rear strut brace

cougarfanboy

Well-known user
Jan 30, 2014
290
26
manchester
My cougar handles well now , so what will a rear strut brace bring and does it bring even more smiles? How does the handling feel with it fitted? Ordering soon ... And will I get the bolts included Lol.
 
Spend the money on decent rubber first before investing in one, otherwise you'll be a long way from the full benefit.

Not driven a Cougar with one, but I can see that they'd help a bit!
 
Then come the 21st I'll be ordering , I know ppl with drills , simple as pie job?

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My tyres are ok ish I suppose I never really have to push my car that much to blow must cars away round a roundabout without trying even and that includes the wet , so if the car becomes drastically better with one , I can't even imagine...
 
Well, I have driven a cougar with one without one, with a removable one, without a removable one, with good rubber, without good rubber.

Good rubber is absolutely a must.....but for the cash - the rear strut brace is a must and makes a massive difference.

The front brace less so imho.
 
I'll be investing in one too, whenever I get round to replacing my suspension. The rough idea being the addition of all new shocks and springs, strut top bearings, ARB bushes, drop links plus front and rear strut braces all in one fell swoop. Once I've accumulated all the parts, that is!
 
I'll be investing in one too, whenever I get round to replacing my suspension. The rough idea being the addition of all new shocks and springs, strut top bearings, ARB bushes, drop links plus front and rear strut braces all in one fell swoop. Once I've accumulated all the parts, that is!
That, in my opinion is the way to go. No point trying to 'tighten up' knackered mechanical bits.

I'm not sure the Cougar is 'that' sparkling at handling (it's 'good', don't get me wrong, very good in my opinion for its size, drive-train, age etc...) but it's still a big, saggy FWD car in the cold light of day.
 
Nice big list there! But when done , it will feel so much better , I had my steering realigned , and the car felt so much better and precise after it being done.
 
Kind of felt like that when I first driven it(big, saggy 4wd car , Lol are you a troll!?) , but as I got accustomed to driving the cougar ,the more smaller it became ,in the way it felt on the road, and when driven... Weird.
 
Kind of felt like that when I first driven it(big, saggy 4wd car , Lol are you a troll!?) , but as I got accustomed to driving the cougar ,the more smaller it became ,in the way it felt on the road, and when driven... Weird.
No, not a troll, just realistic...... I'm welcome to anybody to not state the case that the Cougar, isn't in all reality at least a 'heavy, front-wheel drive' car. Saggy is subjective I'll grant you!

I can't tell you what you feel, I don't dislike the way the Cougar drives at all, I just don't think it's 'the' most impressive car out there handling wise.
 
I've got to say also , I only put a back box on my cougar , but the very slight gain in frottal response and sound was enough to give me cougar love again Lol , I washed it today and took it for a little blow round the block and motorway , such a pleasure to drive a cougar , just hope the lack of parts don't finally kill it off , I don't think I'll own a car I'd love as much , certainly not to drive ha ha.
 
I've got to say also , I only put a back box on my cougar , but the very slight gain in frottal response and sound was enough to give me cougar love again Lol , I washed it today and took it for a little blow round the block and motorway , such a pleasure to drive a cougar , just hope the lack of parts don't finally kill it off , I don't think I'll own a car I'd love as much , certainly not to drive ha ha.
Rot, or lack of parts will finish them, it's not imminent though. Again, in my opinion the build quality of the Cougar is mighty-high, just rot, as with most old cars will finish them off in the end.

If you truly love it as you say, spend the money getting it 'properly' rust-proofed.
 
The troll comment was a laugh my friend as I said I agreed to that description slightly when I first started to drive it , now it feels small , or should I say normal!? Ha ha , I haven't driven a true small car for a while so my memory of what a real small car feels like is a thing of the past , I also had a Passat before my cougar which is a suppose a similar size car.
 
That, in my opinion is the way to go. No point trying to 'tighten up' knackered mechanical bits.
That was my thinking, that and a kind of childish way of wanting to 'save up' all the bits to get an overwhelming improvement in one hit.

I'm not sure the Cougar is 'that' sparkling at handling (it's 'good', don't get me wrong, very good in my opinion for its size, drive-train, age etc...) but it's still a big, saggy FWD car in the cold light of day.
And yet, for all your endless and scathing criticisms of them, you continue to hang around in an owners' club full of people who love them, diverting the topic of conversation to Mazda MX5s wherever and whenever you can.
 
Who would do such a job , a body shop?

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Ha ha , he isn't the guy who sold me this cougar is he?? He bought a Mazda!
 
Who would do such a job , a body shop?

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Ha ha , he isn't the guy who sold me this cougar is he?? He bought a Mazda!
Not unless it's Green and registered X177 HCE, then no!

A bodyshop might, maybe have a look around for specialists, it doesn't come cheap but done 'properly' it'll stand you many, many, many years of use.
 
Who would do such a job , a body shop?

A strut brace? There's a few folk on here who've done their own, but I seem to recall that Mart is usually happy and willing to fit them himself if you pop over to his, not too bad a trip from Manchester. If you mean my great big list, I'm banking on the time-honoured tradition of a UK Cougar minifixswapmeet!
 
Well I'm not saying for sure but I like to think I'd give a mazda a good race round a roundabout , and with a rear strut brace I think my cougar would eat it tbh Lol.

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No rust treatment I meant, I'm ordering brace from catfabs but I'm wondering what is needed to fit will it need a threading drill for bolts?