DTE Tranny Brace
 

Question for you all. Spoke with a very prominent rep at very prominent vette mod/tuner company, and he stated that the DTE tranny brace is not worth installing. Of the hundreds of cars they have done, any damage sustained from high HP would NOT have been prevented using this brace. Wanted some opinions on this.:bigears

I've heard the same, and also I've heard the other opinion too. I also am confused. The person who sold me some other parts and told me not to bother with it would have made more money off of me since they carried them, so that at least made me feel comfortable not getting one. To take money out of his pocket I was willing and ready to spend wouldn't make since unless he really believed I didn't need it. So for now I don't have one. We'll see what the future brings.

It certainly looks solid and like a top-notch quality product, and the guy who does all my work uses one, so opinions vary.

most high end guys use them and like them. I out one on 2 nights ago and it was a complete bitch to get on while the tranny wa sin the car...took 3 hours to mess with 3 bolts

I put one on for a friend of mine, and IMO, unless you are running dedicated drag slicks, a manual tranny, and a high rpm launch, it's not going to do a thing for you.

In addition, after we installed it per the instructions we started getting a gear whine. Repeated emails to DTE insisted that the only problem was with us not following the directions. When I asked them for suggestions to our problem, their only answer was to follow the directions, and that they had no other ideas for us. It was like talking to a brick wall.

So, we took our best guess to solve the problem, and the whine has significantly diminished, although it's not gone totally.

I'm sure if you're launching hard enough to pull the front wheels off there might be some benefit, but that's so far beyond my experience my opinion would be useless.

HTH, and have a good one,
Mike

I have followed a lot of your posts before and you always seem to get conflicting opinions. We feel here that a DTE brace can save a lot of damage when drag racing. I have seen many transmissions twist causing them to brake the trans output shaft which in turn will take out the rear trans tail section as well as the whole rear carrier assembly itself. Not saying that parts cant brake when using the shaft but we have seen it to be a lot less likely since we have been using them here. We have been using them on all the 6 speed cars that are being drag raced with great results. I understand your frustration when you get oposite opinions and dont know which way to go. I am certainly not telling you that we know everything here as thats certainly not the case as we as an organization are always learning. We have set up a few drag cars and we have a bit of experience drag racing and thats our opinion. Maybe the other shop has a lot more experience then we do.. I do suggest you pick a shop that has experience in the direction that you want to take your in and try and follow their advice. Not saying its wrong to bounce ideas off other shops and the forum buts it hard to make financial decisions when you always seem to get complete opposite opinions. I know that I personally have spoke to you many times and have even done a few things on your car and we appreciate your business. We will always give you our true opinion here at ECS and we will only make suggestions based on our experience. :)

Brace
 

I appreciate everyone's honest opinions. The best I can hope for is to gather as much knowledge as possible and try and make the best decision possible.

I called RPM when I replaced the output shafts on my car and asked them the same question. They told me that on a 6 speed car the highly recommended that I install the brace also. Those guys know a hell of a lot more about transmissions than I do so I went ahead and got one.

^^I think no matter what you will get conflicting opinions on this subject, as well as many others. I am in a similar position just a different issue (engine oil coolers).

I think the decision as to whether or not a DTE brace is worth it is dependent on a number of factors including: HP/TQ of car, transmission type. rear axle ratio, tires, and how you use the car.

People who rev the motor and dump the clutch may benefit from the DTE brace. This is especially true if you have sticky tires or a lot of HP/TQ.

People who don't drop the clutch or spin the tires regularly under hard acceleration most likely would not benefit by having the brace.

Hope that helps.

to tell further. I got mine because I use slicks and drag race...just FYI

For any standing start racing, or fun. I would put a brace on it. I saw a bone stock LS1 with drag radials, break both the tranny and diff. He got into wheel hop, pushed in the clutch, but it was too late. The brace would have saved a $3000 plus repair bill.

Randy

:iagree: 800 HP here, stock M6 tranny for over a year. Launches at 5K and no problems. Did I mention stock tranny still?:D Next time I go to the track I'll launch harder and see if I can break something.:D

you are my hero now

Well it is good to know that I am someone's hero. Thank you.

I have a DTE brace on mine, but I also drag the car and run MT's at the track and will most likely run them on the street as well. Just some cheap insurance :thumbs:

I think the brace is cheap insurance against major breakage if something goes wrong. I have 567 rwhp 540rwtq and have launched hard at the track several times (on a stock tranny) with ET Streets with no problems.

I agree with earlier comments about conflicting information on the forum... sometimes there isnt a precise right answer. You just need to use common sence, take it all in, and make the best decision for you.

That being said, with 650/563 at the rear... when I went to MC Racing in KC about and LPE left side output shaft, they recommended the DTE brace be put on at the same time... I went for it, and dont regret it. But then again, I drive like a nancy... so maybe I'll never know for certain if it was worth it! :D

:iagree:

For anyone launching at high RPMs with DRs I think it is cheap added insurance. I put one on when I was doing the 1/4 mile. When I went over to Road Racing I left it there even though I dont launch the car anymore.

How did you go about diminishing the whine, I could use that info please.

Just as ECS & Cajundude have stated, we believe in them, especially with a MN6/MN12 car. Most A4/A6 cars will only need one in an extreme build, but we highly recommend them.:thumbs:

The DTE brace will cost about $350.00 plus your labor to install - that is CHEAP insurance IMHO. It could save you a ton of repair bills later, so why take the risk? I put one on way before I modded my engine, just cause I was swapping the rear carrier and T/C - figured since I was in that area, I'd put the brace on, save myself some labor later, and cause I wanted to be able to use my power

To each his own, I think this topic was just debated a week or so ago, but I'd recommend putting it on - what do you have to loose - answer, $350.00 bucks.