In the never ending search for weight reduction applications that do not decrease the overall driving experience of the 07', I did some research on the tubular aftermarket radiator support braces that are out there. Appears that there are four such offerings: 1) Steeda, 2) BMR, 3) Ford Racing, and 4) Lightning Force Perf. Although there are a few folks that have/are running the Ford Racing unit, I narrowed my choice down to the Steeda and BMR offerings. Both appear to be very well designed and contructed, but decided to go with the BMR unit with sway bar attachment capability. The Steeda unit was nice, but only came in silver and didn't quite impress me as much. Not that it's not a quality piece, and here's a good thread on a little of it's heritage:
http://www.svtperformance.com/forum...2402-steeda-lightweight-radiator-support.html
Made the decision on the BMR unit based on it's solid appearing construction, color offering (Black Hammertone), and price. Picked it up for $169.99 shipped, through a little Googling and pricing research. Installation was straight forward, with the only issue being that the sway bar mounting brackets didn't exactly line up with the BMR's drilled holes. The BMR sway bar bracket holes had to be slightly elongated about 1/4" which took all of 15 minutes with a jig saw and drill bit. No real big deal, but something that BMR should correct. Called BMR tech after the fact to let them know and he said he has received a couple of calls from the GT500 guys about this and was going to inform manufacturing about it. Apparently the Mustang GT and GT500 sway bar mounting brackets are slightly different in size.
From an appearance standpoint, it really looks good under there. There has been some debate about the attractiveness of having to now zip tie the lower plastic shield to it, (see thread above....), but it really doesn't look unfinished to me at all. The plastic shield actually covers up a good part of the BMR brace so while you do have some more room to work under there, it's not a huge deal.
From a performance standpoint, the BMR brace weighed in at exactly 9.3 lbs, while the factory brace weighs 17.0 lbs. Thus saving 7.7 lbs off the front end. This might not seem like a signifcant amount, but with it's location being in front of the front tires, you get a nice assist in front to rear weight transfer mechanics. When coupled with removal of the factory front sway bar (16.3 lbs) for drag strip duty, even a bigger benefit can be achieved with a total of 24.0 lbs off the front end. There is no increase at all in NVH and the brace appears to provide the same front chassis structural integrity as the stock unit.
Below are some pictures. Basically wrote this up because I couldn't find much factual information, especially the weight, on the BMR piece. Hope it helps if any of you are considering this.
http://www.svtperformance.com/forum...2402-steeda-lightweight-radiator-support.html
Made the decision on the BMR unit based on it's solid appearing construction, color offering (Black Hammertone), and price. Picked it up for $169.99 shipped, through a little Googling and pricing research. Installation was straight forward, with the only issue being that the sway bar mounting brackets didn't exactly line up with the BMR's drilled holes. The BMR sway bar bracket holes had to be slightly elongated about 1/4" which took all of 15 minutes with a jig saw and drill bit. No real big deal, but something that BMR should correct. Called BMR tech after the fact to let them know and he said he has received a couple of calls from the GT500 guys about this and was going to inform manufacturing about it. Apparently the Mustang GT and GT500 sway bar mounting brackets are slightly different in size.
From an appearance standpoint, it really looks good under there. There has been some debate about the attractiveness of having to now zip tie the lower plastic shield to it, (see thread above....), but it really doesn't look unfinished to me at all. The plastic shield actually covers up a good part of the BMR brace so while you do have some more room to work under there, it's not a huge deal.
From a performance standpoint, the BMR brace weighed in at exactly 9.3 lbs, while the factory brace weighs 17.0 lbs. Thus saving 7.7 lbs off the front end. This might not seem like a signifcant amount, but with it's location being in front of the front tires, you get a nice assist in front to rear weight transfer mechanics. When coupled with removal of the factory front sway bar (16.3 lbs) for drag strip duty, even a bigger benefit can be achieved with a total of 24.0 lbs off the front end. There is no increase at all in NVH and the brace appears to provide the same front chassis structural integrity as the stock unit.
Below are some pictures. Basically wrote this up because I couldn't find much factual information, especially the weight, on the BMR piece. Hope it helps if any of you are considering this.
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