Testimonials

Hello Bruce

I would just like to let you know that during the course of this weekend, I was able to successfully install the XB, RB & UB. My first impression was the quality of the braces, very impressive, I was blown away with the accuracy of fitment; didn't even have to use a rubber mallet fitting the RB, it just fitted in there snugly by hand, amazing. Also, no clearance issues with my Ultimate Racing 3"TBE, actually had loads of room, also cleared the OEM sway bar ok, soon to be replaced by a SuperPro item, so not expecting any issues there either. RB Install time, approximately 30 mins.

I spent approximately 2.5 hrs installing the XB, not counting removal & replacing the rear seats; holes drilled easily using a 1/8th titanium bit to start, then switching to a titanium stepped bit & cutting fluid. Nutserts went in without a problem; job turned out very neat.

Left the UB till last, what can I say, fitting this is child's play, again, perfect fitment. Installed in approximately 15 mins & didn't need the spacer kit.

As has been stated many times before, the effect of these braces is immediately felt, the car feels tight especially with steering input, turn the wheel and the car reacts instantly, pointing into corners with a very direct feel. Also, I did notice that the car is quieter, no groaning rubbing noises from the doors; it really does feel like the whole car is tied together properly, handling overall is greatly improved, and this is all on OEM suspension!

Now I can't wait to feel it when I eventually upgrade the suspension haha.

Many thanks Bruce, I can happily say, that you have another satisfied customer.

Kind Regards,
G.B.

Over the weekend I ran about 240 miles in some real twisty stuff. The car is buttoned down. A friend with a stock GTI and I swapped off for awhile and he was wowed with the combination of APR RSB's, DG springs, and The Unibrace trio. His car felt loose and soft in comparison. He immediately asked me what he needs to do to get his like mine. As noted earlier, start with the XB for best immediate impact and Stabilizing the "Box" structure, then add the UB to handle the chassis "Twist". The RB is icing on the cake controlling rear toe.

XB: Consider a shoe box with the end cut out of it...The box will be pretty flexy side to side. The hatch does little to stabilize that since it just latches and is hinged at the top...No real stability enhancing structure. Take the XB, tie the strut towers/Structure together, and the box gains stability. The flex is countered by the Triangulation of the Brace. Biggest win on this one.

UB: Take that same shoebox and twist it...Lottsa flex. Double the structure on the bottom and the potential flex is reduced. If you think the light Sheet metal tie bars do anything you're delusional. Adding to the bracing, spreading it over a wider area and the chassis twist is reduced. #2 on the Bracing hit list.

RB: Most of the cornering forces are transmitted through the lower control arms. While this area (stock) is pretty stiff, gusseted etc, Tieing those forces together and triangulating them to the rear subframe stiffens that whole area up. Flex is reduced and forces spread over more attachment points.

They each do something different, but in combination, make the car far stiffer than originally designed. A stiffer chassis allows the suspension to do it's job. Sway bar changes result in more precise control, and Spring rates are not absorbed as much by the chassis, but rather allowed to do what springs are supposed to do. Everything gets more precise. Some of these changes are wasted on the average street driver, but if you value precision and drive your car a little harder than average, you'll appreciate the differences.

It's honestly very hard to put into words, but it makes the car feel so much more solid and connected within itself.

I started out with just the XB, and noticed an immediate change in the stiffness of the body itself. If you can imagine the cabin of the car as a separate unit from the undercarriage, the XB allows much less 'flex', or 'twist', within that upper portion of the car during cornering, or in simple maneuvers like pulling into and out of driveways, or off-plane parking lots, etc.

The UB, in terms of driving feel, does much the same as the XB, only this time it's effects are felt on the undercarriage of the car rather than the cabin. It keeps the car running on a much flatter plane, front to back, and corner to corner, allowing the suspension to do it's job much more efficiently, with less load on each individual corner.

Having both XB and UB in place, is where the magic happens. The two braces are clearly designed to work together, in order to achieve maximum handling improvement. Each one picks up on the points that the other is unable to attain on it's own. As I mentioned earlier, the car finally seems fully connected. The car is no longer an upper unit (the cabin), and a lower unit (the undercarriage), working individually. It now feels as though it is working as one solid unit. Fully connected at all points, and through all axes.

I do track my car on occasion, and that is of course, where you feel the benefits of these braces the most, as is true with any performance mod, but even in my daily driving routine, they never cease to amaze me. If you do any 'spirited' driving at all in your car, then these braces should be ranked right up there with a stage one tune, as 'must haves' on your to-do list. I know you don't track your car, but if you're truly looking for an 'above-par street car' as you mentioned to Bruce, you will never regret purchasing the UB/XB combo. :thumbsup:

Hope this help people who are undecided. Like I said, it's hard to put into words, all I can tell you for sure, is that you will never catch me driving another VW/Audi, without as many UNIbraces as I can get my hands on, securely bolted in place.

I installed UB on my Golf R. It took around 10 minutes, I did use some tape to keep the spacers in place. Nothing is touching, fits perfectly. First driving impressions: While driving away of the pavement the first thing I noticed was that there was NO creaks at all coming from the doors. And while cornering the car feels more "complete". I drove mainly motorway to get home but the 10 kilometers I drove on country roads made me feel the car more solid. And driving on uneven surfaces does not make the car creak from everywhere like it did just before as usual.Voilà, that's it for now! XB will be installed as soon as I have time and the required tools. Oh, and by the way, I'm still impressed with the product :) Keep on doing good stuff!

I received the brace last night and installed it this morning. Thank you for the fast shipping. I really appreciate what you've done. My car never felt this tight even when I first bought it. I just rolled over 100k miles and this XB has made it feel like a whole new car!!!!! It has knocked, literally 100k off the chassis. The difference is absolutely INCREDIBLE!!! You have designed an amazing product and the quality is second to none. It is well worth the full price, but I appreciate your dedication to the community even more. Thank you so much for allowing me to enter the group buy on the last day.

I had recently done a full front suspension refresh with TT/R32 bushings and Bilstein HD shocks and struts all around, with an internal beam RSB. This is exactly what the car needed to wake it up. Thanks again!

Hope you're doing well and I want to give you an update on the. I've had it on my car for about 2 months and I'm very pleased with it.

Car is a 2010 B6 Passat with manual transmission. I am running on the OEM shocks with DriverGear springs and I have a BSH 27mm solid RSB on the soft setting. Installing the UB was quite easy and I jacked up just one side of the car, set it on stands and worked on it. There were no fitment issues and I hand-tightened all the nuts and used a little blue loctite. The car drives with a lot more confidence, acceleration is improved (chassis flex could've been robbing some power to the wheels) and turning is very, very predictable. You point the car and it goes in the direction you want to - love this!

Slight road noise increase but it doesn't bother me one bit. With the chassis firmed up, I'm starting to feel the deficiencies in the OEM shock/DG spring setup though so I'll be installing an aftermarket suspension next year. For the time being I'm quite pleased and glad with my purchase.

I had the car up on ramps last weekend, both front and rear and I checked all the nuts/bolts - everything is solid. I'm hoping the UB can handle Toronto's overkill winter salt though.

Thanks again for the solid product and great sales experience.

Install was a cinch! My impressions kind of exceeded my expectations for this mod. That is, I feel differences that I didn’t expect, and feel less planar stability than I expected. Unmet expectations first: While this really tightens up the center of the underbody, there’s still some give beyond that center. I was expecting (without giving it too much thought) that pressing on one wheel would elicit more stiffness than it did. That said, this does a hell of a lot more than I thought it might in other aspects.

For one, the whole interior is quieter. Panel creaks and moves are nearly gone now, especially when one wheel is lifted more than others. They’re not completely gone, but very very close. I had to make a couple passes at my driveway before picking up a sound from interior panels. The tonal experience goes far beyond those moments, though, because I swear just going down the road is much quieter. Yes it’s quieter when you hit a bump with one wheel, but it’s especially quieter when you hit a bump with both, such as a ridge. You don’t notice everything that is jarred when you hit bumps like that until those things are no longer jarred. It imparts a feeling of supreme refinement, especially when you know what that two-tire bump is supposed to feel like. Solid.

The down-the-road feel is also felt through the controls. The car feels much more stable going straight. I have to correct for small bumps much less than I did before, so there’s less activity required from me. Again, one of the effects I didn’t know the UB could have, and it’s very welcome. It does impart a sense that there’s more information through the wheel, but I wouldn’t leave out the possibility that I just have more attention to give it now that I’m not making as many minor corrections. It has a lot to do with the front-to-rear stiffness that wasn’t there before. Response to sudden acceleration (read, laying on the throttle) feels marginally tighter - there’s less dive and more composure.

Through turns, stability is very much improved. I should preface this attribute by mentioning I’m on my winters (Michelin Xi2’s) and they ride like marshmallows. Yet even with them, I can feel the car is less sloppy through quick transitions. It’s tighter and better composed. It’s more difficult to feel like I’ve upset the tires’ load distribution. I can give it something new after I’ve left a corner much sooner than I could before. Around town, I felt this at every right- or left-hand turn. There was previously a bit of “slop” before that would make it a bit tricky to drive smoothly (say, when your mother in-law is riding shotgun). Now it just takes it all in stride: Mid-corner bumps through sweeping, steady turns upset the car far less than before.

All told these are a number of pretty minor improvements that are adding up to be a hell of an effective mod. It’s a jack-of-all-trades - everything you need to make the car feel more refined and expensive.

Many of us are familiar with the now defunct TST Stressbrace. Since TST is no longer selling it, it is no longer available. BUT!!! It has been reborn. Just about the same design as the TST, the UNIbrace was designed by the same man who brought us the highly acclaimed TST design, and I am here to tell you that man knows what he is doing. My experience goes like this: I wanted to firm things up for TOD this year. Traditionally, TOD is the excuse or reason that I come up with to do a modification or two to the performance side of the R. After a whole lot of searching, calling, talking, e-mailing, posting, talking some more, calling again, leaving messages... It does go on... But after all that I decided to go with a new offering that was being made available to me somewhat privately (there are a number of others on here who also got involved, but we will let them speak for themselves) – the UNIbrace XB . Timing was tight to say the least, but the run went into production and shipped to me JUST in time to put the box in the car and head down to NC/TN for one hell of a good time with a whole bunch of cool cats - which actually ended up being the most PERFECT way to do all this. So I arrive - make a few runs Thursday evening, and then we get started installing not one, but two UNIbrace XB’s in the (thankfully VERY level) driveway of our cabinet in Fontanna Village. Chris went first and all the while, I ended up getting hungry - so I dipped out and went to dinner. Got back and had run out of daylight, but Chris's was in and set. My car simply had the rear seats out, so we went for a run. I had never run the Dragon with no rear seats before and I was a little nervous about that, so I took it a little on the easy side, but I learned for myself that the rear seats DO add a lot of rigidity to the rear end of the R. IMO, this turned out to be an EXCELLENT idea to do since it gave me a whole new point to compare on. Next morning (Friday) we jumped in and got my brace installed before lunch. The install was straight ahead. The instructions provided were spot on and we really took our time, measuring, re-measuring, drilling, and waiting for the air compressor - the works. Once in, we ate and drove. I gotta tell you guys, this thing totally rocks. Really does make the car feel like a different animal. I found the rear much more toss able, easier to hang out and found a new level of confidence in the predictability of the car. The UNIbrace XB is an excellent addition to this platform. And from the looks of it, we will be able to get them. I am sure more info is on the way from others, but I will add to this as my experience grows... For now, I am one HAPPY CAMPER!!

As for the brace, I love it! it is a great addition to the car's setup right now. I can't wait for my next auto-x/track event to see what all changes feel-wise. Very happy with finally getting one, it fits my needs perfectly. I usually haul 4 other tires and tools to track events, and I think that I will be able to fit everything as usual w/o removing it, but if I have to, it shouldn't take more than a few minutes to undo the 4 screws.

Years ago when I first redid the suspension I would take corners and the whole dashboard would creak. Then I installed the rear UNIbrace XB and the car was so much better. It seems like it rotates into corners and no squeaks or rattles. This mod, coilovers, and VF motor mounts are the three things that make the .:R feel like a forty thousand dollar car for less than $2000. Everyone needs to do these in my opinion. A chip and intake and the flapper mod are the others that make it go fast, but as far as feel nothing can beat the aforementioned trio.

I un-installed the yarrow bar and replaced it with the UNIbrace XB. The difference is amazing; the back end of the car feels quite stiff. I will be heading out to HPDE @ the short track @ BIR and will report back with a track review!

So to give everyone a little extra detail: This afternoon I took my brace out for the heck of it. Done in less than 5 minutes. Went to put it back in my driveway and I could not do it. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get the nutserts to line up anywhere near the holes in the brace - we are talking 3/4" off here... then it dawned on me. The driveway is slightly downhill (it is slightly less than 12 feet long and perhaps a 6 inch height difference in that 12ish feet). Pulled into the level garage, back in 5 minutes. So - another measure of the effectiveness – visible when sitting still.

I drove my car (aggressively) for the first time today since UNIbrace XB has been installed. The added rigidity from the brace was immediately apparent!!! Excellent product Bruce!! I got track events coming up where I will be able to fully test this brace out. If anyone is on fence regarding this product, don't be. It’s really that good!

Car handles amazingly with the UNIbrace XB. I was doing auto-x over the weekend and my car performed great and everyone said my car looked like it had little to no body roll Car turns a lot tighter and I do not loose traction at all.

I was finally able to get out and do a couple of track days since I installed the UNIbrace XB. I couldn't believe the difference on how the car felt on the track. I was @ the new short track @ BIR a perfect track to test out the UNIbrace XB, it is short and technical. My instructor could not believe how well the car held the line in the turns — he was amazed. It took a session or two to get used to the new stability of the car, but after that I was reeling in much faster cars. The car just feels so much more planted @ all times. Almost go-kart like – thumbs up for a great design.

In a word: WOW. I've only driven 40mi with it so far, but I made sure to take the best off/on ramps on my trip to Best Buy. Had the wife in the car, so I was taking it fairly easy. It's odd because I've never noticed the chassis flex when cornering, but with the brace installed, I definitely notice the lack of flex. The car seems so much more planted in the corners and I realize now just how much I need to get an alignment. I was explaining to the wife how M00NEY sold me on this brace just by mentioning how much different it made the car feel. After riding shotgun with M00NEY at TOD '08, I've come to know just how hard he pushes his .:R and trust his judgment when he says a mod is worth performing. Thanks again to Bruce for remembering my interest and letting me get the last of the current production run.

Mine is in and you know how everyone is saying what a difference it makes in the rigidity of the chassis, I was a bit skeptical, but everyone is absolutely right. It's amazing the difference this makes in the way the car feels!!!!!

Well I finally got my UNIbrace XB installed today. It arrived last week the day before I went on vacation, so happy it showed up the day before I left. The install was a piece of cake. In all honesty, a very easy project for most people to handle. There were no fitment issues at all and looks great The brace looks so clean sitting where it does and still allows the use of the Yarrowsport brace that was in the car when I bought it. I must commend Bruce on a well designed product that fits aesthetically as well as functionally.

Just installed the UNIbrace XB. I had problems installing without the McMaster Nutsert tool - absolutely do not attempt to install without it or a heavy duty tool Nutsert tool. I picked up the brace second hand from a Vortex user and e-mailed Bruce for some help when installing. Bruce e-mailed me right back and was not concerned that I had not purchase it from him - I'm very impressed with his professional product support. The rear chassis is STIFF - combined with the large Neuspeed rear sway bar I have not decided if understeer is reduced or simply more easily controlled. I never really had many squeaks or rattles coming from the rear of the car so I'm not sure if it has reduced those in any way. Great Product!!!

Clearly, the MkIV platform will benefit from this type of mod much more than the MkV. The UNIbrace XB does however, provide a marked improvement to the MkV platform as well. The design of the UNIbrace is different than other strut braces as it provides diagonal reinforcement between both rear strut towers. The UNIbrace XB links the upper portion of each strut tower to the lower portion of the other effectively creating two corresponding tension triangles between them. Most other strut bars link only the top portion of the strut towers together, working primarily in compression to resist the side-to-side movement between them. Some offer a single diagonal brace, but this provides only 50% of the diagonal reinforcement that the UNIbrace XB design offers. Because the UNIbrace XB works by resisting tension, it provides much better resistance to both side to side and twisting movements in the frame and still be very light weight (6 lbs). As for uninstall and reinstall, it is really simple to do, especially with a T-handle hex wrench. What I have found is that I simply altered how I carry my gear rather than move the brace. Long items go though the ski boot. Most of he rest of what I carry fits left to right behind the brace or over the folded down seats in front of the brace. If I had to move big, it would be easy enough. I keep the T-handle hex wrench in the car with me.

First off... the UNIbrace UB made a bigger difference than I had expected. It’s very noticeable. Less side to side wallow backing off a driveway curb diagonally. Take off from a stop is more solid, for sure. Don't know why, but it launches better. Spun up 2nd in mid rpms on a slight curving start, which I haven’t done before. I think it’s because everything was kept so solid on the turn – its awesome.

The difference the UNIbrace UB makes is obvious the first time you enter a crested driveway. It is easy to convince yourself a modification is making a positive difference but while slowly entering a driveway on a angle the rear wheel seems to kick up and without any sort of cracking from the rear end proving the effectiveness of the brace. While driving it feels as though the noticeable weight up front has lightened, like there is more rear drive. I'm sure drivers with coilovers would feel a more distinct before and after difference. My 2004 R32 has travelled a fairly low 22,000 Kilometers so about 12,000 miles, a relatively fresh chassis and I still feel the improvement. I now feel better about fitting coilovers knowing that the body has been braced up with the UNIbrace.

Firstly, Bruce is a top guy, always quickly responded to my emails (and there's been a few) and always gave clear and concise answers, nice chap... PayPal came to just over £220 and then a week or so later iI received a letter from parcel force saying I had to pay VAT plus service charge so another £24.50...Upon arrival; It was nicely packaged with plenty of bubble wrap, opened her up and the quality of the product is 110%! Not a blemish or scratch, smartly machined logo and 6 nutserts (2 spare) and four bolts... really looks the business! I wanna leave my seats out just to show it off!

Fitting the UNIbrace XB: OK it's a bit of a pig, stripping the rear of the car is easy mind and the instructions are very clear though would suggest reading a few times so totally clear...A few things I would do (i did differently), firstly make sure the car is on a level ground, after the initial line up and mark up of the holes which I did with a black marker, centre punch the first hole( i did bottom drivers side), drill and fit the nutsert, then bolt this hole down, and mark the top passenger side hole with the marker, centre punching and drilling and fitting the nutsert. On the Mk5 I found the brace sat in the position it wanted too, sitting as low as possible flat on the chassis, any lower and it started to hit a raise in the mounting surface if you get me... then fit a bolt and mark the other two holes, if you then centre punch, drill and fit the nutserts these should line up about right.... Nutserts all fitted, the brace bolts down in place...Note on the tool, I never ordered this, instead I made up a tool that worked great, pics to follow...So I bolted it down tight, vacuumed up all the drillings, and took it for a spin... It feels a hell of a lot more taught, (even without the seats back in that do make a difference on the mk5) Before you would turn into a corner and a small amount of the steering input would be getting the car to set up ready to take the bend, this eliminates this so it's more immediate, it feels like it corners flatter, because of the stiffer rear, there is none of the roll, which is evident when you stiffen the suspension on the mk5. It feels like you're sitting higher up and there's a lower centre of gravity of the car. It makes it feel like the suspension is dealing with the bumps instead of the twist of the body, which makes the car feel a hell of a lot more positive.