i need to get a swap some opm stuff i bought and they don't have much of intrest other than a alfa 156 opm lower brace.
now my car is standard suspension completely but i soon will be trying to get some decent shocks and springs , strut brace ,polly bush kit, rear subframe bushesmaking a middle brace for the car and i was thinking of nigels lower brace.
now the question is will i have major problems in grounding out with this brace? the other thing is is it worth putting on a standard car untill i get the rest of the stuff?

The OMP lower brace is plastic coated mild steel and its lower than my stainless brace design

You WILL ground it sooner or later, and once a mild steel brace has been scraped, the rust will set in

this was my original design (in mild steel) after two winters

not very straight

slight bash at one end - powder coating flaking away

dropped centre section - well grounded

boulder hit!

I run an omp strut brace and have no problems with grounding. Ok there's not many speed bumps up here, however the car is lowered and I still don't have any issues.
Hope this helps

Regards Tim

ok so it looks like it could bround out but the opm bar is flater and looks like it has more clearnce than that bar nigel.
nigel do you think you will do another batch/group buy on your lower braces or not?
also did it make a difference to the handling and worth putting on a standard coupe even if i is only £60?

VERY unlikley I'll do another GB batch (but I said that last time)

However, if you are REALLY quick, the current batch has just one extra brace available - see the GB thread

Yes, it will make a difference to the handling, although it will be less noticeable than on a car with other handling mods already fitted.

Yes, the OMP bar is flatter, but the uprights are also deeper, meaning the ground clearance is reduced more than on my design.

You also have to think about durability - my brace is still in very good condition, despite hitting a house brick with sufficient force to smash the sump - brace had a slight bend (in the adjuster part) - sorted in two minutes in a vice.

The OMP 156 brace is in the way of the sump plug, no big problem really. But it is very easy to mount and light, does'nt add much weight which I personally like. The upright mounts can be grinded down a bit to win a few mm's in clearance. If your car's still not lowered it'll be perfect, otherwise it is a tad low for my liking.
Still it made a huge improvement in solidness, I'd say more so than the top brace.

I'm currently customizing my OMP-brace to get 40mm forward + up slightly. Will be perfect.

i would like one of your braces nigel i just don't have 130 right now :-( it would cost me £60 for the opm one so is it worth the dosh tehn and best just to grind it down for more clearance?

My modded OMP...

Maximum clearance!

Will post more pics when fitted.

that looks spot on mate!

My modded OMP now fitted!

Std item..

cut and weld..

done

It's low..

no skidplate

cutout

finished!

Also the strength plate on the engine sump had to be cut 3mm at the back, and a little cutout on the brace at the downpipe for extra clearence.

I can't believe how much this has cured my torque-steer..?? It's almost completely gone?!
Utterly fantastic.

Ok no-one likes a smartass.. as Lennon once put it.

looks reallt good mate.
looks eay enough to do.
the omp braces are so cheap to at about £45 so i might have a go at this soon.

That looks very tidy Per

You want to sell it to me or make me one?

and make me one too :-)

well done for thinking "outside the box" - a neat solution that gets round one of the issues of the standard OMP brace

Keep an eye on the state of the paint though - I had my mild steel prototype plastic coated, but it looked VERY secondhand after two winters

the problem is nigel that now the group buy is done there is little option but to fit the omp brace.
i agree the stainless one you had made are much better but unless you fancy another group buy then its a modiffied omp brace :-(

Thanks for the kind words!

Don't know if I will do another but if anybody is up for it, this is basically what I did:
# Cut the feet down to 8-10mm height (bottom to underside the brace)
# moved the brace itself forward it's own width; ca 40mm.
# a little cutout where the downpipe crosses.
# thin rustproof wax sprayed inside the brace - this I hope will make it last, especially since I don't use the car in the winter.

It's a little trial&error, with all the different Coupe's exaust's in different places..

Well worth it though, as Nigel says.