WORKS GT Spec Strut Brace Testimonial

At WORKS, we are racers at heart. We are also live, breath and sleep EVOs. They occupy our focus, and are the reason we are here today, leading the way in innovative product development for the EVO.

When it came time to find a strut tower brace that could handle the punishment that our track car EVO sees on a regular basis, including documented cornering loads well over 1.0g using enormous 18” 255 series racing slicks with stiff WORKS sway bars, we knew that even the EVO’s exceptionally stout chassis was straining under pressure of our regular track escapades. So began the search for strut tower braces capable of preventing chassis deflection at the strut towers and maintaining correct suspension geometry, while adding minimal weight to the equation.

It was clear that no ordinary strut bar would do, and we had our doubts that we would ever find a strut tower brace that would meet our rigorous performance expectations and standards for quality.

After researching different strut tower bars from nearly every manufacturer known to us, we had all but given up hope. However, just when it seemed that our search was going to come up without an acceptable solution, we came across the GT Spec series of strut tower bars. We impressed by what we saw: CAD designed braces featuring an industry leading hollow double-wall design for extra strength, while maintaining light weight through the use of titanium and functional carbon fiber. With so many other companies offering single walled alternatives, or cosmetic carbon wrapped aluminum, both of which generally look better than they perform, we figured we had nothing to lose by giving these a try.

The results impressed even the most skeptical members of our WORKS design and driving teams. When the GT Spec series front and rear strut tower bars arrived, we noted the superior triangulated design (See Picture) of the front bar. A clear improvement from an engineering standpoint with more torsional rigidity compared to the stock bar.

The rear bar was equally impressive, buttressing the rear strut towers with a beefy titanium beam that allowed sufficient clearance away from the rear firewall and imposed only a minimal reduction in useable trunk space.

The fitment on both pieces was dead-on, and the quality of materials and craftsmanship met our lofty standards. After a very straightforward installation and torquing everything to factory specs, we wasted no time in taking the EVO back to the track with both the front and rear strut tower bars installed. Keeping in mind that our expectations at best, were to find a detectable increase in chassis stiffness and a corresponding reduction in flex, what we found surprised us. The EVO not only had the more communicative and linear steering and turn-in response we were hoping for, but was oversteering as well without any other changes. This was completely unexpected. The rear brace was actually doing such a good job of keeping the strut towers from deflecting under load, that we had to make suspension adjustments to compensate. Needless to say, we were pleased and our reduction in lap times reflected the extra confidence we felt pushing the EVO through some of the trickier turns.

In summary, the GT Spec strut bars performed beyond our expectations, and exhibited the kind of attention to detail in both craftsmanship, materials selection, and design that we at WORKS value so highly.