ross

I'm thinking of getting a strut tower brace. Is the vibrant brace any good?

_Kansei_

I know for the Proteges, the vibrant one is a lot worse than the stock bar.
I'll have to research this further, as I was fairly certain the chassis/suspension of the 3 platform was designed such that a strut tower brace was completely unnecessary.

Welcome to the site!

ross

Thanks, any info would be appreciated

dentinger

try the GTspec one!!
alot of the guys on the TM3 boards have that one.
i know progress makes sway bars, so you could also check there.

_Kansei_

I had a GTspec bar and it was so much worse than stock :P

but yeah, maybe things are totally different with the 3. I know the MS3 has no strut tower brace, if it needed one Mazda would have put it on.

J-Protege

Very true, they dont skimp out on those MS series cars.

I know for most of us Protege guys, suspension upgrade = stock Mazdaspeed protege parts, haha.

If you want a stiffer body, and less roll on the 3, switch to the MS3 sway bars. You'll notice those alot more than an STB.

Ken@ProtegeGarage

what makes the vibrant one worse?

_Kansei_

Than the stock P5 one? It's hinged.. it lets the front suspension move in a parallelogram.. the stock bar, being strong and one unified, inflexible piece, actually braces.

But on the 3, I guess if you want some bling under the hood the vibrant would be the way to go. I just know that Mazda designed the 3 such that it doesn't need a strut tower brace.

J-Protege

I've never understood how the aftermarket ones can be weaker in design, yet more expensive that the OEM strut brace.

Ken, you should sell the OEM brace, for us Proteges not blessed with one.

_Kansei_

^^ the only ones I know that are more expensive than a new OEM brace are better (3-point, solid welded steel, etc ... autoexe comes to mind).

The aftermarket ones were marketed for the P5/MP3/MSP that already had a brace.. so people just assume that an aftermarket one is an upgrade.

PNY

The 3 already comes with sway bars in the front and rear. The strut tower brace would probably not have a dramatic increase in handling performance.

JoshP5

True, but they're not as beefy as the MS3 ones, which are not as beefy as the Racing Beat ones.

J-Protege

Stock sway bars can (should) always be upgraded if you're looking for a handling boost.