S3 Upper Strut Brace Fitted

Fitted my S3 upper strut brace today, to go with the S3 lower and Teg rear, fitted a week or so ago... umm that was fun..... not !!!

Treid to get hold of some stainless fixings but my local place didn't have any in stock, so had to use zinc ones, but once i've attacked them with some spray underseal should be ok,

I did have some 10x30, but they were a bit too long, so I used 10mm x 25mm cap heads and at first cos they looked better had them in from the top, but could'nt get a socket on them so had to stick them in from the underneath, with nyloc nuts and washers, drilling the turrets was a little nerve wrecking, but it all turned out ok...



Here some pics of the finished item..

Not really had a chance today to go for a blast as yet, but tomorrow i'll go for a bimble and see what it's like.

Certainly with the rear one and the lower front the car feels much tauter, turns in and holds a line much tighter than before through bends, so with this one aswell, it should be much better, just need to get the suspenders sorted at some point now, for which at £250 i'm erring on the side of Koni STR.T set up.

Probably helps i've 4 tyres all the same now aswell

I'll update on the handling side of things tomorrow eve, when i've had a chance to try it out properly....

barnsley said:

did you get the upper and lower for the dealers if so do you still have the part numbers and what was the cost

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Yes I got them at my local friendly VW dealers, the current prices are as follows

8L9 805 629A upper S3 brace £49.80 + vat = £58.52
8N0 199 403B lower S3 brace £14.84 + vat = £17.43

I found the upper brace was on back order and took 4-5 weeks to get here from germany, but the lower was here within 2 days.

You'll also need some of these to fit the lower brace...

N90 914 701 x 2 at 0.51p each + vat
N10 467 901 x 2 at 0.44p each + vat


If you've done a search and come up with this part # N908 10601 for the cap nut I'd recommend you don't use it cos i did at first and managed to strip the thread out of one and had to drill it out the other ones have a bigger more substaintial body with a built in washer that fits flush against the subframe bottom, also you can get some mole grips on them to hold them still while you crush them up tightly....

updated on handling differences with S3 upper brace fitted:

Ok so not exactly disapointing, but it doesn't seem to have made a huge difference over just fitting the lower one.. that i thought/hoped it would,

And wether it's my mind playing tricks or what I don't know, but where I have noticed it mostly is that the steering has got a fair bit heavier at parking speeds, with the upper brace fitted.... weird... has anyone else noticed this ????

Having been out for a pretty fast whazz about today, the car is holding a line better, and the front isn't dancing about as much as it once did, without any of the braces fitted, and the new tyres seem to be gripping very well, would have been interesting to try this set up with the old shite couriers, as a comparison... so yes it has been a success on that front; I feel :

As to whether it's really worth spending around £130 doing all 3 braces plus the time it takes to fit them well..... yes I suppose it has been a result especially if you want your car to handle better, hold tighter lines through bends, and not try to go straight on instead of round corners, when you pushing it a bit too hard (not on public roads tho' ocifer)

Be even better with a proper rear ARB, and some decent suspenders... i suspect,

wilksy said:

glad you posted this thread i just started looking for which front strut braces i should fit. i got this rear brace fitted is it the same as yours..

http://public.fotki.com/wilksy/leon-20-vt/s6000776.html
i continue to use links as when i put in pic they stop working and come up with a little red x.

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No the one you have in your picture is this upper one same as Robdons car pictured here..



The one i have is the lower one pictured above which is the front fitment for a Honda Integra OMP item MA1834, i got this from strut bracer on fleebay for £45.00.

I may well get the upper but tbh, i don't think it's really needed, as the lower ones seems to stiffen the rear turrets pretty well.

Perhaps if i was doing a lot of trackdays in the car then yes it could possible be advisable, but not for the road IMHO...

You'd probably get better handling from fitting some decent suspension, and a rear ARB.... i would suspect !!

Heres my rear lower fitted, recently