Flyin' Miata Cannon rear subframe brace
Flyin' Miata Cannon rear subframe brace
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Description
This is a big burly brace machined out of 1/4" aluminum and powdercoated black. It ties together both lower rear control arm mounting points, and triangulates them to the subframe to prevent any possibility of shifting under side loads. The factory brace isn't triangulated - if the car even has one! Similar braces on the market are generally made of thin steel and aren't strong enough to handle the load without flexing. Exclusive to Flyin' Miata!
Exhaust removal not required for installation.
Fits 1990-91 and 1999-05 Miatas, including the 2004-05 Mazdaspeed. You can mount it on a 1992-97, but you'll have to cut off a bracket for the stock brace.
May have conflict with JR exhaust.
While this will work with our Paco eccentric locks, bear in mind that the Cannon brace will have to be removed everytime you do an alignment. So it's possible, but it will be a bit of a headache. If you don't have the Paco eccentric locks, it does NOT need to be removed to perform an alignment. This brace won't work with our billet sway bar brackets.
Instructions
Shipping
What does it fit?
Fits: 1990-1997, 1999-2005, 2004-2005 MSM
Emissions
Emissions do not apply.
Warranty
1 year
SKU
Had to elongate the upper sway bar holes about 1/16 per side to fit over bolts. Nice stout unit.
To install this piece, I had to remove the billet brackets I had installed on the rear sway bar, but the upgrade in rear end stiffness is worth it. I have a low mileage 1990 and the rear end flex was noticeable prior to the upgrade. This brace has tightened everything up nicely. Installation was straightforward using the FM instructions, but I did have to use a Dremel to reshape two of the holes slightly to get it to fit properly. It cleared my Racing Beat exhaust easily. Now that it's on, I'm very happy with how the rear end of the car feels.
The brace was great, and it made the rear end feel like it wasn’t going to fall apart. After I swapped the open diff to a clutch pack lsd, the rear felt like it would flex a ton when the clutches would slip at low speed. Now with this brace I have a lot more confidence in the rear of the car. On track the car felt planted in the rear.
I did have to realign the car after install since I had my eccentric bolts in the wrong direction to work with the brace
In terms of exhaust clearance:
I originally had a Manzo (or Manzo style) exhaust I got for inexpensive from someone in my area. I didn’t really love it but never bothered to change it. This brace did not work with that exhaust and had clearance issues, so it made for a good reason to get an exhaust I actually like. I ended up buying the RoadsterSport 4 exhaust and that did work with the brace
The photo included doesn’t show off the brace the best, but it shows the RoadsterSport exhaust fitting through the brace
First off, this is a really high-quality part. Well engineered and built. Looks fantastic. I can't really say I noticed a huge difference after install though. I suspect this is because a) I had already put a lot of extra bracing on my car (butterfly brace, strong arms) and b) I have an NB2, which is already the stiffest chassis of the early generations.
If you have an NA car, I'd guess this has a much more dramatic impact on your rear-end stability and predictability. And in any case, as said, it is super high-quality.
I bought this knowing the frame rails and butterfly bracing were going on too. This went on first. Was it a huge difference on its own? No.
Add the frame rails, butterfly brace, already installed rollbar...and the car is getting there. This likely solves a next available weakness issue. The car was already flexing, add the frame rails, and the unbraced (1990) rear becomes the next point of "failure". Add this brace, and the rear gets stabilized, and the flex point gets pushed to the springs and mounts, where it should be.
Overall, I feel confident it is doing something, but have no way to quantify that. And since I gave myself a blood blister putting it on (needed little encouragement because I didn't read the directions well enough, do not tighten the over exhaust piece before it is all mounted), I am not taking it off to test that theory.