HKS CARBON BRACE GR86 BRZ 83001-AT004
JPY 330,000
Please contact us for availability.
SKU: 83001-AT004Categories: HKS
front
rear
■ Features
- This body reinforcement brace uses a carbon shaft made by Graphite Design, a leading company in carbon shafts for golf.
- It replaces the original bar (front: steel) and adds a bar (front and rear) connecting the left and right sides.
- The weave direction is aligned with other HKS carbon products, creating a unified and beautiful look within the engine bay.
- By replacing the original parts, the unpleasant stiffness will be eliminated and the carbon shaft will absorb unpleasant vibrations, resulting in a smooth, high-quality ride without any impurities.
■ Configuration diagram
Not just increasing strength, but also the necessity to express “flexibility”
Achieving both high strength and “flexibility” through joint development with a leading golf shaft company
- Generally, adding a brace increases rigidity, but there are concerns that this may result in a worse ride. To achieve both improved driving performance and ride comfort, HKS adopted a high-quality carbon shaft, which is also used in golf clubs and has high strength and just the right amount of flexibility.
- The Carbon Brace series was made possible by utilizing the tuning know-how that HKS has cultivated over the years and with the cooperation of Graphite Design, a prestigious golf shaft manufacturer that is also favored by famous professional golfers.
- The ability to freely control the unique flex characteristics of carbon, which is not possible with other materials, is made possible thanks to the know-how of Graphite Design, which has extensive experience in golf shafts, and provides performance that sets it apart from conventional brace bars.
- The effect of flex not only improves the quality of the car, but also contributes to stable behavior even when driving on a circuit, further enhancing the enjoyment of driving.
[About Graphite Design Inc.]
Graphite Design is a long-established golf shaft manufacturer founded in 1989. In Japan, the company mainly produces OEM golf shafts.
From 2003 to 2017, it was the most used driver shaft on the Japanese men’s tour, and is used by many top professionals.
In particular, for shafts made of carbon fiber, the company uses high-quality materials that Japan is proud of, and has established itself as a leading company in the industry due to its high quality and reliability.
■ Seeking the unique flexibility of carbon (twisting and bending)
[About twisting]
- By increasing the torsional strength by 150% or more compared to the original brace bar, twisting of the body is reduced, allowing the suspension to move more precisely.
- This enables the damper to instantly respond to even the smallest movements, resulting in precise handling.
- In addition, since the torque rises quadratically with the angle, when cornering, the necessary amount of load is generated when needed, making it possible to stabilize driving.
[About bending]
- In terms of bending characteristics, the unique flexibility of carbon is utilized to reduce the bending load to less than 70% compared to the original brace bar, which reduces unpleasant vibrations and sudden inputs and greatly contributes to improving the “texture.”
Circuit test to determine specifications
To determine the specifications, we conducted a circuit test at Fuji Speedway. After understanding the characteristics of the stock model, we tested various specifications on both the ZN8 and ZD8 to find the specifications that seemed best.
- Normal
The normal steel bar has a taut body and gives the impression of a solid core. It is prone to vibration and has a low texture. In terms of driving performance, the tautness allows for good yaw start, but it lacks smoothness. There is also a lack of a sense of contact with the ground, and the driving feeling feels rough.
⇒We want to reduce the stiffness of the core and improve the texture. - Front prototype (replacement for genuine parts):
The stiffness of the front has disappeared, and vibration has been reduced, improving the texture. The whole car seems to absorb twists, and the tires’ contact with the ground has improved, resulting in gentler behavior. The steering feel is gentler than normal, so some people like it and others dislike it.
Front prototype (replacement for genuine parts + tower bar):
The steering feel has returned to the same firmness as normal, and although vibration has increased slightly, it is significantly less than normal, improving driving performance while maintaining comfort. The texture of the entire vehicle has improved, but the rear tends to lose out slightly compared to the rigidity of the front. - Standard + prototype (tower bar)
A stronger sense of tension is felt than with the standard. Vibrations and road noise are clearly increased, and comfort is lost.
Handling is solid, but the tension is too strong and grip is lost at the limit with even the slightest change in behavior. Ride comfort is the worst.
Condition of a typical tower bar added to the standard - The balance between the front prototype (replacement for the factory + tower bar) and rear prototype
has been improved, and the rear’s grounding feeling has been improved and it feels linear.
The improved rigidity has made it much easier to ride and maneuver at the limit. In addition, the steering and gap inputs have become gentler, resulting in a smooth and high-quality ride.
■ Driving performance evaluation
- The right side of the chart below shows handling and driving performance, while the left side shows ride comfort.
- Improved responsiveness and stability are observed, and the steering feel changes from the dry vibration characteristics of the original to a smoother feel that is more characteristic of a carbon brace.
- The carbon shaft provides better vibration damping than metal shafts, reducing unpleasant vibrations such as bumps and vibrations from the road, improving comfort.
- Unlike typical metal reinforcement, the flexibility of the carbon shaft is utilized to achieve a high level of both running comfort and ride quality.
- In terms of handling, the feeling of directness increases, but the behavior at the limit becomes smoother, making it easier to ride.
- When driving on a circuit, it becomes easier to grasp the tire pressure of all four wheels.
