In this situation, he's talking about the guys who pull the power steering equipment out and either don't de-power the rack or do a ****-poor job at it and raving that it gives soo much better road feel. Driving a manual rack is much different than even a properly de-powered rack. Driving a power rack manually is just retarded. I'm glad my TII is a manual rack car because I hated the power steering in my S5 GXL.

 

Okay, new question does anyone have the RB torque brace in their car right now, and how much added vibration are we talking about if any? I want to see a photo for proof. How can they be so confident in a product that seems that rotordad and Go48 are the only people to have/ had it.

 

Fair enough, but the only effective difference between a PROPERLY depowered ps rack and a manual rack is the turns ratio.

 

transmission wear is also a contributor as well. my transmission has tons of daily abuse and over 200k miles. it whines like a jet going down the road but it has for the last 40k miles

 

I doubt that at 83K and being the second owner at 77k.

 

I have one. It transmits some more noise into the cabin at idle but I don't feel any weird vibrations in my car from it. I had to use a shorter alternator belt to keep the alternator from rubbing the bar.

 

Dude, that is a strut brace not a torque brace. This is what I'm talking about in the first post.




This out a Fb s3 I think.

The Racing Beat-designed Engine Torque Brace, available for all 1979-92 RX-7s, substantially reduces or eliminates the shuddering experienced by many RX-7 owners when engaging the clutch in either first or reverse rear.

This simple brace mounts to the rear of the engine, and the retaining arm attaches to the outboard sheet metal in the engine compartment. (You must drill a small hole in the sheet metal to mount the retaining arm.) This brace reduces engine movement allowed by the soft-rubber OEM engine mounts by reducing engine movement during clutch engagement. This brace has particular benefits when upgrading to a more “performance” oriented clutch and/or pressure plate, which may make this “shuddering” even more pronounced! .

 

IAMXED the RB torque brace is different but has a similar function. Take a close look at the strut bar by the alternator! Do you see the engine damper there?

 

No Dude, he has the same torque brace, but it's attached to the strut bar, take a closer look near the alternator.

And I was referring to de-powered racks, and YES there is more of a difference in just ratio's on an actual manual rack and de-powered rack as the de-powered rack has a lot more drag from the power assist mechanism still being in there not too mention MAZDA made the powered racks have a variable road feel by introducing more friction were the rack is closer to center (the rack becomes tighter nearer center). If it's looped line de-powered your now pushing fluid through valves still and that adds more steering resistance, NOT ROAD FEEL. This additional drag works when powered, but when de-powered is additional drag with no benefits, it doesn't add to road feel, just makes the steering more heavy. Anyone who thinks the stock Rx-7's steering racks don't offer adequate road feel has been reading to much BS or doesn't have much experience in many performance cars. The older RPM based actually has much better feel then the s5 turbo's speed sensing. Yes, full race cars having a non-powered rack would be a benefit when driving 9.9 out of 10, but most of these morons don't having the driving skill or talent to need a non powered rack, they just do it because they read it's "better" from forum parrots. True enthuist who use their cars for motor sports more often then not, sure.. But hey, it's their car so do what you will with it.

~Mike...............

 

OH S$%#! I thought some thing looked odd, I like that design. I don't see how the RB is going to hold up against the sheet metal near the fender.

 

that thing is expensive $325.00

 

You got to pay to play. LOL

 

How would one take a photo of vibration???? It's something you just have to sit in a car to appreciate.

 

Most people de-power racks because of their unpredictable tendency to hydrolock when turned one way and the other quickly like in a slalom. With the PS stuff removed and the fluid bled from the rack it loses this tendency and in my case it improved road feel and tire feedback noticeably. Its noticeably easier to feel the front tires lose traction in a turn.

 

There are other cons as well to the torque brace.

The RB torque brace that attaches to the rear rotor housing will lead to stress failures in the housing.

The torque brace that attaches to the water pump housing will lead to a cracks in the water pump housing.

Just some tradeoffs to keep in mind.

I used to run an RB torque brace and some Mazda Competition mounts on my GTUs. I don't think there was anything on that car that didn't vibrate.

 

That was mostly the Mazdacomp mounts I would suspect. Like I said, I feel and hear little bit at idle but everything else feels pretty normal.

 

At what power levels could this really become an issue? I have competition motor mounts (from RB I think) and the same RB torque brace sitting on the shelf. I don't want to install it if it's going to force a rebuild after a year or two.

 

Ive got Himni solid engine and trans mount and everything vibrates always at 2-3k lol

Feels like Im in a tumbler.

 

I wouldn't be able to tell you, I ran the car as an NA autocross car, so I didn't put out that much power. The car's been driving for about 3 years now, with no signs of failure.....yet.

 

And there should not be any failure. My damper was on my car 20K miles before I bought it. I have put on another 6K miles in the last year or so, and over 1000 of those miles have been on track.

The damper will never break anything. It is a rubber mount, not a solid one.

 

The rubber in the rubber mount is some of the hardest rubber I've ever experienced. Just for perspective.

 

it is also much better than that POS you pictured.

now think about that flimsy piece of metal that the engine is torquing against and think about how much it is really doing and then look at the traingulated type and think about how much it is doing.

 

You might be right, but you are that same person who down talked autolite on an rx-7 forum, and as a ford enthusiast I don't appreciate it.


Being this is for a car that is a daily driver. I don't want to add any chassis vibration. I'll put up with the shuddering at first gear and just engage my clutch little bit slower.

Called RB about returns, If/when I install this to my car and experience new vibrations or new sounds. It will void the return policy and I will be stuck with it.

 

I've been a Ford enthusiast a whole lot longer than a RX7 enthusiast. First car was a 64 1/2 Mustand, and wish I still had it. I've been driving RX7's since 1980.

That said, I join with Karack as to opinion about quality of autolite when compared to alternatives such as Bosch.

Again, I'm a BIG fan of RB products. But for the reasons outlined, I went with the Mazdatrix set up.

 

I agree with Mr. Hozz, RB makes excellent products, but I also went with the Mazdatrix brace.

People sell them on here for a better price from time to time if you keep a sharp eye out.