RoadsterSport MX5 NC Miata Front Shock Tower 'X' Brace
2006-2015
PART NUMBER: 61-3493
DESCRIPTION
One piece is MUCH stiffer than the multi-piece alternatives! LIGHTEST Shock Tower Brace on the market for NC, featuring an ultra stiff internally reinforced aluminum construction in our "X" design for maximum strength. Just 3.5 pounds! Finished with a durable powder coat finish. The aluminum bar possesses high rigidity and resists flex while stiffening up your engine bay for better steering response and less front cowl shake. Most easy way to reduce NVH. This bar for the NC Miata also connects to the firewall.
Made in the USA, carries a lifetime warranty!
Strong AND lighter!
Many times stronger than the multi-piece factory steel brace and yet lighter too! Factory steel shock tower brace: 4.5 lbs
Other aftermarket steel shock tower braces solve the strength issue of the factory brace, but are far too heavy, the lightest of them starting around 8-9 lbs and they go up from there! RoadsterSport aluminum shock tower brace: 3.5 lbs
If your NC Miata came with a factory steel shock tower brace this is a nice upgrade designed to include access for adjustment knobs when you add adjustable shocks or coilovers.
INSTALLATION NOTES: Includes hardware needed for install. If your NC Miata did not come with factory shock tower brace note you need to add the Mazda Cowl Mounting Bracket for Shock Tower Brace, our item 60-1238. Install of 60-1238 is a challenge for average DIY owner, typically a mechanic will install the 60-1238 bracket. If your NC Miata already has a stock tower brace then the cowl bracket is factory installed and swapping out just the shock tower brace is very easy, just 30 ft/lbs please on the shock tower nuts, and 15 ft/lbs on the smaller firewall nuts. Use a torque wrench! They cost $20 or less at Harbor Freight, worth the investment if you don't have one.
Report from customer with NC2 with sound tube in the intake is that this brace was able to be installed while retaining the sound tube.
Note that due to small differences between cars, rear cowl bracket position, etc. the brace may not sit perfectly flat until it is bolted down fully. To install, set the brace in position and then lightly install all bolts/nuts that hold the brace to the vehicle and then tighten them down evenly. The brace will snug down to the vehicle and the result will be extremely rigid and strong.
YES, fits with the 2.5L engine, at least when used without plastic engine cover as shown on 2.5 conversion NC below.
To ensure this brace has enough clearance for 2.5 engine swaps, it may rub the padding/insulation on the underside of the hood. As a result, the padding may leave rub marks on the brace over time, but you can remove that padding from under the hood if you want to avoid that.
YES, fits with OEM sound tube on later NC too!
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TEAM RECOMMENDATIONS
Customer Reviews
RoadsterSport MX5 NC Miata Front Shock Tower 'X' Brace
Very well built part that still allows access to spark plug change without removal.
Purchased part so as to allow access to Tein flex Z coilovers. It seems to help with some chassis flex, but needs more testing to actually confirm.
PERFORMANCE: Having already had a strut tower brace already installed in the car, I did not notice a difference to the performance while driving after adding the RS X brace. HOWEVER, I now have access to the adjustment knobs of my Ohlins Road and Track DFV Coilovers giving me the freedom to adjust according to my driving day.
QUALITY: As with all parts I have purchased from GWR, the quality of the X brace is impeccable. The welds are super clean and the powder coating is flawless. The brace is lightweight and really looks nice under the hood. I may opt to paint it black in the future but, its not a show car so, not a priority.
INSTALLATION: Installation of the brace was pretty straight forward. I watched one video in which a young man removed/loosened a coilover to make the brace slip onto the studs but, with a little flex, I did not have that issue. My NC happens to have the sound tube... wasn't ready to delete so had to remove some parts to get the brace in place on the driver's side. Not hard, just inconvenient. Also not an issue with the brace, just with the car. While torqueing the nuts, one of the nuts from the firewall mount broke. I believe it already had a flaw because all other nuts torqued to 28lbs with no problem. Had to drill out the stud and replace. Med effort for a slight upgrade if you don't already have a tower brace.
CONS: The X brace doesn't fit with the Engine Brace sold by GWR. See mod notes below.
MODIFICATION: Sorry Brian, I am sure you won't like this. My wife purchased the X brace as a gift for me at about the same time I purchased the engine brace. I obviously won't send the X brace back. After some careful consideration and deep mathematical calculations (redneck style), I determined that the inner welded bracket (parallel to the direction of travel) at the strut tower on the driver's side that interferes with mounting the engine brace was a nominal stress point because of the two perpendicular welded brackets. Therefore, I cut the piece out to make room for the engine brace mount and bolt. The braces mounted together fit nicely and I get the benefits of both. Two of the nuts on the coilover mounting bolts are not fully engaged but only by a thread or two. I will replace them with slightly longer bolts to close that gap. So, technically, the two braces do not fit together without some modification to the X brace that I take personal responsibility for the modification. I do have pics of the install and mods if interested for a visual of the descriptions above.
Easy install, great fit, much stronger than factory brace, allows access to my adjustable shocks. I had to slightly relocate sensor on my aftermarket AEM Cold Air Intake System and secure sensor to Goodwins shock tower X brace with black electrical tape, not difficult and intake works fine.
This is a nice upgrade from OEM braces, with a few perks. I had just completed the Koni Sport Yellows and RoadsterSport springs upgrades and confirmed that the OEM blocks the adjustment knobs under the hood. This fixes that and adds some bling to the engine bay.
One subtle thing to add that becomes obvious after removing OEM braces. This monolithic brace sits directly on the shock bolts, not floating above them like OEM. It's a 15 minute job, and 17 minutes if you need to figure that out on your own.
Not only a truly beautiful piece, but extremely functional as a quality stiffener and ultra lightweight!! Install was very straight forward and required just slightly more effort due to the sound tube on my 2010 Touring. Not a big deal and fitment is spot on. Keep in mind though install was made much easier since the car had the factory suspension package which includes the firewall mounting bracket. Love it and thanks so much Goodwin Racing!
Installation was quick and easy once my factory three-piece brace was removed. The brace comes with two new nuts and washers for the firewall attachment and six new nuts for the shock tower attachment. Please note that while the factory nuts were all 14mm hex nuts, the new brace uses 13mm hex nuts for the firewall and 15mm hex nuts for the shock towers. The threading on the nuts is fine, it just means you'll need different sockets for the removal of the stock braces and the installation of the new brace.
The brace does not rub the top cover on the engine, and since the brace comes off easily (only eight nuts total) and it's very light, I'll just plan on spending an extra ten minutes when I need to reach the plugs/wires/coils.
I'd suggest a short installation instruction sheet be included, so that the nut installation and torque values are explicit to the installer.
Bought to get at adjustable dampers more easily. Pleasantly surprised at the very noticeable stiffness improvement and sharper response. As advertised looks high quality too.
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