05-12-2011, 11:56 PM
Adding a strut brace is one of the easiest things you can do on your car. A strut brace is designed to stop flex in the shell between suspension struts on opposite sides of the car. On a 306 and most other French cars there is little point of adding a rear one as the suspension is delivered by a torsion bar so there are no struts to bridge. One can be added between the two rear arches but they are difficult to come by and will be totally impractical if you ever want to put anything in your boot.
Most people use OMP Strut Braces. The uppers are about £65 and the lowers are about £55. It is widely debated as which one makes more of a difference. With a petrol you should be fine but if you have a diesel then your top mount intercooler (TMIC) will be in the way. A different shaped brace is needed that routes around the TMIC. Make sure you double check it will fit your car before buying.
Upper Strut Brace
Because you will be adding a upper strut brace there will be a few less mm of bolt bolted into the top mount of your suspension strut it is therefore VERY IMPORTANT that you buy the Extended Strut Bolts in order to regain the extra depth.
1) Open up the bonnet and remove the 3 bolts from each of the top mounts. If a bolt keeps spinning then its likely that the thread has gone and somebody has forced the bolt in. Feel the underside of the mount to make sure that someone hasn't put a nut under like they did on mine! Took a few days to work that one out! Last resort youll have to hacksaw or drill the top of the bolt off and either re-tap the top mount or buy new ones.
![[Image: 1z60b.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/1z60b.jpg)
2) Place the strut brace over the fitting location and adjust with a spanner so that the holes line up with the holes in the top mounts.
3) Get your extended bolts in! Be careful not to over tighten them! If your top mounts are old and rusty then you may find that you ruin the thread on the top mount. If the top mount holes have moved from the holes in the chassis its best to jack up the car and move the strut into position. This way there is no weight on the strut so you can easily align them and put the bolts in without damaging the thread and forcing them in.
On a 1.8:
![[Image: IMG_20111021_162711.jpg]](http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z327/srowell3/IMG_20111021_162711.jpg)
On a HDi:
![[Image: IMG_20121226_152447.jpg]](http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z327/srowell3/IMG_20121226_152447.jpg)
4) Tighten up the strut brace so that it pushes the struts apart. This is actually fairly difficult to do but as long as its on thats the main thing!
5) Step back and Admire your work!
Lower Strut Brace
If your car is low then YOU WILL catch a lower strut brace on something. Not going to lie. A friend fitted my lower strut for me and I drove ten meters and hit it on a speed bump bending it.
1) Jack the car up and remove the wheels. Use of Axel stands may be best for this! You dont want your car falling off the stands or the jack to fail so we put the wheels under the suspension arm/disks. This means that if it is going to fall... it wont fall far! However if you have nice wheels watch out for catching the paint like i did :roll: . Perhaps it would be best to use some steel wheels.
2) Remove the lower front wishbone bolts.
3) Place the brace and start to put the bolts back in.
![[Image: IMG_20111018_165749.jpg]](http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z327/srowell3/IMG_20111018_165749.jpg)
4) Do the bolts back up but make sure that you do them alternately to be on the safe side.
5) Wheels back on and admire! If you go for a drive and hear some clonking when accelerating or braking then the bolts may still be loose!
NB1: You will catch a lower brace on something no matter how hard you try!
NB2: Top Strut braces are good for show.
NB3: DTurbos need a different shaped brace as they route around the top mount intercooler (TMIC).
Most people use OMP Strut Braces. The uppers are about £65 and the lowers are about £55. It is widely debated as which one makes more of a difference. With a petrol you should be fine but if you have a diesel then your top mount intercooler (TMIC) will be in the way. A different shaped brace is needed that routes around the TMIC. Make sure you double check it will fit your car before buying.
Upper Strut Brace
Because you will be adding a upper strut brace there will be a few less mm of bolt bolted into the top mount of your suspension strut it is therefore VERY IMPORTANT that you buy the Extended Strut Bolts in order to regain the extra depth.
1) Open up the bonnet and remove the 3 bolts from each of the top mounts. If a bolt keeps spinning then its likely that the thread has gone and somebody has forced the bolt in. Feel the underside of the mount to make sure that someone hasn't put a nut under like they did on mine! Took a few days to work that one out! Last resort youll have to hacksaw or drill the top of the bolt off and either re-tap the top mount or buy new ones.
2) Place the strut brace over the fitting location and adjust with a spanner so that the holes line up with the holes in the top mounts.
3) Get your extended bolts in! Be careful not to over tighten them! If your top mounts are old and rusty then you may find that you ruin the thread on the top mount. If the top mount holes have moved from the holes in the chassis its best to jack up the car and move the strut into position. This way there is no weight on the strut so you can easily align them and put the bolts in without damaging the thread and forcing them in.
On a 1.8:
On a HDi:
4) Tighten up the strut brace so that it pushes the struts apart. This is actually fairly difficult to do but as long as its on thats the main thing!
5) Step back and Admire your work!
Lower Strut Brace
If your car is low then YOU WILL catch a lower strut brace on something. Not going to lie. A friend fitted my lower strut for me and I drove ten meters and hit it on a speed bump bending it.
1) Jack the car up and remove the wheels. Use of Axel stands may be best for this! You dont want your car falling off the stands or the jack to fail so we put the wheels under the suspension arm/disks. This means that if it is going to fall... it wont fall far! However if you have nice wheels watch out for catching the paint like i did :roll: . Perhaps it would be best to use some steel wheels.
2) Remove the lower front wishbone bolts.
3) Place the brace and start to put the bolts back in.
4) Do the bolts back up but make sure that you do them alternately to be on the safe side.
5) Wheels back on and admire! If you go for a drive and hear some clonking when accelerating or braking then the bolts may still be loose!
NB1: You will catch a lower brace on something no matter how hard you try!
NB2: Top Strut braces are good for show.
NB3: DTurbos need a different shaped brace as they route around the top mount intercooler (TMIC).