08-12-2011, 01:22 PM | #1 |
Vendor
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The X-Brace - the return of awesome!
Those of you that were around a few years ago may recall this part, but for those of you who were not here’s a short explanation of what it does: As the name implies it is an “X” shaped brace which connects critical chassis points in the rear bulkhead of your 02-07 Subaru Impreza sedan. By connecting and thus triangulating these points you dramatically reinforce the chassis.
For those of you with a short attention span that should cover it. For those of you with more questions we’re hoping the points below cover most of them:
So, to get started, who is CarLab Development (CLd)? The CarLab is an advanced automotive consulting firm which helps manufacturers and suppliers plan and design new vehicles. This means this is a group of engineers who several years ago created a company that consults to the automotive builders around the world in aspects of product planning, design consulting, vehicle analysis, research, forecasting and upcoming technology. In other words these are the guys helping to design cars, and because they are a consulting firm they are not limited to just one brand. Instead they work with everyone that builds cars, and are truly the guys that can say “there’s some of me in that car” whenever they see a new model on the street. At some point, though, consultants want to create for themselves. That would be the members of CARLAB Development, LLC., a wholly separate entity created just to, well, create. Why did they make the X-brace? The guys over at CLd are working in the automotive industry, know how cars really work at the most minute levels, are enthusiasts at heart and really want to make cars better. So, getting a VIP buy on one of the first STi’s brought into North America wasn’t enough. The car was apart the day after delivery, and the search for improvement began - improvement beyond typical aftermarket offerings. The result was the X-Brace, a part that can be installed with basic hand tools in an afternoon by your average enthusiast, and has measurable, real world gains in performance without sacrificing normal function of the car. The end result was so unique and useful that they were even awarded a utility (the tough ones) patent on it. Why did they pull it from the market? This is a question that has been asked many times over, yet there’s never been a solid explanation as to why. Hopefully this can help clear the air. Manufacturing, selling, shipping, supporting, and further development of a product takes a lot of time and resources. Keep in mind they never set out to be an aftermarket part manufacturer or supplier. Being consultants to the automotive industry during the day, and engineering useful parts for their own toys at CLd in the “off” hours was one thing. Trying to manage orders, materials, production and shipping schedules was quite another. The hobby had become a distraction. So, something had to give, and that was the X-Brace. They filled all outstanding orders, and much to the dismay of Subaru enthusiasts, discontinued the X-Brace. Where does TiC fit into all this? We have always been big fans of the X-Brace. We have always been car nuts too. So we were pretty disappointed with it was pulled from the market, and we kept waiting and waiting to see if it would come back. I guess you could say we’re not patient because we started to look at it more and more, yet we didn’t want to step on any toes as the design wasn’t ours, the idea wasn’t ours, the history wasn’t ours. We had to find a way to work with CLd on this. It became a bit of an obsession here actually. We had suspected that it was pulled from the market for the reasons above, and while CLd isn’t an aftermarket performance part company we are. We understand what it takes to manufacture, sell, ship and support a product. We contacted the folks at CLd to ask about licensing the rights to the X-Brace. We have done this in the past with some success, and we thought we’d try it here. Fortunately for all of us they entertained the idea, understood our strengths relative to theirs, and we started working things out to make it happen. This was over a year ago, and we are finally to the point where we can talk openly about it, and share some information. When will it be released? The short answer is soon. Here’s where everything stands:
How much will it cost? About the same as what it cost before. I don’t have a 02-07 Impreza sedan. What can you do for me? As part of the agreement between CLd and TiC we have to look at other platforms for development of chassis bracing. Some may be like the X-Brace, and some may not. It all depends on what works for each platform as we twist the chassis and find where they are lacking for an enthusiast. We do have some platforms in mind for the near term, but before we do any of those we will be starting on the X-Brace for the Subaru GC chassis. This is actually a part that CLd had engineered and started to produce before ending its own manufacturing. We have the pieces that they developed and we’ll be finishing it up to offer to the community. Like all future X-Brace type projects this one will have full engineering and sign off by CLd to make sure you’ll be getting a high quality, functional part. Where can I get more information on this? We’ve started a Facebook page for just the X-Brace project. All new announcements, innovations, developments and such will be on that page. You can be following it all here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-X-...46027715474147 |
08-14-2011, 09:38 PM | #2 |
Tri-State Post Whore
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Saylorsburg, PA
Member #5720
My Ride: 05 STi 30R Brotated 400awhp iTrader: (7)
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Maybe I'm a little late to the party.....when did TiC become a vendor? I've read really good things about the X-brace! I might have to pick one up.
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2005 Subaru WRX STi - Brotated 30R - 400awhp 1994 Mazda Miata 2008 Honda Accord 2004 Honda S2000 2002 Subaru Outback LL Bean |
08-15-2011, 12:05 AM | #3 |
Tri-State Post Whore
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: CNJ
Member #15351
My Ride: 96 Miata 2,040lbs full tank, hardtop, half-cage iTrader: (0)
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X-brace rollbars/cages are full of win. Love mine
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96 Miata gutted toy car 94 Shadow DD To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 signatures. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 signatures. |
08-15-2011, 12:37 AM | #4 |
Hard Snarker
Super Moderator
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Philly
Member #7591
My Ride: 01 Audi TT 225, GVR-4 #72/1000, 91 TSi AWD iTrader: (16)
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You guys could make a killing doing something for the new MINI. There's options out there, but they all have their share of shortfalls and issues.
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-Taylor DenOfDebauchery |
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