What are the long brackets above the battery and intake for?

I probably wouldn't try to replace them with a heavier piece. They are probably designed to be a certain strength to follow with the crumple zones of the cars.

Jesus christ man, yea just start taking off random linkages to save a couple pounds especially if you don't know what they're for. I thought the purpose these was common knowledge.

Take them off for weight reduction yo

You can get aftermarket replacements that look a bit better but otherwise they are plenty thick for what they need to do. If you want better handling start with sway bars front and rear, then strut tower braces, Trailing arms, Lateral links, lowering kit / springs and struts, and finally bigger rims with less sidewall.

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Originally Posted by frosty

You can get aftermarket replacements that look a bit better but otherwise they are plenty thick for what they need to do. If you want better handling start with sway bars front and rear, then strut tower braces, Trailing arms, Lateral links, lowering kit / springs and struts, and finally bigger rims with less sidewall.

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He's looking to REDUCE weight and engine compartment clutter. Increasing handling as you've described will add weight and increase clutter factor, both of which inhibit racekar.