Bell Raceworks Diff Brace Install
 

Installing the Raceworks Diff Brace from Z1.

Save your money. It's bad. I tried installing mine tonight. If you have exhaust like FI. You have to trim about 1 3/8" off of the corner of the brace to clear the exhaust pipe. Once I did that. I found out that the upper hole on the brace that mounts to the sub-frame is about a hole diameter off to one side. Nothing I could do to get it to align up. I have the SPL solid diff bushings. Maybe if you have stock or a soft aftermarket diff bushing. You might be able to force things into place. I'm going to rework the brace to fit when I drop my sub-frame to do the SPL sub-frame bushings. Then I will have enough room to work with.

Here's some pictures.

New out of the box.

Clearance issues. :mad:

This is what I had to cut off for clearance on the exhaust pipe. :mad: Not a lot of metal left for strength after trimming. :mad:

Crap, that figures. I just got mine today.

Sorry to hear Rusty... I wonder if the Royalty Performance brace would fit any better?

Whoa I had high hopes for this product. Wtf...

From looking at a picture of one. Looks like if you have a FI exhaust. It won't fit. The pipes are close to the diff.

I am going to try and get MA to make mine work. Then they can offer it up for sale.

When I drop my sub-frame. I'm going to rework it.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...e26c6f64c1.jpg

Good chance it fits on mine

You got LOTS of room. :eek: My pipes are tight to the diff.

Well, it looks like I won't be installing mine. :mad: Thanks for the heads up Rusty.

This is how tight my pipes are. I had to trim the cooling fins on both sides of the Z1 diff cover for clearance. :icon14:

I had to trim my cooling fins also.

This is on Z1's website. Could the partial removal of the diff be due to the top hole not lining up.

Installation of this brace may require partial removal of the rear differential

When I installed mine I had to trim some nismo diff. When I posted the picks I instagram bell replied right away and said it should have zero issues. They just revised their website. Use to say will fit on any diff cover. Now it mentions you might have to modify.
Picks are on Instagram bmpboosted

I just saw your picture, looks good. That's not too much trimming. But those of us with Fast Intentions exhaust are screwed it looks like.

Not on instagram.

When you have SPL solid diff bushings. There is no movement. The diff sits where it sits.

It’s bmpboosted you can see their reply

They may not have thought about that when the made the mount. Maybe they figured there would be enough movement to be able to fudge the diff enough to be able to install the bolt.

Something else I forgot to mention. On the bends of the brace. There is weld beads on the bends? The only thing that I can figure out. Is that when they bent the metal to shape. The metal cracked at the bends and they welded over the cracks to hide them. :shakes head: Piss poor.

I think Rusty is saying he's not on Instagram.

I just got done writing a review on the brace on Z1's website. :tup:

Yep!

I gotta read that. :stirthepot:

I wrote it. I went back to read it and it's not there. :confused:

Same here, it wasn't there

Wonder if it gets reviewed first before they put it up.

Well I guess I lucked out by not jumping on the early band wagon! I was hoping that it would work too.

Reviewed and then deleted. :tup:

Yeah,........really. The one guy posted a 5 star review.

My car's in the shop right now for a fuel system upgrade and my guy was going to install the mount too. He's a great fabricator so he's going to see if he can modify it without destroying the structural integrity of it.

I should have realized the mount wasn't going to work when I found out I could no longer get a floor jack under my diff after installing the Fast Intentions exhaust.

I have the FI 3" exhaust and there is even less room.

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This is one of the braces posted on Instagram; supposedly on JonP’s car :ugh2:

So Z1 deleted both Rusty and redondoaveb's negative reviews? Shady...

He has a 350z. Different brace.

No worries. I can get MA-Motorsports to make 2. I will have a 3" exhaust also.

I too seen this Bell Raceworks differential brace and was skeptical about how it would fit. Thanks for the heads up here. This is not the only part or item that we have had fitment issues with that Z1 sells seems that proof again Z1 only cares about their sales and not their customers makes sense though no jaw dropper here. There are a lot of other vendors the Z community can give their business to.