240hoke Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 To make it really work properly you need to constraint all DOF's at the strut tower joint. The width adjustment could be provided by a turn buckle in the center. What you have drawn and what most bars do is still allow the struts towers to flex side to side I think this is what jon was getting at...but anyway here is a perfect example: Several other questions maybe I missed something obvious: why are there 6 bolt holes? Going straight across like that will NOT clear any L series motor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators RTz Posted August 17, 2009 Administrators Share Posted August 17, 2009 This should give you an idea of how much higher and inboard (to miss the hood) you'll have to be to clear an L series... That bracket shape puts everything very very close. Not much fudge room left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h4nsm0l3m4n Posted August 17, 2009 Author Share Posted August 17, 2009 Ron, Id been ignoring the actual height of the cross bar until I had a chance to actually mock up the design on my car... but that is a lot higher than I had originally thought. To make it really work properly you need to constraint all DOF's at the strut tower joint. The width adjustment could be provided by a turn buckle in the center. What you have drawn and what most bars do is still allow the struts towers to flex side to side Yes, I agree. Unless I'm missing something the main difference between something like that and what I have is that the bar in your picture permanentely fixed to the bracket holding it on the strut tower. I think using my bracket, someone could still set them up to accomodate a fixed connection like that rather than use a rod end. And youre right, I dont need 6 holes anymore. I needed them before to keep fabrication uniform and hadnt changed it, thats what I get for being slammed with work. I'm in for a set. Only question I have is that in your last diagram the vertical braces span the centre hole for the strut assembly. While this seems better for double shear, it does't leave a lot of meat to weld the uprights to. I assume that in your mock up you looked at this, and are confident that there is enought surface area for a good reliable weld? There is about enough room for two welds about .5" long on both sides of both of the upright plates. I could make the strut tower bracket wider on the inside end this would allow for a longer weld, but I didnt really feel it was necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h4nsm0l3m4n Posted August 17, 2009 Author Share Posted August 17, 2009 (edited) Quick update: quote has come back. For a single order of 1 "side" set (2 strut mount brackets and 4 upright brackets 10ga steel, laser cut) price is $75 as they are now. You need 2 "sides" for the whole car. For a larger order (order of 10+ "sides") they will reduce cost by over 50% on each individual part. So were talking possibly as low as $30 per "side" depending on the order quantity. Build time will be approximately 1 week or less from time of order. I will make a couple changes to the strut mount plates as noted previously, these should not change the price very much. The upright plates will likely end up much different then they are now so I imagine the price might change by a bit. However, expect a price in the same ballpark. To me, this seems like an excellent price, I think we got something pretty neat going here so I'm fairly excited about getting an order placed. For those of you interested, PM me with exactly how many "sides" you want so I can get a more exact quote after I finalize the design. Given how relatively cheap these are I might just order a "pilot" set , install it in my car and post pics here of fitment. We'll see what happens. Edited August 18, 2009 by h4nsm0l3m4n Realized my single order price was slightly off, updated now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h4nsm0l3m4n Posted September 5, 2009 Author Share Posted September 5, 2009 Theyre done! I had everything ready to go for a while now but never the time to get these done. I marked where I wanted the brackets to be placed and took them over to the exhaust shop down the street. He had the brackets welded up in about 10 minutes, and I put them on without issues. There is enough room for a 14mm socket to fit and tighten all the screws, so bolting them in was a breeze. Next we sized up the tube and welded in the threaded tube end inserts. The cross bar it looked like there was still going to be a tiny bit of interference with the valve cover. To solve this we put a tiny kink in the tube on the exhaust shop's pipe bender and bolted everything on. Once it was bolted on I began to suspect that the kink probably didnt need to be there, I may have the cross bar redone without the kink or bend the bar straight again so I can adjust it without taking it off. The hood closed without issue, I did not see/hear/feel any interference. The rear went on with no problems at all. If you still want a set, send me a PM and we can work something out, it will be about $80 for a set of brackets. By "set" I mean a pair for the front and a pair for the rear. Anyway, here are some pics: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skib Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 I thought that was your car at the show but never ran into you there was just a nice red S30 between you and Z_rac3r and me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h4nsm0l3m4n Posted September 6, 2009 Author Share Posted September 6, 2009 Yup, that was my car... probably the rattyest one at the show. I saw your and z_racer's cars, I may have to copy your paint schemes if I ever get around to painting, not a bad look. For those interested, total cost of the strut bars comes out like this: bracket set for whole car: $80 10' long 3/4x.064 steel tube: $10 Rod ends, threaded tube inserts, Grade 8 hardware: ~$50 Exhaust shop's charge for welding: ~$20 Total cost: $160 (probably give or take 10 bucks) Onto the next project: Adjustable TC rods... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skib Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 lol shoulda traded spots with that red Z and wed have all the rats together, Phleb was the other white 240 next to me. I might have missed this but why do the bracket bases stick out so far front and back and have the single hole in the corners? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skib Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 thanks, lol makes sense now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hughdogz Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 Stephan, are you going to also triangulate to the front? (radiator core support) The ones in the back won't need them, unless I'm missing something obvious. Are you in town this weekend? I live just down the hill from you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h4nsm0l3m4n Posted September 6, 2009 Author Share Posted September 6, 2009 Stephan, are you going to also triangulate to the front? (radiator core support) The ones in the back won't need them, unless I'm missing something obvious. Are you in town this weekend? I live just down the hill from you Yes, though I will probably wait until the winter, or next summer to do the radiator and firewall bracing. Right now I'm trying to keep mods to a minimum since I race almost every other weekend... and youre right, I dont need the extra holes for the rear strut towers, it was just easier to order the same set for the front and rear. And yeah, I'm in town this weekend, though I think I'm gonna be busy the rest of today and possibly all day tomorrow. Just give me a call or whatever, if I'm not busy I'll swing by.. its not like its a long drive... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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