Neil Perry

Hi
I have a strut brace and I have been told it is a Matter Strut Brace.
I was of the understanding that it was a FabSpeed.
It has no markings on it

Does anyone have any information on the Matter 993 Strut Brace?
Original Photos?
Photos of any stickers on the brace?
Is the Matter Strut Brace the original Porsche Tequipment supplied strut brace?
or is it after market?


I actually purchased this strut brace a couple of years back for $50.00 as it looked like a very basic strut brace compared to the fancy carbon fibre units,
as it would fit under the carpet and the carpet did not have to be modified, from an engineering point of view it looked to be very solid and mounted at all the right points.

Thanks,

kjr914

Picture in post #37 on page 3 of a Matter:
https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...rut-brace.html
Posting a pic of yours will help identify it quickly.

Neil Perry

Hi Keith,
My strut brace looks exactly like the photo post #37 on page 3.
Interesting there is no markings on that strut brace, as per the brace I have and it bolts to the body and not the strut tower.
I had to file (elongate) the holes on my strut brace slightly to get it to fit on the strut tower front bolts.

I guess my strut brace is a Matter.

I will take a photo and put it on the post tomorrow.

Thanks,

97_993C2

If you had to elongate the mounting holes, then I believe you have a Matter-copy and not the real thing. I seem to recall older RL threads about strut braces that mentioned reproductions (by Fabspeed?) of the Matter strut that were a little off and required elongation of the mounting holes to install.

The real Matter struts cost a lot more than $50 because they are fairly rare. I believe Gert said he had one that he was never parting with in one of those old threads.

Gert

There are a couple differences between the real Matter strut bar and the replica.

The easiest to spot the real one from a fake one :
The Matter bar has round holes on the left side (replica has long slotted holes on both sides)
Matter made the part from raw, unfinished alu whereas the replica is polished alu, shiny, almost chrome plated.
In the middle of the Matter bar , there is a small plate with the Matter logo , attached with 2 rivets.
On the replica , the flat section on the left side is not the same as the right side and their shapes are different from the Matter bar.

Neil Perry

Interesting,
My strut bar has two round holes on each side.
The Ally finish was raw and unfinished, but I have polished it like chrome now. I thought it was old and tarnished and needed a clean
The flat section on each side is the same.
I paid $50.00 for it, from a dismantler as it looked pretty crappy and not shiny and new like the other fancier more modern strut bars, the shop owner thought it was of very little value.
I purchased it because it would fit under the carpet and the car would look standard.
What does the small plate look like? Any photos?
Did Matter supply strut bars without the plate?
Is the Matter Strut Bar the original Porsche Tequipment Strut Bar supplied by Porsche?

Looking at a Photo suggested by Kjr914 the Matter strut bar bolts onto the body in front of the strut tower

Thanks,

Kika

I believe the OEM Tequipment ones were made by Heigo.

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

Thats true and now they are damned expensive.

97_993C2

Now I am confused. Does even the real Matter strut bar have to have the holes elongated in order to install on the strut tower instead of the body? I had read that it was only the replicas because they were made slightly "off", not because of a different mounting point for which it was designed.

Neil, if your bar does not have a plate, wouldn't there still be holes where the rivets were, if it was a Matter?

Neil Perry

Hi 97_993C2,
There are no holes in the bar for rivets.
So I don't know what brand strut bar it is.

Thanks,

Gert

Just post a picture and we'll tell you

Neil Perry

Hi
Please find attached two photos of my strut bar.
Note-
The bar was raw unfinished Ally. but I spent a few hours polishing it to a mirror finish.
I have tig welded the holes the other day so I can re drill them to the exact position, the original 4 holes where round but not in the exact position for my strut towers. I have measured my strut towers and they are in the exact position per the specifications.

Look forward to an answer,

Thanks,

Gert

It's a replica.

Neil Perry

Do you know which/who's replica it is???????????????

John@Fabspeed

Hey Neil, Alex from Fabspeed here. That is our Fabspeed 993 GT2 EVO Strut Bar. It is an exact replica of the strut bar that was on the Porsche Motorsport AG 993TT GT2 car. We replicated it and it fits all 993, 993TT, 964 and 965 cars. Some cars due to different Porsche variations, may require a little adjusting or modification to bolt into place. It is all Aluminum so its very light but stiff and strong. But our strut bars usually have Fabspeed Motorsport engraved into them so this may be a very early one. Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks,