i wanted to buy the rear trunk brace from corksport

which is this-


but i currently have a spare tire kit,

which i don't want to get rid of.

can the both be used at the same time?

 

If the tire kit is the kind that fits snug up top where the speakers are then i would say yes.

 

i have the spare tire kit. is that brace flush to the trunk floor? if so, it should fit np.

 

thanks~

 

The answer is no. I had the spare tire kit installed when I bought the car. Later I bought the MazdaSpeed Front and Rear Brace kits.


The spare tire kit attaches to the strut tower by means of the two small brackets (see your photo) These brackets must be removed to install the strut brace (the all mount to the same bolt location). The brackets interfere with the strut and vice-versa.

You can have one or the other. In the city, I drive without the spare. When traveling long distances, I just throw the spare int the trunk and lash it down to the strut bar to keep it from sliding around.

 

um...but i got it in...

 

My bad... The MazdaSpeed Brace Mounts higher up than the CorkSport. My brace mounts where the spare tire carrier frame is bolted to the chassis/frame.

Just goes to show, every product is different! Always best to check!

 

With the spare tire carrier frame mounted, wouldn't the corksport strut be redundant? [no add'l lateral bracing req'd]

 

i was thinking the same thing.

 

1) it dosen't look a cool.

2) from a structural engineering standpoint the bends in the spare tire carrying frame create points of flexure, and introduce bending moments into the strut, allowing its length to change as it is put under stress.

The strut brace, on the other hand, is completly straight and loads are transmitted axially along the length of the strut from one shock tower to the opposite tower. Also, because the brace is attached to each shock tower by means of a "pinned" connection, that is to say they are hinged, bending moments cannot be transmitted into the brace by the shock towers. In short, the strut brace is a more rigid connection that the spare tire mount.

One caviat, the unsupported length of the strut bar is such that given sufficient impact (extreme rear side collision) could generate resultant axial forces in the strut bar sufficient to cause localized buckling (deflection under load) resulting in crumpling of the strut. But at that point, the car is undrivable anyway.

 

 

1) It (the spare tire mount) doesn't look as cool (as the chrome strut bar)

 

funny...i actually read "it doesn't look cool"- didn't even see the "a".
sorry if it seemed as if i was calling you out on the sentence structure, i wasn't.
i was laughing at your sense of humor.
and you're right~! it doesn't look cool!!!!
i just want to carry the spare tire with me just in case something happens...

 

this is what i was told, from an autocrosser, like ullooose or teamrx8:

the spare tire bar offers ZERO chassis stiffness.

reason: strut bars are called strut bars because they link the strut towers. (duh.) the bar is not bolted to the strut, it is simply held in by 2 pieces of metal that in turn are bolted to the side of the car. they arent bolted to the struts.

 

Well stated. Thanks!