How to stiffen the body without adding a rollbar ?

seawalkersee said:
I cant run that with my SC because I have the fold down rear seats.

Chris
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The braces are (surprisingly) not in conflict with the fold down seats. :)
If possible it would be interesting to see a picture of the wrinkled area of the roof!
 
seawalkersee said:
Can you post what the look like? I dont really like the way the subframe connectors work on these cars. I believe you can get more strength if you support from the mid frame, to the outside of the car (closesest to the ground effects....kind of like rock sliders on a 4x4), back to the rear subframe. I think there will be more strength gained from that and then a smaller bar tied into the center.

Chris
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Chris,

There are still wrapped up. They are chrome plated rectangular tubes about .75" x 1.25" x 7ft long with a series of drilled holes. You have to drill the body seam beneath the rocker panels and bolt them in. I've got fuel and nitrous lines that need to be relocated before I can install them.

David
 
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Dave,

I made a set of real nice sub-frame connectors for a guy in California.
I could make you a set if you're interested. I'll e-mail you some pics.

They look much stronger and straighter than others that I've seen.
 
Slysc said:
Dave,

I made a set of real nice sub-frame connectors for a guy in California.
I could make you a set if you're interested. I'll e-mail you some pics.

They look much stronger and straighter than others that I've seen.
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Dan,

I'd like to see those pics.

Did you ever get it stiffened up?
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Still haven't been motivated to do anything about stiffening the body. Haven't raced the car since Oct 2006.

David
 
Here's a picture of them off the car.
I incorporate the steel braces that go from the rear IRS subframe to the rockers. I weld that to a 1.5" square tubing with braces. Then weld up a 1/8" thick flange that bolts to the front subframes using existing holes. I make a 1/8" thick plate that slips into the subframe with 1/2" nuts welded to it and sandwiches the subframe to the 1/8" thick flange on the subframe connector. It's real beefy but simple and directs energy straight without extra weight. They bolt on and off with no welding on the car.

$150 per set. + shipping and the stock braces as a core. They would be painted with gloss black POR-15.
 

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I made braces a while back, I wanted to do things a little different from everyone else I was concerned with ground clearance and I didn't like the little weld on tab of the KB design.
Here was the connector link I made.
connector.jpg

Installed the front brace looked like this.
frontbrace.jpg

Showing it all.
fullbrace.jpg

I later decided to make the brace go all the way forward to the front of the subframe which was a pain int the butt to drill and I don't have pics of it.
Alan
 
dirtydog that is a good design im sure they stop movement fore and aft but im wondering what about side to side movement of the K-member ? that rear mount point would essentially be a pivot point for side to side movement as say the front left tire hits a bump it would pull the Kmember that way slightly throwing off the stability good for fore and aft though definetly...Also just wondering, it hasnt created any binding with the bolt facing up in the hole in the K-member also the plate inside? I'd be afraid of hitting a speed bump or pothole etc. to fast and having the front raise and drop hard and cracking the lower control arm...Not trying to shoot you down just interested ...an idea would be to have to of those subframe rear brackets side by side one in front of the other to eliminate the side to side movement,but that may bend the actual support tubing if its not thick enough
 
There is about 1/2 clearance to the control arm with the car suspended on a 2 post lift. Meaning the arms are down as far as they can possibly go. If the bushing gives 1/2 inch. The braces are the least of your concern. If anything they might save your tail. I thought about side to side as well, and really I don't see either brace making much difference until someone cross ties to the sides. As I said I made these for myself personally because I needed the ground clearance. My car is lowered 1.75 inches and my setup only makes the lowest point about 1/4 inch below stock where the bolt is.
Alan
 
The deal with the MN12 isnt the side to side movement at the bottom. It is the flex of the Loooonnnnnnnnnnng Chassis. If moving of the suspension is that big of a deal for you, you first need a STB. That will be the biggest gain as far as the front goes.

Dan, Where do you bolt the front area to? Is that inverted so it sits next to the front of the subframe rail and bolts to it? I was thinking of the exact same design with a cross brace to connect the two side braces. Oh...and how long are they?

Chris
 
seawalkersee said:
Dan, Where do you bolt the front area to? Is that inverted so it sits next to the front of the subframe rail and bolts to it? I was thinking of the exact same design with a cross brace to connect the two side braces. Oh...and how long are they?
Chris
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Chris,

The front bolts to the front subframes (not the K-frame). The front subframes are a stamped steel hat section welded to the floor. The the subframe connector would bolt to a 1/8" plate through two existing holes in the front subframes and sandwich the subframe steel to strengthen it and distribute any force throughout a larger area.

The 1.5" square tubing is 5 ft long. If you are looking to make some like that, just buy 10' of 1.5" square tubing in your desired wall thickness, 26" of 2"x1/8" angle stock and 12" of 1" dia round tubing in whatever thickness you think is necessary. The other small gussets could be cut from sheet stock.
 
I know I'm reviving an old thread, but kind of curious if anyone has done anything to stiffen their cars up, besides what is already posted.

And David, seeing any more signs of body flex?

-Corey
 
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95_XR7 said:
I know I'm reviving an old thread, but kind of curious if anyone has done anything to stiff the the cars up, besides what is already posted.

And David, seeing any more signs of body flex?

-Corey
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Corey,

No I'm not seeing any signs, but I only race it a fraction of what I used to, and since ditching the nitrous the launch is much softer.

David

PS: Still haven't installed those chrome jacking rails.
 
why are the braces underthe car? is that better than going on top of shock or strut in the trunk or engine compartment? if you have fixed ends with adjustable center bar(threaded so you can stiffen or loosen)? i see tuners have these upper and lower? not critisizing just asking
 
birdlessmuz said:
why are the braces underthe car? is that better than going on top of shock or strut in the trunk or engine compartment? if you have fixed ends with adjustable center bar(threaded so you can stiffen or loosen)? i see tuners have these upper and lower? not critisizing just asking
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They are under the car because it's in a different position than the bars in the trunk/under the hood.
For example, LECB's tie the front K-member into the 'frame' rail of the car. You can't do the same thing under the hood.

-Corey
 
ok thanks for clearing that up
so no body makes sub frame connectors? are there any that are close that could be customized? my goal is to have an all around car not bad on the street,road course, and road.how much are we selling these braces for?
 
birdlessmuz said:
ok thanks for clearing that up
so no body makes sub frame connectors? are there any that are close that could be customized? my goal is to have an all around car not bad on the street,road course, and road.how much are we selling these braces for?
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You can find braces on SCP, and a few members on here make rear shock tower braces.

And nobody makes sub-frame connectors.

-Corey
 
Rob91 said:
These really stiffened up the rear of my car –but I guess these braces would be a bit to wimpy for your application. :)
(The lower connection in the centre of the car has later been modified to a more rigid solution.)
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Where do you get those
 
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