Unibrace group buy

[flashp]

Does the MK5 really get anything out of this??
Genuine question...it never struck me as a wobbly chassis.

Got this from the Unibrace site:


Profile

Bruce Levin, an architect, product designer, and principal of Studiolevin in San Francisco, California, USA, is the designer of UNIbrace products. A long time Volkwagen enthusiast, Bruce has owned two MkII GTI’s, a MkIV GTI 337, and currently drives a MkIV .:R32. UNIbrace was started as an effort to combine the highest quality product design and fabrication, the love of the grassroots VW community, and on and off track spirited driving.


Noticed straight away he drives a MK4 which is noted for it's poor (by comparisson) chassis  which is offset by 4 wheel drive.

Or am I missing something I need to know about??? 

[sub39h]

Does the MK5 really get anything out of this??
Genuine question...it never struck me as a wobbly chassis.

Got this from the Unibrace site:


Profile

Bruce Levin, an architect, product designer, and principal of Studiolevin in San Francisco, California, USA, is the designer of UNIbrace products. A long time Volkwagen enthusiast, Bruce has owned two MkII GTI’s, a MkIV GTI 337, and currently drives a MkIV .:R32. UNIbrace was started as an effort to combine the highest quality product design and fabrication, the love of the grassroots VW community, and on and off track spirited driving.


Noticed straight away he drives a MK4 which is noted for it's poor (by comparisson) chassis  which is offset by 4 wheel drive.

Or am I missing something I need to know about??? 

http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,48722.0.html

I'm personally expecting it to act like a stiffer rear anti roll bar and make the car feel more neutral.

[MC71]

I have a UB style brace (exact copy and cost only £130 in this country) and no it's not a noticeable difference with or without it. Yes, It all helps I suppose but paying whatever price Unibrace charge.....errrr no.  I do only have the one brace so maybe with the others that may change.

 

[flashp]

Does the MK5 really get anything out of this??
Genuine question...it never struck me as a wobbly chassis.

Got this from the Unibrace site:


Profile

Bruce Levin, an architect, product designer, and principal of Studiolevin in San Francisco, California, USA, is the designer of UNIbrace products. A long time Volkwagen enthusiast, Bruce has owned two MkII GTI’s, a MkIV GTI 337, and currently drives a MkIV .:R32. UNIbrace was started as an effort to combine the highest quality product design and fabrication, the love of the grassroots VW community, and on and off track spirited driving.


Noticed straight away he drives a MK4 which is noted for it's poor (by comparisson) chassis  which is offset by 4 wheel drive.

Or am I missing something I need to know about??? 

http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,48722.0.html

I'm personally expecting it to act like a stiffer rear anti roll bar and make the car feel more neutral.

Do you have an anti roll bar kit fitted? By that I mean front and rear.
If not then I'd consider that instead. It does make a very real and measurable difference.
More neutral may mean you need to look at roll reduction and adjusting out understeer with some appropriate geometry hardware.
Not meaning to rubbish your idea or anything but it sounded like you were after resolving an issue but I'm not sure this will give you what you're looking for. 

[sub39h]

Already have a rear ARB. My old coils were aligned according to Alex's settings but they failed and I've not had a chance to get back to him after my new ones were fitted. Going back to him next week tho!

I still feel the XB will be a worthwhile investment. Not 100% on the others but I'm quite keen on trying for XB. They seem to get good reviews.

[flashp]

When you say aligned do you mean ride height? Or did they do corner weighting for you?
And failed...do you mean broken springs?

I'd have to say a front ARB to compliment your rear (rear stiffer than front) and maybe some adjustable ball joints or top plates (Ground Control) to get some negative camber around -2 degrees may have more impact.

Tyres have a lot to do with it as well. Michelin PSS are a revelation, designed for track use as well as road.

I shall be interested to hear your opinion! 

[sub39h]

Yeah I had Weitecs before (which are no longer made I don't think) and a front coil snapped. For the price of a replacement I just decided to get a new kit.

The ride height has mostly been dictated by looks and usability tbh. I can get in an out of car parks but the car is suitably low without looking like some sort of trailer queen. (Sorry but i despise that slammed look.)

Alex set up the alignment to custom settings and when he did the first time it was like night and day the way the car felt. He didn't fit my new B14s and as much as I am fond of the specialists who did I'm not convinced they know their PQ35 chassis cars like Alex does and so they were only able to put the alignment back to stock. I'm hoping when Alex puts it back to his settings I will see another leap in grin factor!

Anyway in regards to the Unibrace, I reckon stiffening the back will bring about some improvements to the handling and stiffness so I'd like to give it a go.

[flashp]

Be sure to review your thoughts here, I'm interested to hear. 

[GTItraveler]

While the MkV platform is stiffer than the MkIV (as the MkIV was stiffer than MkIII, etc.) they all suffer from the inherent weakness of a hatchback [open shoe box] shape. Additionally, we have many customers reporting significant benefits in Jetta/Bora sedans, so all cars benefit from chassis/unibody bracing. It is important to remember that our cars are not racing cars and have rather humble beginnings as economy cars. The chassis/unibody of the base golf is no different than the Golf R while its power is significantly increased. When you change suspensions, ECU tunes, wheels, tires, and brakes you are significantly increasing stresses on the car past its basic design parameters.

If any of you have doubts about the efficacy of UNIbrace products please spend some time and read our testimonials page: http://unibrace.com/testimonials/ as well as http://unibrace.com/philosophy/ and http://unibrace.com/faq/

Bruce

[sub39h]

Bruce has informed me that the Mk7 platform XBQ is also included in a potential GB, and will be priced the same as the XB/XB3 at US$360 shipped.

Do we have any more interest from PQ35 chassis (Mk5/Mk6) or MQB chassis (Mk7) owners?

[Burbs22]

I'm still interested how long would they take to come over etc? When is the deal looking to happen?

[sub39h]

I'm still interested how long would they take to come over etc? When is the deal looking to happen?

Waiting for a little more interest before I trouble a mod.

[Burbs22]

So how many have we got at the moment then

[rich83]

Flash. I have called snake oil on these things before. Waste of money if you ask me. Perfectly suitable for the "must have all the mods" owners tho.

[sub39h]

Flash. I have called snake oil on these things before. Waste of money if you ask me. Perfectly suitable for the "must have all the mods" owners tho.

What makes you come to that conclusion? Have you got one/driven a car with and without one back to back? A few years ago AKS Alex mentioned he was considering producing something similar which tells me there must be something in it.