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I have one on my 95 Coupe. What an improved difference in the handling of the car with the bar on. The car feels like it's glued to the road. Tom was great to deal with and very communicative. I'm just a Happy Customer.
My 1995 came with a ton of extras, including one of these. The seller called it a "targa brace." They work excellent, well worth the money for anyone who enjoys spirited driving without the targa panel installed. You can't really tell it's there unless you look up.
Tom, gave me a call yesterday about two weeks, can't wait to get it! I never run my cars without the top as I don't like the sloppy feel. Once I get mine I may not put the top back on.
The feel with the brace is soooooooo much better. Open air driving with nooooooo more loose feel. The car is solid with it. I even enjoy driving over RR tracks now
For those who have PM'd me, I have not ties to Tom Gasper. He made me a brace and treaded me well. That's it. Nothing else to read in to.
Bought my 94 in 2008. Only drove it once without the top ... in 2009 - and immediately looked for this type of item. I bought one of Tom's six or seven years ago (just like the one in the pic of the red C4 above), and love it. It's the ONLY way to drive a C4 without the top.
First rate work by Tom, and a real enhancement if you like to drive without the top.
Is it stiffer vs when solid top is in?
Anyone add one after having an R&D camber bar and cross bar installed?
IMO the bar ads more stability than the solid painted or Lexan top. I have both OE tops and can tell the difference.
As I stated in previous threads, the biggest improvement I see with the brace on is in cornering. My 95 C4 with 19k on the clock gave me the feeling the car wasn't glued to the road when cornering hard or accelerating out of a corner with the top off. I was always specially cautious when cornering hard with the roof open if there were imperfections in the surface. The car felt as if the unwanted flex in the body was reacting/moving to the surface & force conditions. With the brace on, the car feels as if it's glued to the road in any condition. IMO the way GM should have made the car to begin with.
IMO you do not need any other forms of cross or camber bars installed. I also own a C5 & C6 and with the Targa Bar my C4 handles pretty darn close to my other cars. Now, if the base C4 only had the HP of newer cars it would be an awesome Vette.
First - they're really not necessary. Back in the mid 1980s Roger Johnson and some GM engineers spent a lot of time at the GM proving grounds. They found that there was no difference in times as to whether the top was on or off. Roger Johnson won any number of national championships with the roof off.
Second - These braces put a bunch of weight at the highest possible point. That's not a good thing. With C4 race cars we spend a lot of time getting rid of all the glass to lower the center of gravity. This brace is actually going to raise your cg.
So - we have a device that isn't really necessary and in fact has a downside.
On the other hand the downside is so small that it might not matter. It is a way to spend money on parts
"Money cannot buy happiness but it can allow you to buy parts. That's almost the same thing"
Good morning everyone, I just wanted to update this thread. I just spoke to Tom and ordered one, he said he is getting ready to get everything going and has about 8 on order so far and would like to get them all into powder coating at the same time so if you are thinking about getting one give him a call. Russ.
Looking forward to trying it out when it comes. I will first drive it with the targa top out and then compare with the bar in place. I haven't had the car long and haven't driven it without the targa top yet.
08-06-2016, 02:32 PM
Truss Bar for C4 if your looking for 1 check this out.
I never run my cars without the top as I don't like the sloppy feel. Once I get mine I may not put the top back on. 
