The rear differential brace arrived. I looked under my car yesterday and I decided I don't want to screw around with trying to support the weight of the differential while on my back in the garage. So my shop is going to install it later this week. Z1 claims it takes about an hour so the labor should not be too bad. It should double the support of the differential shoring up the right side and hopefully it will help with wheel hop. I just hope it doesn't add too much NVH. I will know the difference in NVH right away, but I will have to wait until I get my summer tires on this spring to test out the wheel hop.

This is a solid piece and made out of steel. I know Rochester was worried about giving up rigidity due to the "B" carved out of the middle, but it is still solid- and a bit heavy. Maybe it will lower my center of gravity and bring the car back to a near 50/50 weight balance. lol

 

Yeah, that looks very substantial, cut-out notwithstanding. Very thick.

Looking forward to your comments on the install and impressions.

 

Do you have any experience running the car at the track without the rear sway bars? I've heard Z owners swear by it.

 

No, that seems odd. Maybe the Z guys are very tail happy with the shorter wheelbase and are trying to make their cars stick better after a coilover suspension that is too tight? I have only had the back end come loose once at Road America and that was in the rain. I cannot see the advantage of destabilizing our suspensions, especially on the track. Why do the Z guys say they do it?

 

Just from a quick google search, one of many discussions: https://forums.nicoclub.com/no-rear-...p-t378306.html

Sounds like some people really like after market up front, stock in the rear too. That sounds like a happy medium but I suppose you don't really know until you try.

 

Are you talking about the 370Z or the G37 sedan? Stiffening the front and keeping the rear soft would help if the car is oversteering.

 

My shop had time to install the rear differential brace yesterday and I was very pleasantly surprised by the results. Initially, I was very happy that there was no additional NVH (this may not be true if you have a quiet car with stock exhaust). This made me think that there would probably be very little difference in how the car drives- like all the differential and subframe bushings I have already replaced that showed very little improvement in feel. Nothing could be further from the truth.

This tiny little piece of steel absolutely transforms the way the car puts down power. There was always a slight hesitation and a sloppiness with the power delivery, a lack of precision, if you will. This is surprising considering that I already have much stiffer rear differential bushings, subframe bushings, transmission mount, and motor mounts. Maybe this was just the missing piece in the puzzle, but it is so much more precise with the power delivery and the shifting is even better. I would say this is by far the biggest bang for the buck drivetrain/suspension mod you can make. It is an upgrade equivalent in feel to the motor mounts for a fraction of the cost, especially considering the labor.

So funny story about the labor. I talked to one of the techs at Z1 yesterday and he said this part typically takes about an hour to install, but the G37 is more difficult as you need to detach the rear differential and move it forward (same thing Jon at Z1 said when I ordered the part). Maybe he meant the coupe as my technician did not have to detach the rear differential at all and had it done in about 20 minutes. He said the top bolt was a tight fit, but this means I probably could have easily installed this myself and I am sure most of you can too.

 

You can tell all that with snow tires? Was kind of thinking you'd wait until Spring and assess this with summer tread.

 

Yes, it is a dramatic change. I will have to wait until spring to test out the wheel hop with my sticky tires, but at this point the improvement is good enough that I really don't care about wheel hop anymore.

That reminds me, did anyone look to see if the stock differential cover has the two bolts on the bottom right where this could bolt up? It is definitely a no-brainer mod if you already have the Z1 rear diff cover.

Update: Jon at Z1 says the Bell Raceworks rear differential brace DOES bolt up to the factory differential cover.

 

Well then, if I don't have to get a new diff cover, maybe this puppy just found a home in my future mod list.

Thanks!

OP, this is review-thread worthy. Write her up!

 

I would definitely recommend it. I am surprised that I noticed such a difference on the street on snow tires?!? I can't wait to try it on the track with the sticky treads.

The review is up.

 

ordered this brace when the first offered it for our platform but have yet to install. only complait was the poor powder coat job they did but whatever i wont be seeing it much as it will be hidden underneath. thanks for the review 4DRZ.

 

That's strange- what's wrong with the powdercoat? It looks pretty good to me. Maybe they changed their process.

 

I was hoping to make it through one more winter with the original battery, but I had to leave the car outside overnight at work the other day when it dropped below zero degrees. It almost started up last night, but ultimately needed a jump start as it was probably frozen solid. This morning I put it on my trickle charger I had left over from my M3 and now the battery seems ok. I will probably hook it up to the trickle charger again later this week as we are supposed to have a couple evenings of sub zero temps.




Antigravity is supposed to be releasing a new ultra light lithium ion battery better suited to cold WI winters this year. Hopefully, I can make this one last that long.

 

You could look into the shorai LFX36L3-BS12. I've been rocking that one daily for a little over a year with no issues. When its below freezing I do have to turn the headlights on for a few minutes to warm the battery tho.