Will the Carbon Brace for FL5 make the ride harsher?

No, and that is the point of using carbon. A metal brace transmits road input straight across the car, which is where the familiar harshness comes from. The carbon shaft in the Carbon Brace for FL5 absorbs unpleasant vibration and sudden impacts while still stiffening the structure, so HKS reports a smoother and more refined car.

Why is there no rear brace?

HKS decided against one. On a front-engine, front-drive chassis the front brace alone delivers the meaningful gain, and fitting a rear brace on the FL5 would have required interior modification for very little benefit. This is the first product in the HKS brace series designed exclusively for front installation.

What does a golf shaft company have to do with a strut brace?

GRAPHITE DESIGN has built high-modulus carbon shafts since 1989 and supplied the most-used driver shaft on the Japanese mens tour from 2003 to 2017. That expertise is in controlling stiffness and flex along a shaft, which is exactly what HKS needed: strength in torsion combined with a specific degree of bending compliance.

How much stiffer is it than the factory brace?

HKS measures 150 percent more torsional strength for the Carbon Brace for FL5 than the factory brace bar, with bending load reduced to 70 percent or less. Torsional resistance builds progressively with angle rather than arriving abruptly, so load reaches the suspension at the point in a corner where it helps stability.

Is it hard to install?

No. It bolts between the left and right front strut towers using the existing mounting points and does not interfere with the factory strut tops or the engine cover. At 1.5kg it is a straightforward job with hand tools, and nothing on the car needs cutting or drilling to accept it.

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Description

HKS Carbon Brace for FL5 Honda Civic Type R

HKS’s Carbon Brace for FL5 Honda Civic Type R solves the usual problem with strut braces, which is that stiffening the front end normally means accepting a harsher car. HKS went to GRAPHITE DESIGN, the Japanese golf shaft maker whose drivers dominated the domestic men’s tour from 2003 to 2017, and used a carbon shaft instead of a metal tube. Carbon gives 150 percent more torsional strength than the factory brace bar while cutting bending load to 70 percent or less, and it damps vibration rather than transmitting it. HKS’s own development notes are blunt about the before and after: without the brace the steering lacked linearity and limit behaviour was unpredictable; with it, response sharpened and the car felt connected.

Development and Testing

HKS describes the untraced car as vague on the way into a corner, with a steering response that made limit behaviour hard to read and drained driver confidence on track. Fitting the Carbon Brace for FL5 tightened that up: steering became linear, feedback sharper, the front end more obviously connected to the driver. Notably this is the first brace in the HKS series designed for the front only. On a front-drive car HKS found the front brace alone delivered the meaningful gain, and a rear installation would have demanded interior modification for very little in return, so it was left out rather than sold anyway.

Construction

The shaft is CFRP, laid up by GRAPHITE DESIGN to a specification balancing strength against a deliberate degree of flex, which is the opposite of how a metal brace is designed. Torsional stiffness builds progressively with angle rather than arriving all at once, so load reaches the suspension at the right moment for stable cornering instead of snatching. The upper plate is gunmetal-anodised aluminium, finished to match the HKS HIPERMAX suspension range so the engine bay reads as one build rather than a collection of parts.

Features

Carbon shaft manufactured by GRAPHITE DESIGN, a specialist in high-modulus golf shafts since 1989
150 percent more torsional strength than the factory brace bar
Bending load reduced to 70 percent or less of the factory brace bar
Carbon damps road vibration instead of transmitting it, so the Carbon Brace for FL5 does not harshen the ride
The Carbon Brace for FL5 is a front-only design, chosen deliberately for a front-drive chassis
Gunmetal-anodised aluminium upper plate matched to the HKS HIPERMAX range
Lightweight at 1.5kg

Applications

Honda Civic Type R: FL5 | 2023-present | K20C

Notes

The brace connects the left and right front strut towers and does not interfere with the factory strut tops or the engine cover
Finished to match the HKS HIPERMAX S Coilover Kit for FL5 Honda Civic Type R 80330-AH013CP, which shares the same gunmetal anodising on its upper plates
Also complements the HKS Hipermax R Coilover Kit w/ Canceller Kit for FL5 Honda Civic Type R 80310-AH005C for owners running the more track-focused damper
HKS supplies no rear brace for this chassis, and says a rear installation would require interior modification without a matching gain
Also complements the HKS HIPERMAX Touring Spring Kit for FL5 Honda Civic Type R 80280-AH001 for owners keeping the factory adaptive dampers
Browse the full HKS range on Bulletproof Automotive

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the Carbon Brace for FL5 make the ride harsher? No, and that is the point of using carbon. A metal brace transmits road input straight across the car, which is where the familiar harshness comes from. The carbon shaft in the Carbon Brace for FL5 absorbs unpleasant vibration and sudden impacts while still stiffening the structure, so HKS reports a smoother and more refined car.
Why is there no rear brace? HKS decided against one. On a front-engine, front-drive chassis the front brace alone delivers the meaningful gain, and fitting a rear brace on the FL5 would have required interior modification for very little benefit. This is the first product in the HKS brace series designed exclusively for front installation.
What does a golf shaft company have to do with a strut brace? GRAPHITE DESIGN has built high-modulus carbon shafts since 1989 and supplied the most-used driver shaft on the Japanese mens tour from 2003 to 2017. That expertise is in controlling stiffness and flex along a shaft, which is exactly what HKS needed: strength in torsion combined with a specific degree of bending compliance.
How much stiffer is it than the factory brace? HKS measures 150 percent more torsional strength for the Carbon Brace for FL5 than the factory brace bar, with bending load reduced to 70 percent or less. Torsional resistance builds progressively with angle rather than arriving abruptly, so load reaches the suspension at the point in a corner where it helps stability.
Is it hard to install? No. It bolts between the left and right front strut towers using the existing mounting points and does not interfere with the factory strut tops or the engine cover. At 1.5kg it is a straightforward job with hand tools, and nothing on the car needs cutting or drilling to accept it.

About HKS

HKS is a Japanese performance engineering brand founded in 1973 and headquartered in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka, with a long-standing reputation for developing high-quality aftermarket parts and motorsport-proven technology for enthusiast and professional applications. Known for innovations in turbocharging and engine performance, HKS produces a broad range of components including exhaust systems, turbo kits, electronics / engine management, and suspension solutions, with product development heavily influenced by decades of involvement in racing disciplines such as circuit time attack, drag, and drifting.

Additional Information

The Bulletproof Automotive website contains many thousands of products purchased in multiple different currencies. All of the prices are entered manually and accurately at the time of entry. Due to the consistently fluctuating international exchange rates, at times prices may not be able to be honored at their original intended rate. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, unfortunately our website is unable to compensate dynamically for what can at times be volatile changes in the cost of items due to currency values fluctuating, changes in prices from suppliers, changes in shipping and import duties, and other factors. Rest assured that any order you place on line will be at zero risk to you in this area. If in the event your order cannot be fulfilled at the original intended website price we will offer you a 100% refund, no questions asked. We will continue to do our best to maintain updated prices and we will always continue to offer our price match guarantees as well to ensure our prices are always the best for you. In short, prices may change without notice. It is always advised to give us a call prior to placing your order online to confirm availability and to confirm current pricing.

Shipping Policy

Items that are in stock in the US, either at Bulletproof’s warehouse or at a supplier’s warehouse, are generally delivered within 7-10 days. Special order items from overseas take considerably longer. As a courtesy Bulletproof offers delivery estimates to our customers which take into consideration manufacturer availability and shipping schedule. These estimates represent our best guess based on previous orders from the manufacturer and do not in any way imply a guaranteed delivery window. Many manufacturers work in a “just in time” inventory system and often take 2-20+ weeks to produce an item once an order is submitted. All deliverable items are then sent to our Japanese warehouse. Bulletproof ships a minimum of one full ocean freight container every month from Japan, oftentimes more than one a month. Ocean freight takes an average of 4 weeks. Typically it breaks down to one week in Japan for paperwork and customs, two weeks by boat and one week in US customs/clearance. Due to the wide number of variables between manufacturer and shipping schedules, delivery estimates are simply just that – estimates. We attempt to estimate conservatively and we usually deliver faster than our estimates suggest. It is not Bulletproof’s policy to guarantee delivery time of any special order item, this is impossible for us to do. By ordering you acknowledge that there is no required delivery ETA and an order may not be canceled or altered due to manufacturing or shipping delays, all ETA’s are provided as a best guess only. Please review the full Terms & Conditions here.

BP Pricing Difference

We do pricing a little differently on our JDM brands and we believe in making things simple and clear. No hidden fees or surcharges. Every price you see includes the shipping cost to our office in Los Angeles, California and all the associated taxes/duties/fees for bringing the products into the US. The only shipping you ever pay is from our facility in the US to your location. Be wary of resellers that don’t include the cost of international shipping in their pricing on JDM parts. While we believe we’ll always have the lowest all-in price on JDM products, we offer a price match guarantee for all authentic parts purchased from authorized dealers as well. For many international customers, it’s much more affordable to ship from the USA than from Japan directly, as the air freight and ocean freight costs are typically much less. However, for customers looking to ship directly from Japan outside of North America, or domestically in Japan, we can provide pricing specifically for that scenario. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any pricing questions or concerns. Please email us at sales@bulletproofautomotive.com with any inquiries.

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HKS Carbon Brace for FL5 Honda Civic Type R [83001-AH001]

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HKS Carbon Brace for FL5 Honda Civic Type R

Development and Testing

Construction

Features

Applications

Notes

Frequently Asked Questions

About HKS

Reviews