Hey, guys, Stephanie with americanmuscle.com, here with an overview of this front subframe
chassis brace from BMR for the 2015 and newer GT and EcoBoost Mustang.
In this video, we're gonna discuss what this brace does and how it's designed to work,
the materials and construction, and, of course, the install as well.
I'll go into more detail later, but the install for this brace is easy.
It's a 100% bolt-on item that you can install with simple hand tools, and it's gonna be
a one out of three wrenches on the difficulty meter.
The BMR Front Subframe Chassis Brace is gonna be something that you should check out if
you're planning on pushing your S550 to the limit and you're looking for a way to increase
steering stability and give the K-member some more backing.
This brace ties together a few points on the front of the car to support and stiffen the
front suspension since there can be some deflection there.
And it's gonna be for street performance, drag racing, and any handling application
that does not have coaxial on two headers installed.
This is for more of an extreme application, and it's not something that you can bolt onto
a daily driver and notice right away.
If you're looking to simply tighten things up in the front end, you can always check
out some other suspension mods, like a sway bar upgrade.
The most important thing about this brace is its functionality.
It ties into front lower control mounts to the rear legs of the K-member.
These areas are good to support, because the factory K-member and the lower control arm
mount are very strong right from the factory, but they do still deflect and flex under extreme
use.
This deflection is gonna take away handling performance.
So, if you think you're gonna be pushing your car hard enough to experience some of this
deflection, this brace will help with that.
That's why this isn't really a brace that you'll be able to bolt onto a daily driver
and cruise around town and notice differences in your handling performance right away.
This is more for those heavy-duty applications, because the factory components are strong
in these areas with deflection only happening under hard driving.
The design of this brace, by tying in the lower control arm mount and the rear legs
of the K-member, reinforces the major areas of the K-member to reduce the deflection that
can happen in these cases.
Reduced deflection here means a better steering feel, more stability, whether you're taking
corners or even under hard braking.
And the good news about a brace like this one here is that, when you tie in these points
on the chassis, you reduce deflection and get better handling results, but you aren't
going to increase NVH or noise, vibration, and harshness.
A lot of times when you go to reduce deflection, you end up taking the road of swapping out
soft rubber bushings for more firm bushings, or maybe no bushings at all, but those methods
add NVH.
A brace like this one here avoids adding NVH but still gets you the result that you want.
Now, adding a brace to the K-member like this is going to open up some questions about fitment
and, of course, long tube headers are going to be a concern.
This brace will work the stock in very nearly all aftermarket systems, including most long
tube headers.
It will not work with Kooks long tube headers though, so just keep that in mind.
If you happen to have a set of Kooks long tubes, you can check out the Steeda brace
instead.
This brace is also not going to work on the V6 model.
As far as materials, this brace is made from a combination of heavy-duty two and a quarter
inch steel and one by one and a half inch rectangular tubing that's powder-coated for
corrosion resistance.
It also has CNC machine build aluminum spacers for you, and it's gonna come with your install
hardware, too.
Like I said before, this is 100% bolt-on, so it's going to use existing bolt holes.
When it comes to price, you can expect to pay a touch below the $150 mark for this brace.
There is an option from Steeda that's slightly more expensive than the BMR here, and you
can always check that out as well.
I will say though, that for close to $100, I'm not sure how you can go wrong here if
you're looking to stabilize the front end.
Good materials, great construction, the benefit of BMR's proven reputation, and the science
behind the product are all positives here.
Moving on to the install, like I said earlier, this is a direct fit item, so the install's
gonna be straightforward and simple.
You're looking at an hour tops in the garage and a one out of three wrenches on the difficulty
meter.
The job can be done on jack stands if you don't have access to a lift, but as always,
a lift will make things easier.
Your wheels will need to come off, and you're gonna need to pull the lower control arm bolts.
The spacers will go into the subframe and then to the mounting hole, and then you can
fit up your brace and reinstall the lower control arm bolts.
One thing I will say here is that aligning the bolt holes might require some help from
another person.
If you have trouble, a second person can pull on the hub and rotor assembly so you can line
the bolts up and get them through.
The remaining bolts are gonna go into the rear mounting holes with the supplied washers
and lock nuts.
BMR suggests tightening the front bolts first and then the rear bolts.
And they give the required torque rating in the step-by-step install instructions that
have pictures as well to help you guys out.
Overall, this is a very easy install for anyone.
Wrapping things up with the BMR Front Subframe Chassis Brace, this is a brace that's gonna
tie together the rear of the K-member and the lower control arm mounting points to provide
some front-end stability and less deflection without any added NVH.
This is a good mod for any performance vehicle, and it provides more stable handling performance
all the way around.
As always, I suggest you check it out more online for yourselves right here at americanmuscle.com.