Banzai-Racing's Transmission Crossmember review
Banzai-Racing's Transmission Crossmember review
Transmission Crossmember
Not too many products come along anymore that excite me or I feel like taking the effort to write a quick review on. However, Banzai Racing's transmission cross member brace is worth the time.
My personal FD is decently tame and still extremely streetable, I did not want this to change. After installing my Mazdatrix short shifter(thanks Fritz Flynn), I still was not happy with the shifter movement I had when letting off the gas. I was hesitant to purchase this because the Mazdatrix shifters are known to rattle with any drivetrain vibration and mine was not rattling at this time.
Either way, to keep this short, I ordered and installed the crossmember brace from Banzai and it installed in minutes without issue(I also removed the factory cat and installed a hi-flow cat). Absolutely no new vibrations from my shifter and it eliminated about 90% of the shifter movement I had letting off the throttle.
This is an excellent modification to really help solidify the car. Such a great mod in fact that you pretty much forget it is there and just want to believe Mazda made the car this way.
Great product, easy install and makes the FD just that much closer to perfection.
David
Not too many products come along anymore that excite me or I feel like taking the effort to write a quick review on. However, Banzai Racing's transmission cross member brace is worth the time.
My personal FD is decently tame and still extremely streetable, I did not want this to change. After installing my Mazdatrix short shifter(thanks Fritz Flynn), I still was not happy with the shifter movement I had when letting off the gas. I was hesitant to purchase this because the Mazdatrix shifters are known to rattle with any drivetrain vibration and mine was not rattling at this time.
Either way, to keep this short, I ordered and installed the crossmember brace from Banzai and it installed in minutes without issue(I also removed the factory cat and installed a hi-flow cat). Absolutely no new vibrations from my shifter and it eliminated about 90% of the shifter movement I had letting off the throttle.
This is an excellent modification to really help solidify the car. Such a great mod in fact that you pretty much forget it is there and just want to believe Mazda made the car this way.
Great product, easy install and makes the FD just that much closer to perfection.
David
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,988
Likes: 0
From: Home of the 305 Boyz(miami)
/\ as much as i hate to say this... It actually works... I blew a tranny & diff after the big power i dynoed... Swapped a JDM tranny & decided to buy this..... So far holding 9700rpm shifts.... which is a suprise to me...
Two thumbs up from me as well. I have one installed on my 20B setup and it works great. No vibrations and smooth shifting. Love the design of the rubber isolator components. Buy it with confidence
I was first running Banzai's trans brace ( Transmission Brace ), it worked great no movement & very solid shifts. But it did transfer noise in to the car, great for the track not so great for taking the wife to dinner.
I switched to the cross member (Transmission Crossmember) as soon as it was available. WOW!! Just as solid ( at least to me) with no noise transfer. I am not the best driver in the world but I think this has helped a lot with my shifts and it just feels like more power is going to the wheels.
On the "Best bang for your buck" mod list, Banzai's trans cross member should be near the top.
I switched to the cross member (Transmission Crossmember) as soon as it was available. WOW!! Just as solid ( at least to me) with no noise transfer. I am not the best driver in the world but I think this has helped a lot with my shifts and it just feels like more power is going to the wheels.
On the "Best bang for your buck" mod list, Banzai's trans cross member should be near the top.
They state it clears a 4" exhaust fine. Just wondering how close it really is. My 4" downpipe, to 3.75" pipe is tucked kind of high. Just wondering if anyone had any clearance issues.
And yes, I've been eyeballing this for awhile. Thanks for the info!
And yes, I've been eyeballing this for awhile. Thanks for the info!
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David, David & Joe- We are happy to hear that you are enjoying our product, it is always nice to hear positive feedback.
We don't actually state an exhaust diameter. That being said, if you do not have a fitment issue with the stock tunnel brace, then you should not have any issues with exhaust clearance with our Crossmember.
BRAP BRAP BRAP...
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 424
Likes: 0
From: Plano, Texas
Performance-wise, sound aside, how does the trans brace compare with the crossmember?
I was a little tight for budget and grabbed the brace rather than the crossmember but it will be a while before the car touches the ground again and I'm curious.
I was a little tight for budget and grabbed the brace rather than the crossmember but it will be a while before the car touches the ground again and I'm curious.
Rotary Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 846
Likes: 14
From: hsv al
their products are so simple that i tell myself that i can fab that up on my own. then reality kicks in, so here i am with scrolling with my sweet-*** banzai racing mouse pad from ordering it lol
I also have installed the Banzai differential brace which works great as well.
I was first running Banzai's trans brace ( Transmission Brace ), it worked great no movement & very solid shifts. But it did transfer noise in to the car, great for the track not so great for taking the wife to dinner.
I switched to the cross member (Transmission Crossmember) as soon as it was available. WOW!! Just as solid ( at least to me) with no noise transfer. I am not the best driver in the world but I think this has helped a lot with my shifts and it just feels like more power is going to the wheels.
On the "Best bang for your buck" mod list, Banzai's trans cross member should be near the top.
I switched to the cross member (Transmission Crossmember) as soon as it was available. WOW!! Just as solid ( at least to me) with no noise transfer. I am not the best driver in the world but I think this has helped a lot with my shifts and it just feels like more power is going to the wheels.
On the "Best bang for your buck" mod list, Banzai's trans cross member should be near the top.
This really is not a good group buy item, we already produce these in 100 pc batches and we have already done all the R&D. We are not trying to line up 10 or ?? individuals to make a new product. Typically group buys are run for low (or No) volume products where a company or individual does not want to absorb the costs of production. The other scenario is a private individual trying to reduce the price enough by buying at a volume from a company to get one for free for themselves.
Running the trans crossmember and love it. Highly recommend it, and Banzai. Probably THE BEST customer service currently in our community based in MY personal experience.
Rotary Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 846
Likes: 14
From: hsv al
I think Joe sums it up pretty well:
This really is not a good group buy item, we already produce these in 100 pc batches and we have already done all the R&D. We are not trying to line up 10 or ?? individuals to make a new product. Typically group buys are run for low (or No) volume products where a company or individual does not want to absorb the costs of production. The other scenario is a private individual trying to reduce the price enough by buying at a volume from a company to get one for free for themselves.
This really is not a good group buy item, we already produce these in 100 pc batches and we have already done all the R&D. We are not trying to line up 10 or ?? individuals to make a new product. Typically group buys are run for low (or No) volume products where a company or individual does not want to absorb the costs of production. The other scenario is a private individual trying to reduce the price enough by buying at a volume from a company to get one for free for themselves.
or a company could temporarily boost product sale by offering a special price. or close out your batch.
say because the price of cold roll steel has gone down. and your sitting on these which were made a few months ago from a higher cost raw material. so get rid of these, negotiate a new price. make a higher margin.
Even in that scenario we would not have any need to offer a "group buy", we would just mark the price down on our site. There is no reason for an individual to have to wait for 10, 15, 20 other individuals to get money together. We have the product on the shelf at an exceeding fair price ready to ship.
Reducing profit margin, just to "boost" sales figures is a good way to put a company out of business.
Reducing profit margin, just to "boost" sales figures is a good way to put a company out of business.
