Are Chassis Braces Worth It? --We Tested It!
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This week on Money Pit, the miata’s floppy body will be stiffened up with a barrage of chassis bracing components. We’ll take a few LASER measurements before and after to see if we’ve stiffened the car up or just lightened our wallet.
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I’m excited for “Will This 12 Valve Cummins Actually Fit In The Miata???”
dually swap
HELL YA!!
🤣
Westin Chaplin will do it!!! (Check out mustang Cummings swap)
There's a dude with a v12 Miata here on KZhead
WAR THUNDER sponsors MONEY PIT HAHAHAHAHA
Coincidence... I think NOT!!!!
Omggggggggg
PHLYYYYYY
2 things I never expected in a Donut video. War Thunder and Phly.
A wild Phly appears!
"I'm gonna feel safer with this rollbar" *Head is above the top of the rollbar*
Think upside down sliding down the blacktop. 😱 An extra foot of room?
Gotta duck
I'm proud to be the 69th like
Ur Average Gamer nice.
it might not stop an impact to his head but he wouldnt be crushed
“So first of all we’re gonna test ho much flex the stock chassis has” **car barely flexes** “Now let’s add a couple hundred dollars of parts and see what happens” Man I love this show :)
I dunno how much the text flex works. The forces of being on the ramp are waaay less than the car will feel turning hard at high speed.
A couple? Nah that's more reasonable lol he added SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS worth
Zach: On a normal car, you have what's called a "roof". Me: WHOA WHOA this wasn't covered in the Car Terms video
I know WTF IS A ROOF
I guess I have more to learn
Pretty sure they did an Up to Speed on them.
roof is what an dog sais, you're are stoppid
@@chr_stian **do you are have stupid**
Zach: Let's get stiff Me: I'm already stiff
Phrasing!!! -Archer
I'm surprised someone hasn't said "Zach always makes me stiff"
Jesus Christ
Put it away.
Ok
Frame rails: *bent* Zack: *sees hammer* “ah yes, the negotiator”
I could see Jeremy Clarkson getting in on the action: "OK, where's my hammers?" 😄
Video: money pit Sponsor: War Thunder Me: 'yea sounds about right'
Underrated comment
Those premiums ain't cheap
***Cries in 4 10.7 mbts and 3 full nations researched***
Gold
More like world of tanks
Do a D-list on members of donut media.
That Would Be Fun
Yeah
That would kinda be getting ride of there privacy, you think?
Demo I do get what you mean, but what about who they are, and what they do at donut?
yes, especially behind the scenes people
Joke's on you bro. I got stiff the second I saw the notification for a new money pit.
Absolutely love how casually ok Zach is with drilling holes in the floor of his Miata
When it's not your one and only it makes it easier to do things like that
He's in Cali. No rain
@@TheLostfoundation no it’s his car just funded by donut for the series
If you do it right, there's no problem.
like its a big deal u never worked on car or something ??
Next money pit- “fixing the seats in the Miata so they aren’t ripped anymore
Yeah just replace them with some proper seats already lol
New seats yes plsssss
Done!
Lmao you did your job well
@DJ Coin Laundry haha
I almost spit out my tea when he called a hammer *“The Persuader”*
I almost spit out my drink where the camera guy was like "fuck gimmie a warning"
aka BFH
Used for percussive maintenance.
Yeah persuader is a technical term. We use it all the time in the shop.
My dad calls the hammer, the instruction manual
Ahh yeesss my favorite day of the week!
Tuesdays?
@@BackTheBlu Wednesdays
Rusty Scab this is the best show they have now that Hi Low season 1 is done
Today is indeed the best day of the week
Same
The Donut crew’s commitment to their advertisers is commendable. Between Zach’s war reenactment and Pumphrey’s NASA-ladder pour this channel deserves all the success.
I can tell you without a doubt, The Flyn Miata frame rail braces make a huge difference in the feel of the car. I installed them on my 95 Miata after installing "Tein Basics" coilovers on it back in 2006. The increased spring rates seriously amplified the chassis flex. The Flyn Miata Frame rail braces made the car feel completely different with the stiffer springs and shocks.
That scream of “not a single noise” to let us know how annoyed he was with the rattle
“Are Aftermarket fenders worth it?” Just an idea
That dent bothers me so much
Is that because you want to buy some too?😂
Carbon ones if u racin
Razvy Oltean yeah😂
Carbon fibre fenders, sweet
7:27 smacks frame rail into the door paint
That Hurts to watch
saw that too but looks like the door already has some dings in it just adds to the patina LOL
It would be cool to see a side by side comparison of a stock Miata vs the money pit one on a track to compare times.
You created Hight/low car!
It would be important to get a baseline of how fast the Miata was at first and then to where it is now. There is often a very large disparity between how powerful cars are just because it’s not the same car
Nobody: Zach: "Let's get stiff!" "Existing Holes." "Slide it In"
Drill some holes 😳
"our nuts are aligned up"
"Decreased squeaks and noises"
H-HURRY PUT IT IN MEE >\\\
quarantine has got everyone home alone mad horny
I want my gf to watch this show too but I'm scared she'll leave me for Zach and move back to California.
Hahahaha
I mean I’d leave my girlfriend for Zach
Sad...
@@zacharymollohan3346 wait what??
@@zacharymollohan3346 maybe you're on to something there...
3:00 Saabaru on the background ❤️
nerd
“I’m Zach and you’re watching money pit, let’s get stiff”
0:06 0:11 0:19 anyone else see the miata with eyes & a tongue 🤣
Bruh 😂
Lol
that is incredible omfg
Someone’s getting their salad tossed 🤣
wtf lmao
“Let’s get stiff” - Zack 2020
*Zack ZOZO
Should make a sticker
*Zach
@@captainautismo5452 ZAX
@@PACKERMAN2077 (º-º )
Yeah man, those door bars probably did all the magic here. Frame rails probably helped too, but they're just adding a few mm thickness to an existing shape. But door bars made a rigid connection from your rear rollbar to the front wheel well area and "closed" the top section of the car like a roof would. Going from a C channel to a boxed frame. I have a floppy SC430 that I added an underbody brace to that made a phenomenal difference. You can tell just by looking at how the image vibrates in the mirrors. You guys are inspirational!
I did a similar brace setup. Also added 3 point front strut brace. I had a lot less rattles and windshield shake. The car was also more comfortable with the shocks doing the work rather than the chassis twisting as much.
Props to the effort put into the advertisement 😂 Also, the Harddog door bars are the best chassis stiffness upgrades for your money.
2:11 Zach: "On a normal car, you have what's called a roof." Me: "WOAH. Who knew?"
Wait slow down.
HE IS BLOWING MY MIND!!
out of this world
Love your delivery as usual Zach! Really loving your channel buddy, lots of fun watching you do your thing, you’ve really made this channel your own!
Thank you for all your videos on your Miata build! Great stuff!!!
Zach: "On a normal car, we have a roof." Me: "Whoa whoa! Slow down egghead!"
Me: See's a new Money Pit Video. Him at the start of the video: "Let's get stiff!". Me: Already there buddy
I like getting stiff
Damn I really needed this, thanks for making this video. Ironically I got a 91 Miata at about the same time this series started, so I got to experience almost everything at the same time
This channel is the best get through the Quarantine. I've been interested in Car Modifications because of this Channel! Thank you Donut Media!!!! I love the videos.
"Should've just welded the doors shut" - Bo & Luke Duke
Dude didn't even finish his sentence before I copped that donut shirt 😂
Moron
James DeHart sell me one I’m desperate to be cool.
@@impoppy1788 someone didn't make it in time lol 😂
This video series is the best part of my Wednesday. Keep up the amazing work. These videos make cars more approachable
This dude is cool, gives me motivation to carry on, especially seeing that clutch swap video
Everyone's on "let's get stiff" and I'm like "how the miata's tiny engine is gonna handle all that weight?"
Nothing a boost snail or two can't fix.
All 6 pounds of it lol.
@@Neishy4AGTE That's a lot for a miata
@@somethingsomething3718 well maybe the driver just takes a big shit before he drives it...and the balance in the force is restored....
@@somethingsomething3718 not really, I mean the less the better but that's not going to do shit.
“A bunch of extra weight..” as he effortlessly waves around half the parts he’s installing on the car 😂
25 lbs is alot to add to a car when thats nearly 1/3rd of the horsepower number it makes.
@@charlest7092 but that probably won't really make a noticeable difference in driving situations. And he gained some safety and rigidity so i think it's worth the extra weight.
charlest7092 does a passenger really make that much of a difference tho? Not really,and those usually weigh a lot more than 25 pounds
@@bosknight7837 A passenger really makes a difference in a small light low hp car, but that bracing would be almost unnoticeable.
@@bosknight7837 a passenger absolutely makes a difference. A 200 pound passenger would overheat my brakes at spring mountain outside of Las Vegas. No passenger = no brake fade.
You do a great job explaining why seemingly unimportant items are actually very crucial. Door bushings, engine mounts, etc. Things 16 year old me would have scoffed at but old man me would prioritize over an air intake that's no better than OEM.
It might not seem like much when you put on a strait static load but when you're wailing down a twisty road and the lateral loading meets the dynamic loading it would probably double the movement without the stiffeners. There's a reason racers put full cages that double as frame stiffeners and it has more to do than just looking cool. Thanks again. Love the project.
everytime i watch Money Pit, i need to convince myself "James is the best host in Donut, James is the best host in Donut" i always fail
This guy is better than James 100%, maybe 2017 James was better but holy shit this guy is fun.
@Enjoys Cereal What about a whos less annoying contest? Because this guy takes that win for sure.
Yeah agree, Zach is a more engaging host. I'd get a kick out of a head to head build off between them .
James and Nolan are way better.
TRY HARDER
Me: oh those shirts look pretty sweet, I think I'll get one the store six hours after upload: small: SOLD OUT med: SOLD OUT large: SOLD OUT XL: SOLD OUT 2XL: SOLD OUT 3XL: SOLD OUT
Chassis bracing is worth it. I've found "X" or "box" under chassis bracing does a lot more than strut tower bracing, especially if they're located near or connected to the subframe. I used a box frame brace bolted to the back of the front subframe on an R56 MINI and it made a noticeable difference especially in steady state cornering. Turn-in was much sharper too.
I put an X-brace (goes behind rear seat and ties rear wells together) In MK6 sport wagon. Cheapest , but best mod yet, besides Eagle F1 tires. Now the suspension works correctly. Running GTI springs, but put in Koni Sport dampers, which were frankly over damped for the spring rate. Fun to drive hard, but ride bumpy and car felt 'nervous'. Stiffer chassis makes it all work correctly. Now it's still a bit stiff, but all feels properly controlled. So, yeah, chassis bracing works.
Whoever made the speed bump frame flex graphic: Thank you. I love it
Anyone else notice the TLR-6 “laser”?😂 I see someone in donut is a gun owner
probably them all
I love this series because I've been heavily deciding what my project car is going to be and I definitely have been considering a little Miata. Be a nice switch up from my G37 sedan
donut media helps me learn more and more things about cars. keep up the work!
My favourite days of the week Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Reason: donut media
🙏Money Pit Wednesdays🙏
Wow a famous person Bro you have the best fitment on a miata
I love money pit cause it gives me something miata related to watch when miata dad hasn’t put out anything for a month 😭😭
@@aedanmccurdy1675 Mega content coming soon, I've been saving up so I can try to return to weekly uploads 💚
@@TheCarPassionChannel please do another budget build, maybe something similar to car throttle done with the m3 and 330d, how about try and beat a newer car worth about 50k around a track for 1/10th of the price with an mx5, would make some great weekly content for just 5k or whatever the budget you set it at 🤷♂️ keep up the great work man
@@klyeson4832 if you want a budget build you're gonna like what's up ne... Actually I can't say anything sorry top secret
Would have liked to see how each piece affected the stiffness individually. Is there one piece doing all the work or do you need them all?
BINGO! This is what I was going to say. Without testing each piece individually, you have no idea which is helping the most and if any of the parts are worth it.
That may be true but a bottom rail does something drastically different than that tiny door dohicky. Now those door rails and bottom rails?... yeah good point.
Door bars definitely make a good difference,; I went from an S special with half cage to V special, with the shocks from the S special, with just a brace/ style bar at the rear and there's far more scuttle shake on the S special.
I really love how this build reflects the upgrades an average builder could do 👌🏻
Every time I think of a Miata is “We love you Lightning”
The twin miatas groupies,lul.
James: Did somebody say LIGHTNING?
😂
"nooooooo what have you don-" *James appears* "LIGHTING LIGHTING LIGHTING!!!!"
I Put the frame rails on mine, with the Fat Cat 99 suspension mounts, and it was a night and day difference. I can go over rough rail road tracks now and it feels just like any other car. No noises, no rattles.
I am loving the money pit videos, I bought a mx5 2.5 in February and all your videos have just tied in nicely. I just fitted some new door bushes as a full roll bar is out of the budget during Covid. Got to say they do make a teeny weeny difference. Mo powa baybe. Lol
“Never leave bare metal, it rusts!” Literally minute later: drills a hole and does nothing to protect it from rusting
@Donut Media , 10:00 installing hardware with bolts going through the car’s floor without silicone, rubber, or liquid gaskets, so that water could sip through? “Perfect”! _lol_
Well at least they're in dry California.
gratefuldean69 , dry for the most of the year, but it rains like crazy for about a month in the winter.
It doesn't even have a roof anyway
Alex Bock , it has a retractable roof. That’s how convertible cars work. _HAHA_
@@_FireHeart ma bad i had brain fart lol
In the 2nd test, I saw the control bounce around with each lift, settling on nearly the same point. With the braces, the dot tracked directly. Improved elasticity.
Also consider a front upper and front lower strutt brace...the ones that fit across the engine bay from the suspension top mounts. They 100% work....you can even pick up used ones for cheap, and don't go for carbon fibre...go for solid steel. when I had a 1995 civic with type r engine swap strutt worked great. And if you haven't done it then also poly bush inserts or mounts for your engine torque mounting points and gearbox mounting points. You will notice more noise coming from your dash area.....(engine vibration/Hum travels further) your car must drive nice and tight currently .
Zach: Tell me in the comments..... Me: It makes sense that it did flex "the Same" diagonaly because you only stiffened it Front to Back not corner to Corner!!!!!!!!!!
I was thinking if that was a bolt on roll bar he should have unbolted it in the first test.
would a butterfly brace help with the first test?
@@MihaiZavoian good question, i dont think it whould Help much but still better than nothing, as far as i know its not realy struktural more of a protection for the exhaust and gearbox.
It'd take something like a triangulated shock tower brace up front and an x brace underneath to reduce the side to side flex.
Agree. He tested incorrectly and adding under chassis cross bracing would tie it all together nicely. Simply adding a 6 point cage mostly achieve this in race cars but that's a bit difficult in a Miata hahaha
The first test was about torsion, and the other two where about flexing. The biggest imporvement for torsion is actually the rollbar you had already installed. To increase torsion resistance, you could install some sort of X reinforcement beneath the chasis, kinda hard to do with the transmission shaft in the middle, tho.
there is a suppliment/add-on for the frame rail, its called a butterfly brace or something. which connects the two frame rails together
When PhlyDaily says he likes Donut Media and then War Thunder sponsors them lol
Really appreciate this series more and more
“Let’s get stiff!” Innuendo detected
Ahh, beat me to it, oh well
Innuendo and out the other
@@bradlemmond lol
What do you mean, "innuendo" ? Man, do I have to put my pants back on, now? I'm confused.
Thanks comment section. “Let’s get stiff!”, “It’s rigid”, “nice and tight”, “it’s going to feel really good.” Now I hear them all.
I put them on my 92 convertible mustang back in the day and it made a huge difference in handling.
I have a 1998 Subaru Legacy wagon with over 220,000 miles. I am the second owner, picked the car up in 2015. However in the last year from 2020, I hear flexing coming from my rear hatch when I park or drive onto uneven roads or such, I want to add more stiffness with out replacing the entire suspension. I know you can also get braces that connect the front shock towers and rear. I want my Sub to last forever. I really enjoy my car ( 5 speed man., 2.2 none turbo) but I also want it to last because I can not afford to replace the car. I might look into some of these tips. Than you for taking the time to inform us out here. PA USA
You should've done the test after each part so that we could see which one did the most work
Installing it all individually would be hella work but probably worth it
I reckon it's a matter of tying parts into each other. They all make a slight improvement in a different section of the chassis
I'm not saying that this is my favorite show out of the whole channel, but I can for certain say it's the one making my pocket cry the most xD
I thought all the suggestions were great! I’m new in the mod game and I learned a lot from your video. I liked the door bushing most of all. :) More power sir. Rock On!
Can we all just acknowledge how many great hosts donut has? Honestly Donuts quality is as good if not better than any TV show.
Dude I love this series. As an NA owner this show gives me SO much insight into all the stuff I've thought about doing to my car.
there are way more sexual references in this episode than I was expecting after the opening line "Let's Get Stiff!" 🤣😂
I laughed so hard I almost peed myself when I heard the word Authentic in a War Thunder ad.
Interesting video, thanks for sharing.
Love all your vids, especially money pit! I also have a suggestion. A up to speed on all the cars that each donut host has had over the years would be really cool.
As an amateur mechanic I absolutely love this series. Am I working on a Miata, no, but it's great to see the journey and process of this very relatable build 👍
I feel like test number one would have improved if you used Paco strong arm bracing since it goes further forward than the V8 roadster one. Great series! I got into cars because of it and I love it!
What seriously stiffend up my 1st. gen MX-5 back in the day were underbody braces. Especially the one that connected the left and right side of the front subframe worked wonders but the one on the back had some effect too. Highly recommend. :D
When you said “ let’s get stiff” my mom asked if I was gay.
@Canada what the hell I thought Canadians were supposed to be nice.
@Jack S.... I think it's time we told her lol
I want to like but it’s at 69 I’m sorry sir
@Canada Canadian was supposed to be nice, say sorry right now
Bruh Man ha! You thought wrong
I've been waiting for a new episode of Money Pit since yesterday and I'm so glad this is what the topic was. I've been looking chassis bracing on my NA6 so this really helped me understand how easy is it as long as you take the plunge of drilling some holes. From what people in the forums have said, the biggest impact is from the door bars, and probably also the good roll bar with that too for even better results. After that would be the frame rails, which are a good idea to install as many owners or mechanics will jack up their MX5/Miata/Roadster on the "stock" frame rails which ARE NOT MEANT FOR THAT AT ALL. Seriously, they will crush like mud the second you left they see any pressure from a jack or jackstands. They can also get damaged say if you're too low and go over a rough bend like a steep driveway. The fender braces I've not heard much about so IDK what to say about them but the door bushings are actually supposed to be really good as well. Partially for driver sanity with less noise but also because the meeting point of the two strong point, being the door, now being more rigid as Zack said. Getting a subframe brace (the later NA Miatas already came with them but my 1992 did not) on the front and rear will make a good difference as will having a strut tower brace. The subframe braces plus a stiff anti roll bar will also keep the alignment from changing as you drive it hard.
That roll bar i a joke. It will help with stiffness, but you need to be able to draw a straight line from the top of the roll bar to the front of the car and NOT HAVE YOUR HEAD CROSS The LINE. Doughnut has really been disappointing me lately with their builds. Both rollcages in high and low car seem to not have backing plates, and now this "roll bar" in the miata that doesn't even protect this guy in a rollover incident. Yeah, maaaaaybe the rollbar will prevent him from death, but he'll be a vegatable at best. Pleeeeeaaass, Leejk. Look at how real roll bars and cages are made and installed before you put your hard earned money into this type of stuff that will not protect you. Seriously, these guys are messing up. Don't fall for it.
There is also an X-brace from Flying Miata that ties the 2 chassis rails together. That might be a good addition. Significant to handling is Shock tower braces...front and rear... that help maintain the proper tire camber when going around corners. Consistent handling is about keeping the two outside tire contact patches as flat as possible on the ground. The inside rear is good for traction out of the corner but the camber on the inside front tire...on a rear wheel drive car...is almost meaningless. Check out a still of an F1 car going around a corner sometime.
I just put the Flying Miata door blocks in mine and the first thing I noticed was the door sounded more solid when I shut it and the second thing was less rattling driving around. Roll bar is next!
I’ve watched Zach since the ecs tuning days 🔥 honestly can say I’ve built my mk5 gti from his ecs vids
I absolutely love the way how the Miata is coming together and is my favorite project car KZhead, still waiting on the “ is getting a supercharger worth it?” Episode
If you have a new edge mustang one of the best purchases you can get for it is some subframe connectors. Makes the car feel soooooo much better.
My weekly money pit always make my heart happy🥰
Me: Checks the merch for the limited shirts and finds that the coolest, minimalist design possibly to ever come out is already sold out. Big oof
7:28 that gotta hurt man
Every performance car I have ever owned, chassis stiffening is the first thing I do. It's really dramatic. Where you will really notice it is turning in to a corner with a bump. With a flexible chassis the tires will unplant and by the time they come back down you realize you are off your line. But when a stiffer chassis the tires stays in contact with the road (chassis flex is like a undampened spring.) and you will follow your line better.
Wow! I didn't even know those products existed! I was expecting a video that demonstrated strut tower braces. Have done or are planning to do a strut tower brace video?
"This is about as scientific as it gets for us, I mean we're using lasers" 😂😂 I love Zach
Me sitting in the Air RB Queue with my German Yak-1B: Ah yes, M I A T A
hi yes i hate everything about this post
I can't wait to see the miata getting a new paint. I wish you make a content with that❤️❤️
I had a 200SX/240SX (S13 one) which had an awful chassis. All rusted filled with holes and such. It was completely restored (beautiful) and afterwards I had a rollcage welded in (those you see in Rally/Drift). The chassis was so firm, I could lift 3 (THREE) wheels off the ground by jacking one side of the car. There was no play and nothing at all. So if a rollbar and some additional hardware can make the car more firm overall without going to the extreme and expensive alternatives like I did - that's really cool. It's also quite difficult to test as there is rotational twist involved as well. I would do it easier and simply jack the car under the engine/diff and later each separate corner.