not happy with the rear grip then I might fit a strutbrace to the rear aswell.

Note: The strubrace I chose is the PVD polished alloy one. It offers good adjustability, is polished - which is good for the price, and looks nice.

Fitting:

PVD Polished alloy strutbrace - £59.99

1) Some people jack the car up, but I decided to fit the brace with the car on the ground.

2) Pop the bonnet, and locate the nuts ontop of the suspension struts. Undo them on both sides

3) If the brace is adjustable, adjust it to roughly the correct length and dummy fit it. It should go on nice and tight. I adjusted it so it was a little too short so I could put it on under a bit of tension. Considering the vehicle was sitting on the ground, this seemed the best idea, and it has certainly turned out OK.

4) The mount for the screen washer reservoir was leaning in a bit too much to get the strutbraces passenger side mount on the turret, so I has to raise the reservoir by hand (no tools needed for that) and then bend it out by a few millimetres. I then replaced the reservoir once the strutbrace passenger mount was in situ.

5) Clearance is very close by the air mass meter and SFI box. With the brace sitting in position (although not quite, because it needed bolting down properly) I had to loosen the air intake hoses to rotate the air mass meter so the brace could clear the top of it.

6) Finally the brace cleared everything, and could be bolted down properly. The suspension top nuts were then done up nice and tight - job done. I went out for a quick drive and there was definately more grip at the front. - Very nice.
Infact, I was very pleased! The front end grip has improved so much that on roundabout the rear went first and I ended up sideways. Time for some decent tyres and suspension to compliment the strutbrace.

Note: Figure 1 shows how the strutbrace looks once installed
Figure 2 shows the small level of clearance between the Air mass meter and the strutbrace. There isnt much room between the brace and the SFI box either.
I havent heard the engine hit the brace as it rocks yet so maybe the clearance is just about enough.

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