Review of KGPARTS diff brace
 

Hey every1,

I just finished the install and first drive of my KGPARTS differential brace. The install was very straightforward and easy....once you get the two 21mm differential bolts off. I ended up using a breaker bar and a 5ft steel pole over the top since my impact gun wouldnt break them (300 ft-lbs.) My car is straight so it slipped right in and took 2minutes to install. It clears my Bonez hiflow cat/Greddy PE exhaust just fine. I had another exhaust bracket welded on under the brace. The car feels much sturdier when under load, and wheel hop is gone! dropped the clutch from 2500 and it just took off and went straight into wheel spin! WOOHOO :bigthumb: The only problem i have is the exhaust clangs into the brace on right hand turns, but that is because my downpipe is missing a stud and causes the whole thing to sway around. To sum it up, the quality is top notch and it does its job VERY well!

-Zach

https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...postid=2494802

GREAT pic! Keith's stuff is Awesome!

So far I've seen positive reviews of this part but I wonder if the reason most people notice such a drastic difference is because the factory diff mounts are old and worn out. That seems to be somewhat the case with the drastic improvements people see with engine torque braces.

well actually...the diff was never really braced. The only part on the stock car was the horizontal tranny tunnel brace. But yes, its a easier cheaper way to fix this problem than say dropping the diff out and getting solid mounts.

Quick question: How much and where? THanks.

-Dan

$171 incl. shipping directly from keith (RotaryRX2_7 on the forum or kgparts.com) or they're available from rx7store.net

just wondering, would you be willing to take some measurements of it, and what nots. the degree of the angle, lenghts, widths, bolt locations? seems like a pretty easy to make piece for the price, ya know?

trey

Someone spent the time, and money to develop the piece to sell. And, although it may be a simple piece to construct, you should take this into consideration when making requests like this on a public forum. Make your own if it is so simple, and don't rip off someone else's design.

ok, have fun getting overcharged for two pieces of steel. i can look at it and tell how to make it, just wondering if it would help others. ill shut my mouth and save my money...

trey

well said Jesuscookies. The price is very fair for the amount of time it took to design and perfect, the quality of the cuts, welds, bolt holes/counterbores, and finish, lest we forget the performance/reliability benefits it provides. This $171 part effectively saves you from the chance of shredding ur diff from wheel hop, and also keeps you from buying $500 in trailing arms/toe links to fix the problem!

As a side note, Keith has an impeccable (sp?) business record and is a standup guy. I'd much rather buy from him than some guy who is attempting to immediately trying to steal his design.

is there a noticable vibration?

cruising around town, no. WOT and redline shifts, vibrations are there above 5500rpm but it wont rattle ur fillings out, its very tolerable. Plus with the exhaust noise and the performance suspension, its nothing out of the ordinary :) Freerevving it with a chic in the passenger seat could make it a sex machine quite literally, lol!

So this should eliminate a lot of the clunking as well?..., my shifter is very sloppy when i let off the gas, it throws itself forward. I think this is due to diff mount bushing being shot. Also i get massive wheelhop, so this is definately an item im looking at getting in the future.

Team stealth: were you getting and clunking before? after? Or any shifter movement?

Well, how many miles are on ur tranny? Do you have a stock shifter? That sloppiness could be simply a shot $2.50 bushing on the end of your shifter rod. But, i have 98k on my tranny, and the shifter will move 1/4" when under load and deceleration. I havent paid attention to the way it feels now, but i will post on it 2morrow :)

dont want to butt in but i think dragons design is better designed and has more thought, but that is just my opion. ;)
http://www.nopistons.com/forums/inde...pic=32388&st=0

i plan to get one soon, soon as i get some money:D

KGParts and Dragon's designs both function the same. KG's appears stronger, but the Dragon should be strong enough. Dragon's appears lighter, but only by a few lbs. Either one will work fine. It's awesome that we have 2 choices.

Doc

120k on the tranny, no its way more then 1/4 inch , more like an inch or so. I'm pretty sure its my diff mount bushings since all the symptoms are there.

Which one vibrates the least?

Yea its really a toss up between dragon's and KGparts braces. Unless your running 1200hp you wont be able to tell which is stronger, and personally, i like the fact that kevins could be used as a weapon, LOL :)

KG Parts Diff Brace. Is this the same brace Rx7 Store carries? I'd like one for my car... :)

yup its the same one rx7 store has :)

<---------another happy diff brace owner... :)

Great, I'll have Zavier put one on tomorrow :)

does the dragon brace vibrate as much as the KG?

you will get some vibration from both. i have one that is the same as dragon's. it is now on turbovr6's FD. saved my diff and prevented alot of hop. overall kickass piece. keith's will work but i have no experience with it. pick which ever one you like they are both quality pieces :)

How about sandwiching a piece of rubber between the brace and the body mounts? Mount it to the diff as-is. Perhaps that would cut down on the vibration in the chassis yet still provide the desired bracing benefits.

sorta tried that didn't do anything

Is the brace making noise all the time or only at certain RPMs (particularly after letting off the gas) ?

nah you can only hear it above 5500rpms, and at that engine speed your normally at WOT. I havent let off at that speed, so i couldnt comment on it. The car is grounded till i fix my downpipe at the moment. :)

Rx7 Store Diff Brace, $159
 

Great product! Highly recommended! No more wheel hop during launches. In conjunction with the engine torque brace, the driveline has a very solid feel with no slop at all! Up and downshifts are positively crisp and solid. $159 for the brace. It literally takes minutes to install. The midpipe/hanger needs to be bent upward and away from the brace to keep the hanger from clanging against the brace. Out on the road, you hear a very slight high pitch whine from the rear diff @ low speeds, but aside from the solid driveline, you hardly know the rear diff brace is there.

well i put on a solid trans brace and diff brace at the same time..... that is what kept my driveline from exploding ;)

Vosko, I still can't believe you're selling that as a rolling chassis. That is totally fixable. Is it a financial issue right now?

i know the car is fixable but it doesn't make sense to spend $16000 fixing a car that if i had a financial problem i could only get $18000 for...... you never what can happen around the corner. this is a rare opportunity when you invest two times as much as the car is worth into the car.... i also don't want a wrecked car, that has been fixed. i'm keeping my eyes open for replacements. don't worry :)

i dont notice anything myself, but have reports of slight noise under deceleration.

I can hear a little whine while im driving. anywhere above 5000 RPM it vibrates the hell out of the car. It my suspention has 100,000 miles on it and this alone fixed wheel hop.

Hmm, I hope I won't have the insane vibration at high RPMs. I have heard of some people stacking rubber washers to calm the vibration/noise down.

any more input on this brace?

Im having gothams put on my car as we speak.

j

I think we need to just bolt as much steel to the car as possible so everything is "braced" and the underside of the car looks like an erector set

:p:

or just go buy a C6 and be happy :)

This may be a stupid question... But in regards to the vibration issue, could another material be used to make these braces? Would a carbon/kevlar or some sort of material lessen vibration while still tightening up the driveline? I know when I put on my ETB (and since removed) my car did a good bit of vibrating and I didn't like it. I know it's one of those things you get used to... But over time won't all this vibrating wiggle everything loose? Like interior parts? Bolts etc? Like I said... Might be a stupid question, just asking.. :D

i would love to hear some more reviews of this modification....


how bad is the vibration?

some cars get no vibration yes?

how much of an improvement does it add when "hooking up"?

does it eliminate wheel hop?


j

i dont get any vibration except for *some* slight noise in the very upper rpm's. does 1000x more for eliminating wheelhop than the m2 toe/trailing does....
what did Gotham tell you before you bought it? didnt you ask their opinion? :)
actualy you probobly have it instaled now, did you get the car back?
jdhuegel1- yes eventualy from the slight vibration i experience, i plan on retightening every bolt in the car due to them wiggeling loose. j/k :rofl: come on man, its not THAT much vibration. :D

LOL... Ok.

I figured I'd ask. I used to be into big stereos (LONG time ago).. And after a few months of bass you could hear the whole damn car rattling when the stereo was off.. Some people just made it seem like the vibration was annoying.. I'm still getting one. :D

Anyone have a good closeup of the KG brace so I can check out the welds?

The welds ain't purty but they should hold fine. It will be Saturday before I can take a pic.

Doc

i wont have the car back for about ten days or so...they have a pile of work to do on her....doing ignition, water injection and such as well.

gotham said the rattle will go away once the brace settles properly. they said they got more vibration on their car that has frame damage..ie bent

i hate wheel hop..so im looking forward to this.

do you feel like it improves your launches?

j

I put mine on last week. I've only gotten a chance to launch a few times, and it definately does its job in getting rid of the wheel hop.

Launch 1: From around 2500 rpms, slightly slipping the clutch. 0 wheel hop

Launch 2: From around 3500 rpms, slightly slipping the clutch. Barely noticable wheel hop.

Launch 3: From around 3500 rpms, DUMPING the clutch. Just a liiiiiiiiiittle bit of hop, but controllable within a second and a half, and 0 hop shifting hard to 2nd gear.

I'm on stock 97k mile suspension, although previous owner might have replaced springs/shocks with OEM stuff sometime. Launching before at the strip was horrible, I'd only be on less than half throttle all the way thru 1st and 2nd gear. The best 60' time I got on almost 400 rwhp was a 2.0!!! Best 1/4 of 12.4 @ 117. I'm guessing just with the addition of this brace, I'll be able to cut my 1/8 mile time by .2 or .3, and my 1/4 time by .5 seconds.

The vibration is VERY noticable in my car. Upon starting, and idling a little bit. But you hear the way the car works in almost every rpm range. Most noticably during decel around 30 mph there's a weird almost groaning sound. Kinda like a ghost in a scary movie. And also at WOT past 5500 rpms. But with a full open exhaust, it's just another noise to me. My hood rattles, my hatch rattles, etc, etc..

I daily drive my car (for now) and even with the noises/vibration, I'd definately say the brace is worth it. Sometimes I'd even get wheel hop if I floored it from a roll in 1st gear. And even if the noise/vibration is too much for you, it's a friggen 10 minute install. Take it off for daily driving, and put it on for the track. You can install/uninstall in less time than you can change a tire.

Good job Keith!

hey Doc, dont sweat taking a pic.... i took one for you.

http://www.kgparts.com/images/diff_b...eldonbrace.jpg

so you are saying these welds arent purty? i think you are thinking of someone else's welds that look like crap but *should* hold up. ;) i have closeup's of theirs too but i wont post them. :)

LOL...your weld DO look prettier than the other "person", If the other "person" resides in Okinawa that is....:D

This diff brace is the main reason why I make 769rwhp :) If you buy this it will make you make as much power as me :)

All kidding aside I have used these on almost all the single turbo conversions I have done lately and I can tell you this If I ever get a street car of my own I will use this product for sure. I am pleased with the performance. It did eliminate the wheel hop issue without the use of slicks, wich in turn is keeping the diffs alive. I have not noticed any noise but who can hear anything when the wastegate opens on a single turbo car.

my greddy manifold welds broke........i guess greddy is crap ;)