DIY : TRD Door Stabilizers

[RallySport Direct]

Originally Posted by FRSBRZGT86FAN

I have no clue, wtf do these do? Make the door seat better?

My understanding is that the engineers designed the crash beam in the door to also act as a chassis brace when you use these door stabilizers. So by installing these you are essentially making the chassis more rigid which should help with handling and feel of the car. I think mods like this become more apparent and noticeable when you have suspension mods, sticky tires, bushings etc..

Hope this helps! And thanks for the Writeup as well, this is an item I will install on my car one day lol.

Thanks,
Rick

[FRSBRZGT86FAN]

Originally Posted by RallySport Direct

My understanding is that the engineers designed the crash beam in the door to also act as a chassis brace when you use these door stabilizers. So by installing these you are essentially making the chassis more rigid which should help with handling and feel of the car. I think mods like this become more apparent and noticeable when you have suspension mods, sticky tires, bushings etc..

Hope this helps! And thanks for the Writeup as well, this is an item I will install on my car one day lol.

Thanks,
Rick

Thanks for that I found an explanation from another trd website
"The TRD Door Stabilizer helps stiffen the chassis of your BRZ, FR-S, or GT86 by sliding a spring loaded metal section behind the lock which grabs against a polymer based plastic piece on the door itself. This then pushes on the door and against the hinges which helps stiffens the chassis."

Pretty much what you said.

[FRSBRZGT86FAN]

Originally Posted by HotLavaMan

Installed the TRD Door Stabilizer kit today. Ordered it from Carson Toyota in CA for $190 or so and shipping was free as it was included with the TRD spoiler I ordered at same time.
The instructions are all in Japanese of course but the few diagrams included gave good hints as to how it would be installed. This photo is one side not yet installed.

Attachment 27582


Seems to be fairly straight forward. The black part in upper left is heavy duty plastic. The new screws are “star” screws so took a run to Harbor Freight to buy the bits for it. I also needed to pick up a screw driver socket set as I didn’t have one and it was necessary. Not bad for $20 total but then again it’s harbor freight so I get what I pay for. Tools I had to buy from Harbor Freight:

Attachment 27584


This of course is what it looks like before we start:

Attachment 27586


The hardest part of this whole project is getting those damn screws loosened. I thought a breaker bar with a Philips head would do the trick:

Attachment 27585

(As n2oinferno points out, you shouldn't use a torque wrench as a breaker bar but this is a very old and abused one so it's not doing it any more harm. You should use a real breaker bar if one is available)

But the breaker bar just started to strip the screws despite how hard I pushed. So I resorted to using an impact driver and hammer just to loosen them a bit.

Attachment 27587

Hold it differently from picture or you’ll break your wrist with the hammer. After getting the old one off, it’s then just a matter of holding the “spring” section back and screwing in the new plate with the star screws:

Attachment 27588

I found in the Japanese documentation that the torx screws should be tightened to 23 nm (~17 ft lbs). Thanks to Hanasuko for pointing out this fact.

Here’s how it looks when complete:

Attachment 27589

The screws on the actual door are trivial in comparison. It’s just a matter of loosening two screws and putting the metal bracket on:
Attachment 27590

Note that the lower screw isn't yet installed just to show how the bracket fits quite well into the screw hole. According to the doc, these screws should be tightened to 6.5 nm (~ 4 ft lbs). Then the plastic piece snaps in as so:
Attachment 27591
Push it into the bracket at the point above and then just gently push it to the outside to lock it in place. This is what is looks like complete:
Attachment 27592

I had no issues with fit or function, it did not affect the door alignment.

Are they worth it? Meh, probably not as I’m not auto-crossing or racing the car at this point. It’s just some silly bling for now.

Cheers.

Any handling differences you can notice?

[Chee-Hu]

Originally Posted by FRSBRZGT86FAN

That do nothing?

Do "bling" parts actually have a purpose or function besides than the "cool" factor?

[FRSBRZGT86FAN]

Originally Posted by Chee-Hu

Do "bling" parts actually have a purpose or function besides than the "cool" factor?

The "swag" factor

[yuicebox]

Anyone want to do some before and after autocross? Preferably someone who can put down consistent times lol.

I'd offer to do it myself but my life is kind of spiraling out of control for the next month or so

can't wait to find out if these actually do anything.

[zoomzoomers]

Been thinking about these since I saw them way back when. I'd say that these are like any strut tower bar. You really can't feel with with any butt dyno, but does aid in certain situations. I mean how many of us have truely felt the benefits of a strut tower bar? I'd wager, not many, but we still buy them by the truck loads. Maybe one day... I just can't fight the urge to fold up a wad of old newspaper and stick it in the door jam and call it a day.

[andrewFT86]

I have installed this and I think it works. If it does not it makes you thing it works

[j2digit]

it completely shaved off 2 seconds on my lap time .............................come on people, it's a door stabilizer.......

[Hawaiian]

I remember someone posting an Autox video early on showing a lot of chassis flex around the door frame (was that you @feldy?). This will limit that, however, I don't know how effective it will be in your lap time.

Here's a video I looked up. Skip ahead to 134. It's a little harder to notice on a black car, but you can see the door flex in and out on each turn.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNc5ABlY3o0"]FRS Miller Park Autocross Run #4 - YouTube[/ame]

Here's a better one. Skip to 1:20.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3i_RVz8F1Y"]FRS First Drive with Jeff - YouTube[/ame]

[MemphisR]

Originally Posted by Hawaiian

I remember someone posting an Autox video early on showing a lot of chassis flex around the door frame (was that you @feldy?). This will limit that, however, I don't know how effective it will be in your lap time.

Here's a video I looked up. Skip ahead to 134. It's a little harder to notice on a black car, but you can see the door flex in and out on each turn.


Here's a better one. Skip to 1:20.

That is a bit of flex. I don't think it major but thanks for those videos. The second one was definitely better.

[j2digit]

[QUOTE=Hawaiian;1064592]I remember someone posting an Autox video early on showing a lot of chassis flex around the door frame (was that you @feldy?). This will limit that, however, I don't know how effective it will be in your lap time.

Here's a video I looked up. Skip ahead to 134. It's a little harder to notice on a black car, but you can see the door flex in and out on each turn.

Holy crap! i guess they do serve a purpose......unless my eyes are being fooled by the light and shade ,but it is very obvious. nevertheless , I don't track and have no need for this ............for now.....

[HotLavaMann]

To follow up on this thread, I haven't noticed any difference in handling. Two things to point out: 1) I don't autocross or track the car so I don't strain the frame much. 2) It handles as good as my old S2000 so I'm quite happy. Probably not due to the door stabilizers.

I'll leave it up to someone else who is competitive at autocross to give authoritative feedback.

[t.chk]

They look nice. I wish there was a STI version, but I might buy it just for the bling...but $190 bling...idk.