Mazda Talk Forums

The I.L. Motorsports braces ship without instructions. I'm in the process of installing the Rear Lower Performance Bar and thought I would add the instructions in German with English subtitles. As I order and install the other bars, I may come back and update this thread with the other translations and images. I am relying on that most wonderful of resources: Bill's Webspace for the instructions and images, as well as of course Google Translate (I don't speak German).

Here's the image for the rear lower performance bar instructions in German:


(In case you're having trouble reading that, here's the URL of the image to paste into your browser:
http://billswebspace.com/NC6RearLowerPerformanceBar.jpg The advantage here is that Bill translates the newton meters to ft./lbs. You can also download the instructions here.)

Here's the translation:
Installation instructions underbody brace for NC type No. NC0-0961

To install the center brace, loosen the screws at positions 8, 10, 11, 12, 14 and 15 (Fig. 1)

Now take the center bar (Fig. 2) and slide it under the cross plate at positions 8 and 10. Now attach the aluminum strut with the original Skt screws at points 11, 12, 14 and 15.

Check the tightness of the struts by tightening the screws. (See table of torques)

You probably want to visit Bill's Webspace, which includes his commentary on the install of this bar and the others, as well as a ton of other great stuff.

I've been trying to do direct links from this site to the IL Motorsports site english language instructions, as I've realized they're available by getting to that site and setting language to english and surfing to the product pages. The links I've been defining have been failing after 24 hours, but I'm hoping I've figured out a way to avoid that this time. Let's leave this going for a day and see if it works:

Step 1: click this link: http://www.ilmotorsport.de/main.php5?lang=EN

Step 2: return to this page, click the links below for access.

I.L. Motorsports Rear Lower Performance Bar (AKA Butterfly Brace) Installation Instructions

I.L. Motorsports Cross Center Performance Bar (AKA X-brace) Installation Instructions

I.L. Motorsports Front Lower Performance Bar (AKA Front Powertrain Brace) Installation Instructions

I.L. Motorsports Rear PPF Stabilizer Installation Instructiions

I.L. Motorsports Upper Strut Performance Bar (AKA FSTB) Installation Instructions

I believe these are the 5 braces Brian sells on his site...

Folks, I'm posting my notes from installing the complete brace set offered on Brian's web site. Please excuse the sloppy writing. Also included will be some detail photos to simplify showing you what was involved. The product tightens up the car noticeably for better steering input/control and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to improve their car in that area. This is my 1st upload to this site, so I hope it works!

2nd installment.

3rd installment.

4th installment.

5th installment.

Fantastic update....super helpful and future readers will be thankful for your extra efforts!

Agreed -- great pics and annotations! -- think I found these particularly too late for my installer, though.

Install Questions:
Has anyone had the rear performance bar installed, without the 2 black OEM braces underneath anymore; just totally removed?
Does anyone know if it is or isn't safe like this OR had any experiences without those OEM braces underneath for a time?
(bolt positions of [11, 12, 13] and [14, 15, 16])

My auto shop installed the rear performance bar and frame rail X brace with the ILMS install sheets.
But they said they couldn't install the rear performance bar with the OEMs underneath; they did not physically fit together and dropped the IL brace too low.
I am a little concerned without the OEMs underneath, but my mechanic explained that the ILMS brace is very strong and heavy duty enough to do the job.
My limited layman understanding was that the brace is engineered to be supplemental; not exactly as a replacement.

(I have a 2013 GT PRHT AT [DD; not tracked] and wonder if the braces changed a bit that year.)

I removed those two braces on my install, and it seemed to go together just fine. When I was performing the install, the OEM braces appeared to be redundant with the install of the ILM brace. I also installed the rear diff brace, which further adds to that area.