UNIbrace XBQ installation on mk7

I received one of the first UNIbrace XBQ's today. It is the XB designed for the mk7. The brace bolts behind the rear seats and is designed to keep the body from torquing through turns.

All images link to full size versions.​

First note, there are two methods to installing this brace. The first method is posted here on the MK6 website. It skips a lot of steps, so instead of removing seats, trim, and carpeting, you cut flaps into the carpet and work from there. It is faster and cleaner and I recommend it. The second method is the original way, the way that I did it and the way I am explaining it here. I do not recommend this way. It takes much longer (it took me 6 hours, though I had no mk7 guide and an hour of that was looking for one plastic rivet..) and the hassle of working around the carpet can be skipped by just cutting into it.

THE XBQ
First I must say, the quality is very impressive. I was hesitant at first for having the brace powder coated, I've had some shoddy power coated items before, however this was top notch. It is a fine grain powdercoat, very uniform, with no blemishes or sharp edges.







THE INSTALL
TRIM REMOVAL
First thing that has to come out is the rear seat bottom. To remove it, simply place your hands under the left seat cushion and pull upwards. there is a clip that will snap loose. Repeat on the right side. Next, place your hand on the outside bolster (on the very edge of the seat) and push down and back. There is a hook that the seat frame latches into, and this will free it. Repeat for both sides. The seat bottom should slide up and out with a little bit of wiggling.


You should have access to the middle seat's seat belt. It is bolted, along with a seat belt lock, using a 17mm socket. Remove the nut and leave the whole thing alone.


Move to the trunk. Remove the adjustable floor and the privacy cover. I also removed the spare tire and subwoofer so I could climb into it. Fold both seats down. In the middle ("60/40 middle"), you will see where the seats are latched to. There is a plastic cover that needs to be removed. It is on there pretty tight, but only held by one clip on either side. The best way I managed to do it was just pry at the base until I smacked myself in the head with it.


Under that will be a T30 torx. remove this and the metal plate it was holding in place. Be careful the metal plate does not tear into the seats, it has nubs on the front side of it.


The seats can be removed now. Lift the middle out of its slot first, and rotate them to 45º, and pull them towards the center of the car. They should slide off of the outer guides. You have to find the right position as they only come off at a specific angle. I recommend doing the smaller one first, as it is only about 8lbs. The larger side is close to 20lbs and the middle seat belt comes out with it.


Next remove the plastic trim piece that the adjustable trunk floor slides into. it is held on with 2 M30 torx. Remove the tie down ring above it. Slide a flat head driver into the top notch to remove the cover, and remove it using an 8mm triple square socket.




Now we have to remove the side trim piece that guides the seat belt. it is a little difficult to explain. There is a 10mm nut on the floorboard that needs to be removed. The entire piece can be pulled out, but it is pulled towards the middle of the car, not towards the front. There are two clasps holding it to the door sill trim piece that you need to be cautious of.


Next is the final trim piece. It is a PITA and I did not get a great picture of it. After removing the previous trim panel, you will see a plastic rivet. Take a flat head and remove the center piece first (comes all the way out) then the outer piece. There is a T20 torx inside the hole that the privacy cover for the trunk is mounted to (the nub that it rotates on, look in there) Now you can pull it out and it will come loose. Do not pull on the 'grocery bag' hangers, as I broke one of mine. The passenger side also has to have the plug removed for the 12v outlet. *Note on reinstallation* Make sure the white plastic 'zippy' screw is properly lined up. I forgot. This piece VW way over engineered so it was the most difficult for me to reinstall.

I had to cut a slit in the carpet for it to be pulled over the seat back latches.


BRACE INSTALLATION
From here, you can place the XBQ in the car and line it up. It is pretty easy to see where it goes, and I placed it as low as I could. I recommend placing it in the car with a helper, and taking a hole punch and hammering a dot through the carpet and into the metal. Make sure your punch is dead center the bolt hole on the XBQ. Do one, remove the brace, fold the carpet back and begin drilling using a 1/8" bit. Follow it with a 1/4" bit, and finally a 1/2" bit.

My nutserts were slightly larger than 1/2" (that's... what she said?) so I had to route the holes out a little bit however CHECK FIRST and don't just go crazy hacking.

After you have inserted one nutsert and torques it down, put the unibrace back in the car and thread the first screw down. Do not super tighten, as the brace will not seat flush (similar to installing a wheel). Do a hole punch on the next hole, unscrew and remove the brace from the car and repeat the drilling process. Do this every time. One at a time. The tolerance on the XBQ is near zero. One of my nutserts is a few mm off center and it is a PITA to get the screws threaded.

I also want to warn you to watch the lower drill points. If you install the brace a little high, your bottom holes will be on the edge of a piece of sheet metal. Check the picture below to see what I mean.


Install the brace properly in the car with everything removed to check fitment.


PUT CAR BACK TOGETHER
Follow this post in reverse.


COMPLETE
I really enjoy the way this thing looks. It is unobtrusive in day to day activities, and can be removed if needed for large hauls. It does block the lever for the center seat pass through, however it does not block the seat anchors. It also doesn't even touch my back seat - it is slightly raised from it - so it is no harder to latch them up than before.










I did not have a chance to test it out. Mother nature decided to dump a half inch of ice on us last night. However this afternoon just driving it around I felt it a little. Most people posted that it feels like the car is leaning less and I can see what they mean. I am not good with words but the best I can describe it is that as you take a turn, imagine there is a rope tied from your roof to the inside of the turn, keeping the body from 'collapsing'. Another way is, imagine the left and right sides of your car as this: | | and when you turn the whole body does \ \ or / / -- This brace removes that.

Would I buy again? Yes. Would I install again? God no. Not this way. Read the MK6 I posted above, avoid removing seats and trim, and just deal with cutting into your carpet. I will live with that next time.

nice! did you notice some tighter steering too? I've read that you didn't have enough test drive of it so I'm aware of that. i would consider, but its gonna sacrifice using that center space when i load skis and a snowboard through that hole while carrying 4 people.

Thanks for taking the time to do a writeup and let us know how it feels as you rack up some miles. I love the idea of this, but an easily removable brace without tools is what I would want. I need the function of the pass through and full trunk when seats are down, so this setup just isn't practical for me.

Whats one of thses cost? Looks nice and clean

$390 shipped with hardware. Worth it.

The steering is pretty much the same, the brace doesn't tighten up the front end but the rear end is quicker to follow and much less sloppy. I can take a turn and easily know what the rear end is going to do (BTW, it's nothing. The rear end doesn't act up. Ever.)

Sent from my Galaxy S5

Stueck9356 said:

$390 shipped with hardware. Worth it.

The steering is pretty much the same, the brace doesn't tighten up the front end but the rear end is quicker to follow and much less sloppy. I can take a turn and easily know what the rear end is going to do (BTW, it's nothing. The rear end doesn't act up. Ever.)

Sent from my Galaxy S5

Click to expand...

My rear end likes to act up when there's ice out.

Snake oil and placebo effect?
Sorry, had to spoil the fun

Nice writeup. We have sold a good amount for the other cars. Price tends to be the hold up for a lot of people on these but until you see the parts in person and the quality that goes into them, it really is worth it. But once again it all depends on the owners usage

Had a similar brace in my MkV based 3.2 Audi A3 Quattro: It did a LOT of good.

As soon as my Mk7 Gti is delivered, a Eurosport front brace and Unibrace's rear & underbody pieces are going in

On a slightly unrelated note, how heavy are the rear seats? This is the first guide I've found about removing them. Would it be a significant weight reduction? Don't think the rear's ever been the problem in turns for my car... What was happening when it "acted up"?

Would a sway bar be an easier way to tighten the rear end rather than taking a few hours bolting the xb brace. ?

The seats aren't too bad. The base is light - I'd wager 3-4lbs. It's just foam. The "40" split is around 10lbs. All of the weight is in the "60" split, that's probably 30lbs - though my estimate may be a liytle high due to how cumbersome it was to remove.

This reduces body flex, so the physical car shell is more rigid. A sway bar reduces body roll, so they are similar but different.

Seat Weights

I went ahead and weighed all of the individual seat parts for anyone interested in weight loss.

Large seat back: 34.2lbs
Small seat back: 13.4 lbs
Seat cushion: 12.4 lbs

Total weight loss: 60 lbs.

That may not seem like a ton, but it adds up when you combine it with other reductions.