Features:
- Uses Graphite Design carbon shafts, a leader in golf carbon technology.
- Replaces stock front steel bar and adds connecting bars for front and rear reinforcement.
- Weave pattern matches other HKS carbon products, ensuring a unified and elegant engine bay appearance.
- Reduces harshness and absorbs vibrations, providing a smooth and refined driving experience.
Not just increasing strength, but also the necessity to emphasize flexibility. Achieving both high strength and flexibility through joint development with a leading golf shaft company
- Enhanced Rigidity Without Compromising Ride Comfort: HKS addressed the common concern of ride quality deterioration by adopting high-quality carbon shafts with high strength and optimal flexibility, similar to those used in golf clubs.
- Developed in collaboration with Graphite Design, a renowned manufacturer of golf shafts favored by professional golfers, leveraging HKS's extensive tuning expertise.
- Unmatched performance through carbon's unique flexibility, made possible by Graphite Design's expertise, delivering a level of control and performance that sets it apart from conventional brace bars.
- Improved Driving Dynamics: The flexibility not only enhances ride quality but also contributes to greater stability during circuit driving, amplifying the enjoyment of driving.
In Pursuit of the Unique Flexibility of Carbon
Torsion
- 150% Increased Torsional Strength compared to stock brace bars, effectively reducing body torsion and enabling precise suspension movement.
- Enhanced Damper Response: Minimizes delays in suspension reaction,ensuring accurate and responsive handling.
- Optimized Cornering Stability: Torque increases progressively with angle, providing the necessary load at the right time for stable cornering performance.
Bending
- Improved Flex Characteristics: Utilizes carbon's unique flexibility to reduce bending load to 70% or less compared to stock brace bars.
- Enhanced Ride Quality: Effectively absorbs unpleasant vibrations and sudden impacts, significantly contributing to a smoother and more refined driving experience.
Circuit Testing to Determine Specifications
To determine the specifications, we conducted a circuit test at Fuji Speedway. After understanding the characteristics of the stock model, we tested various specifications on both the ZN8 and ZD8 to find the specifications that seemed best.
- Stock Steel Bars: Provide body rigidity with a firm feel but lack refinement. Vibrations are prominent, leading to lower quality. Handling feels abrupt, lacking smoothness and tire contact feedback.
- Improvement Goal: Reduce excessive stiffness and enhance refinement.
- Front Prototype (Stock Replacement): Eliminates front rigidity, reducing vibrations and improving quality. Enhanced tire contact and smoother vehicle behavior. However, steering feel becomes softer, which may not appeal to everyone.
- Front Prototype (Stock Replacement + Tower Bar): Restores firm steering feel while maintaining reduced vibrations for improved comfort and performance. Enhanced overall refinement but introduces a slight rear imbalance due to stronger front rigidity.
- Stock + Prototype Tower Bar: Creates excessive rigidity, amplifying vibrations and road noise, sacrificing comfort. Handling improves but becomes overly rigid, leading to grip loss during sudden maneuvers at limits.
- Front Prototype (Stock Replacement + Tower Bar) + Rear Prototype: Achieves front-rear balance, improving rear tire contact and linear response. Significantly enhances rigidity, boosting control at limits while providing smoother inputs and a refined, premium driving experience.
Driving Performance Evaluation
- Chart Overview: The right side indicates handling and performance, while the left represents ride comfort.
Carbon Brace Characteristics:
- Improves responsiveness and stability, delivering a smooth, refined steering feel compared to the harsher vibration of stock components.
- Carbon shafts significantly dampen road vibrations (e.g., harsh jolts or buzzing) for improved comfort.
Performance Advantage:
- Utilizes the flexibility of carbon, balancing ride quality and driving dynamics at a high level, surpassing traditional metal braces.
- Enhances direct handling feel while maintaining composure at the limits, making the vehicle easier to control.
- Track Benefits: Improves tire pressure distribution awareness, enhancing cornering precision.
