Techno Toy Tuning Strut Brace

[Hypertek]

Thanks, as long as you can post when you get the parts that the triangular rods and mounting hardware are infact longer, i dont see why it wouldnt work. Just waiting to put in an order with T3 on some of their stuff =)

[Rob L]

When it comes to strut bars dont you want a triangulated bar welded rather then screwed together.....doesnt the bar move at the bolted points during hard cornering?

[z-ya]

The only problem with this approach, is that there isn't a lot of meat to the hood latch bracket. And there isn't a lot of support coming from the firewall in that area. It certainly looks cool though. It's the only way to do it completely bolt on, without drilling.

 

We built this brace a few years ago, and as you can see the box steel fits between the hood latch mount and the rain gutter. It's a tight fit, and the whole thing gets sandwiched together with two bolts. Better than the T3 solution, but still not ideal.

Edited June 15, 2015 by z-ya

[Dat73z]

Can confirm T3 triangulation bar fit with Cusco bar- here is a picture I took yesterday of a fellow Z enthusiasts' engine bay. Looks great!

[EvilC]

Would love to see what the firewall looks like by the latch area after a year of use in a car that gets used on the track. That design looks to concentrate all the load in a small/thin area which I am not sure would like that over time. Looks very cool though and shouldn't be an issue on street cars. 

Edited June 16, 2015 by EvilC

[Dat73z]

Agreed- for a dedicated track tool there are better options out there which would be better suited for increased torsional rigidity (ex: that awesome z above). For a truly bolt on option and bling factor though, it's hard to complain!

[ZT-R]

It was a real PITA had to modify everything as my engine is really tall in the bay, but got it in there.

[Rob L]

^ nice engine and install ...very clean.....ever have it on a dyno ?

 

Also T3 stuff is nice and blingy....hard to beat there customer service too ...Gabes a good guy .

[ZT-R]

704 at 23 on pump gas, conservative ignition time. no tweaks to cam timing, cams were degreed though.

[Rob L]

704 ! Lol haha ....thats good stuff ....burnout videos or any video would be awesome too see .

[ZT-R]

https://flic.kr/p/rGwcDL

 

[ktm]

Would love to see what the firewall looks like by the latch area after a year of use in a car that gets used on the track. That design looks to concentrate all the load in a small/thin area which I am not sure would like that over time. Looks very cool though and shouldn't be an issue on street cars. 

 

.....not to be that guy, but why even triangulate on a street car?  A simple bar would suffice on a true "street" car.

[z-ya]

Most all of these style strut braces do nothing but add weight anyway. The spherical bearing can move around, which completely defeats the purpose. A completely welded solution would be a lot better, but the adjustability make it easy fit to any car.

 

What I have done on my recent build is to weld 3/16" steel tabs to the shock towers and firewall (with reinforcing plates), and used clevis rod ends that fit snug onto the tabs.

 

 

Still not as good as welding, but certainly better than a spherical bearing.

[dreco]

Most all of these style strut braces do nothing but add weight anyway. The spherical bearing can move around, which completely defeats the purpose. A completely welded solution would be a lot better, but the adjustability make it easy fit to any car.

 

What I have done on my recent build is to weld 3/16" steel tabs to the shock towers and firewall (with reinforcing plates), and used clevis rod ends that fit snug onto the tabs.

 

 

Still not as good as welding, but certainly better than a spherical bearing.

Eventually I'll be welding bars through the firewall, but i'll try this for awhile.  We'll see how it holds up from my track excursions

[ryant67]

The way I figured it was that it certainly can't HURT to use it, and given that the triangulation bars weigh about 2lbs in total, the weight gain is pretty minimal.  It's cheap too, given how well it appears to have been made.  

I did select to use the Cusco bar over T3's for a couple of reasons though - namely that the Cusco bar gives better clearance over the valve cover, and that it doesn't use the dreaded spherical bearing, so it should in theory work better since it has less range of movement.   

 

[Hypertek]

My addons should be here tomorrow. Will post my opinion on it . Obviously my car isnt ready to drive yet, but i will be slapping on baddog frame rails in addition, I think it would be a good addition, if anything, some nice underhood bling.

[TimZ]

 

 

When it comes to strut bars dont you want a triangulated bar welded rather then screwed together.....doesnt the bar move at the bolted points during hard cornering?

 

Most all of these style strut braces do nothing but add weight anyway. The spherical bearing can move around, which completely defeats the purpose. A completely welded solution would be a lot better, but the adjustability make it easy fit to any car.

 

<snip>, and that it doesn't use the dreaded spherical bearing, so it should in theory work better since it has less range of movement.   

I keep hearing people say stuff like this on this and other forums, and I would contend that if you are trying to do something with a strut bar that you think the spherical bearings are keeping you from doing, you're probably doing something wrong.

 

Long bars like this are only strong longitudinally, and really can't add usable strength in other directions.  In fact if you are applying force in other directions, like for instance, trying to use a single lateral bar between the struts to limit relative fore-aft movement between the struts, you'll likely just fatigue the the mounts eventually.  This is precisely what the spherical joints are there to prevent - they transmit the longitudinal force from the bar and pretty much nothing else.  In this case, relative fore-aft movement is why the additional two bars to the hood latch were added.

 

It's probably also worth noting that the triangulated three bar arrangement here has essentially gone from having stiffness in one dimension (right-left) to having stiffness in two dimensions (right-left, fore-aft). It still won't do much to prevent relative up-down movement between the struts.  It shouldn't be too hard to see that if you try to use the three bar arrangement for this you'll likely just end up twisting the hood latch, which again the spherical bearings are protecting you from.  If you want stiffness in the up-down direction, you need to figure out how to triangulate in that plane.

Edited June 19, 2015 by TimZ

[m1ghtymaxXx]

^ I came to post the same thing. Moment resistance may not be your friend, and if the pinned connection weren't pivoting, the bars would probably be flexing. The fact that it's a triangle means it should keep its shape in both axis on the horizontal plane. 

[tim.d]

I keep hearing people say stuff like this on this and other forums, and I would contend that if you are trying to do something with a strut bar that you think the spherical bearings are keeping you from doing, you're probably doing something wrong.

 

Long bars like this are only strong longitudinally, and really can't add usable strength in other directions.  In fact if you are applying force in other directions, like for instance, trying to use a single lateral bar between the struts to limit relative fore-aft movement between the struts, you'll likely just fatigue the the mounts eventually.  This is precisely what the spherical joints are there to prevent - they transmit the longitudinal force from the bar and pretty much nothing else.  In this case, relative fore-aft movement is why the additional two bars to the hood latch were added.

 

It's probably also worth noting that the triangulated three bar arrangement here has essentially gone from having stiffness in one dimension (right-left) to having stiffness in two dimensions (right-left, fore-aft). It still won't do much to prevent relative up-down movement between the struts.  It shouldn't be too hard to see that if you try to use the three bar arrangement for this you'll likely just end up twisting the hood latch, which again the spherical bearings are protecting you from.  If you want stiffness in the up-down direction, you need to figure out how to triangulate in that plane.

 

Great post! Solved a problem I've had in my head for a long time.

[johnc]

This design worked.  I was able to increase front spring rate to 375 lb. in. and see improvements in lap times.  T-Mag (Bill Savage) did some FEA on the S30 chassis and this design gave the greatest improvement in front end stiffness short of an 8 point roll cage.