Have any of you removed your stock front strut brace to install a new plenum and if so, noticed any handling loss? I seem to remember reading somewhere that someone just removed it instead of replacing it and didn't really even know that it was gone. I ask because I may be upgrading to the Crawford plenum and since the FSB needs to be removed for clearance anyway, would it even be necessary to replace it? I don't care so much about the aesthetic, but if I am going to notice a performance loss then I will just grab the Crawford bar and be done with it.

 

I don't have a brace and I can't really tell any difference.

 

I see you have the Borla and the Crawford plenum. Was there an obvious difference in power after you had the plenum installed?

 

45k miles here... and I ran the strut bar for MAYBE 8k of those?

I never noticed a difference. You need to come down to the shop and drive one of the cars without it, prime examples await you.

 

I am after Christmas. Gone splurge a little on myself and grab the Plenum and see if you guys will slap on my Top Speed headers for me. That is if you don't burn me at the stake first

 

I suppose it depends on the rest of your suspension mods and where you drive the car (track, street, etc). I did notice a difference on my own car in turn in response but not enough to make it a make or break thing for me. I personally just like the looks of it in the engine bay which is why I ahve chosen to keep the strut brace I have even if I do get a Crawford plenum (I'll trim the motor mounts)

 

moved

 

Your going to have to drive the car hard to tell a difference, but I am sure that there is one.

 

I'm sure you'll notice a difference at the track or a traction circle. There was a Z at one track event that I went to that had a Stillen supercharger, and that thing handled like a dog. Maybe I'll try running a session without the strut bar just to see the difference.