Rear seat bracing

[krazy86t]

Question for the suspension tweakers - do the bolt-in cross braces for the trunk side of the rear seat really work like the various vendors claim? I've also seen "GNX style" versions for the trunk/rear seat area.

Charlie and others on this forum seem to come up with clever (better) ways of doing things. What are the options? Do they help?

Thx! :biggrin:

 

[GSX-PKV]

I've had rear seat braces in my car for nearly 20 years and feel they do work and tighten up the car. They are cheap and simple to install.

 

[GNONYX]

I also had the rear seat braces for about 23 years and purchased at that time throught Kenne Bell. GBodyParts.com (GBodyParts.com Online)
has something similiar of what I have on my GN. You may to also get the bushing (GBodyParts.com Online) as this will help in the rear suspension, and all is to easy to install.

 

[coach]

Dont even screw around with the X bar brace if you can afford the GNX for 50 bucks more. Then have it tig welded in and that is all you need. Put the seat back in and no one will ever know you did anything. I welded mine in and the first time I jacked up the car behind the front tire...3 pumps and the car was sitting on 1 wheel. All 3 others were in the air. Dont mess around drilling the holes. WELD IT. My car is a T-top car. It made it feel like a totally different car.

:biggrin:

 

[krazy86t]

Dont even screw around with the X bar brace if you can afford the GNX for 50 bucks more. Then have it tig welded in and that is all you need...

sounds good - do you have a picture of that set-up. i'm having a hard time understanding where the GNX seat brace is located. some descriptions are in the trunk, etc. etc.

 

[charlief1]

Just to help you out here, I will have a modified version going on my car. It's about stability and some extra stregnth. The center of the frame is weak and the body is supposed to take over that section. If you make the body stiffer it will reduce flex, period.:biggrin:

 

[Hot Air]

pics would be great.

 

[cutluse231]

Hot Air

Here's a pic of one removed from a GNX and is for sale...

for sale on Craigslist... Original GNX back seat brace

one for sale aftermarket design simular to the orginal ASC design, from Kirbans Performance.. 1984 1985 1986 1987 Buick Regal Grand National Turbo T T-Type GNX GNX REAR SEAT BRACE #7169

and one installed

And one of the Xbrace kits installed

 

[TRICKSIXPA]

You can also find a GNX seat brace inside a Pontiac Grand Prix same years as our cars.

 

[krazy86t]

I think the OEM GNX or Pontiac Grand Prix seat brace design would have better structural stability than the after-market options. It has ribbed sheet metal for better bending stiffness than the aftermarket GNX options i've seen, and better attachment points than the X braces to improve lateral stiffness with the car body.

i'll have to hunt junk yards for a pontiac GP.

 

[coach]

Here is the GNX brace from Kirban's. $130 bucks. Weld it in and be done. Trust me...it really stiffens the entire car. My car is a T-top and it really helped it. Just dont waste your time drilling all the holes. I tig welded mine in with 3/4 inch long welds, and after every bead, you could feel the brace get tighter and tighter. When your done...put your jack on the frame, behind your driver side front tire and jack it up. This is the side that will raise when you get on the throttle. Watch as you jack the car. After a few pumps, 3 tires will be off the ground. Now thats stiff. That was all the proof I needed. If you want to compare, do it before and measure how far off the floor the tire is when the others are starting to lift and then weld it in and do it again after. It was a major difference.

:biggrin: