Reviews on the TRD Door Latches/Stabilizer
 

Hoping someone who's ordered these can chime in? Part of me thinks it's a clever idea. The other part thinks it's a gimick.

anyone perhaps?

TRD Door Stabilizer(14000 JPY = $174.45 AUD)
http://i48.tinypic.com/34i4oav.jpg

http://www.tune86.com/sites/default/...stabilizer.jpg

Id like to hear opinions on this as well.

yea, same here

I can tell you... they're a bitch to install. :mad0259:

Got a set, but can't get the two screws on the door striker to budge, not even a little bit. Feels like the damn things are welded into the door.

You need an impact screw driver and a mallet.

Buy one of these before you chew up those screw heads. Let us know how they work for you.
http://www.harborfreight.com/impact-...ase-37530.html

please excuse my ignorance, but what is the purpose of these door stabilizers? does the door wobble? is it "unstable"? i don't see why a brand new car would need door stabilzers

Helps the chassis settle quicker when turning into corners

When you turn into a corner the chassis will deflect slightly and the doors will move a fraction, by wedging them in tighter you help reduce this and help the suspension act more efficiently. That's the theory anyway.

After reading some reviews.. it's appears BMW has been using these for years in their production vehicles. I don't know which ones specifically (if not all) models incorporate them. With that said... you may likely only feel the difference if you're a pro driver and once you've already wrung out the OEM chassis 98% of the way. If you're looking for the last 2%, yes these will probably help.

would love to hear some feedback though. The placebo effect is a strong one!

Thank you, good sir! That's exactly what I need. (Bah... I'm having to make due without my full set of tools, as I'm crashing at a friend's house for a few weeks).

And I was about to say, "Cue the 'That part's dumb, and won't do anything' crowd in 5... 4... 3...", but it seems they're already here. All I know is people both in Japan and America that are serious about racing cars seemed excited by these, and that I'm a big fan of chassis strengthening as a first modification, so I'm on board with it. (Besides, it's a cheap enough mod to give it a try). Sadly, I don't know how much of an individual assessment I can give for these, though, as I've got a front strut-tower bar and a full set of PowerBraces from Cusco arriving this week; so at best I'll be able to do a "before bracing the crap out of it/ after stiffening the crap out of it" review. :D

Impact screwdriver

This is primarily a mod for people tracking their vehicle. It will help to keep the chassis from warping due to the gforces inflicted on the car during high speed maneuvers.

Okay, door stabilzers are installed (just needed a longer socket bar; the impact screwdriver did nothing). Pretty simple install, though the directions make it seem more complicated than it was. My Japanese reading inferiority complex is starting to creep in, and I'm hoping I didn't miss a step. Oh well... the doors open, close, and don't rattle at the moment, so I assume all's good. :thumbsup:

Aaaaand since my Cusco braces are taking a lot longer to get here than I originally expected (grrr....) it looks like I will be able to give a review of these all by their little ol' lonesome. Don't expect much of an effect myself, but who knows. Stay tuned...

For those that have installed this mod, did you guys have issues with door alignment after putting them on? And how can I adjust the position of the latch? My driver door now sits out more at the top rear portion of the door (not flush with the rear quarter panel). Also, the driver side door is noticeably harder to close (coupled with a clunking noise when closing, definitely making harder contact somewhere). No such issues with the passenger side.

I had no such problems with mine. Sounds like something's wrong with yours.

I could see these maybe on a convertible...but a rigid little coupe? Waste of money spent better elsewhere.

-J

I'm going to reserve judgement for now, but my first impression would be the same or similar. Especially, if you have a strut tower brace or something similar. If you do have some other brace, I'd think this would be over kill.

The difference would not be 'kick in your pants' noticable, but if you track your car hard then there would be benefit for sure. Plus they look pretty cool too (at least when the door is open ;) ).

I always hated that phrase, particularly when speaking about someone else's purchase: "Waste of money." And just because a coupe is more rigid than a convertible, doesn't mean it is rigid enough (for some people).

Turns out yes, the TRD door stabilizers DO make a noticeable difference in the car's handling; but its like LazyZed said, it's subtle. You only really notice when cornering hard at the outer limits of the car... but the improvement exists, and is substantial enough I'd recommend them for anybody who ever plans to push their car hard in the corners (on track or off). I did a full review somewhere on here; ill look for it later.

I will probably get a set when I get my car along with a strut brace and master cylinder brace as soon as possible. The stiffer the better (and yes, that's what she said!) ;)

Where are you purchasing btw?

I haven't yet done this with the BRZ, but try wedging your fingers between the door and dash next time you're out. Driving around town, on the highway, or on twisty roads, you can feel the door moving around a bit, it's rather surprising.

As with most chassis mods, these would probably be more noticeable with additional bracing and stiffer suspension/bushings already in place. The stiffer the rest of the chassis is, the more it will focus stress on the flimsy areas. A coupe isn't a guarantee that the chassis is perfectly Stiffy McStifferton, some flex can still be induced if the forces are strong enough. On stock tires & stock suspension I wouldn't expect to feel much difference, if it's even detectable.

Point is that the money spent on these door shims would be better spent on tires, springs, roll bars, brakes, etc. Does anyone really think this supposed performance mod would seriously reduce lap times? Or does it just look cool? Just like those who want to see dyno data before believing an engine mod, show me some real world lap times on how well this mod really works.

-J

Jimbo, fancy seeing you here!

All I have to say is that the 'Placebo Effect' can be a strong one :thumbsup:

As with what everyone has been saying, you won't feel any benefit unless you're pushing the car close to its limits, and even then it's subtle. Is part of the feeling a placebo? Possibly. But then this is just another means to an end in stiffening the overall car. If anything it eliminated an annoying rattle/buzzing that was occuring in the b pillar behind my seat.

If u want to die burning away go for it :lol:

DSO, I've had to readjust the door latch/striker before and it's not a fun process. I have not read the service manual and they may have better suggestions. Here's mine: Make sure you're on flat ground while doing this. Even though the BRZ/FRS chassis is plenty stiff any flex will throw off your adjustment. It's also best to do this with your window down. At this point.. i'm hoping you didn't loosen the hinge bolts since that's where the majority of the door adjustment is made. You can then start adjusting the striker so that it catches the middle of the door latch. It'll take some trial and error but you should be able to visually see it to align it right before the door shuts.

If doing this again, I usually use a sharpie to draw guide marks in a + pattern so I know generally how it goes back into place w/o too much hassle.

BTW.. The placebo affect IS a strong one. One time one of my buddies took my car out. He said he adjusted my damper settings and my air pressure. I got in the car next and my time dropped 1~ sec. I found out later he did nothing :bellyroll:

Yeah Ill play with it tomorrow. I didn't touch the hinge bolts nor will I do so. I believe what happened was that the actual thread bolts behind the body panel (which the striker plate screws go into) moved while loosening the ridiculously tight screws. Will just need to adjust them accordingly to bring the striker plate down a little more. Right now the latch is sitting a little too high causing the back end of the door to sit higher and protruding out from the rear quarter panel.

I'd get them if they weren't so expensive. I honestly don't understand how or why they're so expensive...

Seeing as this is one of those parts that trickled down from the LFA you could see why it's expensive.

Then look on TRD Japan's website. They have a ton of data on the part there. Not my job to find it for you, since you seem to have made up your mind that you're the expert on how exactly an FR-S should be tuned. (Speaking of, do you even drive one of the twins, or even a FR car at all?)

So I installed these today (will post a DIY article briefly as I took some pictures).
I can confirm that they are a bit of a bitch to install. The hard part was loosening the screws holding the existing hook to the door frame. I had a nice breaker bar with a large Philips head screw socket on it but that started stripping it so I ended up using an impact driver to get them started.

As for how the stabilizers work: I'm just calling them "bling" for now as any marginal increase in rigidity is beyond how I'm currently driving it. Will they pay for themselves in increased cornering? Hell no. Do they look better than stock and is it kind of a cool little tweak? Yeah, guess so.

DIY posted
 

I posted pictures and quick summary in the DIY section for the door stabilizers.

Here is my opinion.

I had these installed before I picked up the car. Why? Well the front of the car has a sway bar, and engine braces already. It's not going to be that flexible. The back of the car is also fairly solid.

The part where the car will flex the most (over time) will be in the middle where the driver sits. If these help reduce body flex then I am hoping a few years down the line, my chassis will still be fairly straight. I mean this car has frameless windows, so you aren't getting the same rigidity as you would get by having a frame around your door.

I haven't upgraded anything else, but from catching up with a few owners here in NZ, I have noticed that after 5000km my hood aligns perfectly and their hoods have edges that aren't quite aligning to the front fenders any more. Not sure if the TRD Door stabilizers are the cause.

I was ripping up hill in a very unstable fashion thru a few turns and my car door open light was on. So, I vote probably will be good mod. the car obviously flexes more than thought.

There is a reason some people refer to stiffing the chassis as tuning the 5th spring. The chassis of a car loads and unloads just like a conventional suspension spring. Yes this is one small part but if your adding braces to the front and rear of the car. It makes sense to also brace the middle of the chassis. If you don't think the middle needs bracing open both doors and look at the car from the side, what do you see. To me these seem like a good attempt to brace the middle of the car without intruding on interior space.

I'd like to try these out, I love a stiff chassis.

Why so expensive though?
Cause its from Japan??

Installed these last week just to add some TRD bling to the car. Didnt think they'd actually do too much but after the first drive I was was convinced they were worth the price.

When I first got the car I thought it was near perfect except for the steering. It felt a little sluggish like either the steering rack was a little slow or it had a huge deadzone. I'm no racecar driver and couldnt tell exactly what was going on. After installing these, that sluggishness is gone. Any quick steering inputs and it just darts in that direction. It's most noticable when changing lanes quickly. Feels perfect now.

I'm still on stock suspension, tires, and tire pressure. If it's placebo I dont care cause the car feels that much better. Just my experience.

^Steering rack bushings would have been cheaper.

You're probably right and a lot easier to install too! :thumbsup:

After reading all this,
All i have to say is
Jimbo is an idiot

TRD part.... Thats why its that price
And even at that Price
Its not even expensive.....

I ordered a set!
Cant wait!