280z"Vador" Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 (edited) Hey I just saw that on the web : It's the first time I see that on a Z car... Anyone run something like that? Does it really give something to the stiffness of the car? Just curious.... Edited April 8, 2011 by 280z"Vador" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 I was going to completely write this off, but then I thought again. I think if you have a V8 and soft bushings this might make some sense. There have been cases where the torque has loosened the big ol 24mm bolt and tried to move the control arm back. I can recall I think Jeromio had this happen with enough force that the bolt fell out and the control arm pushed back and I think the bushing actually pulled through the saddle and either got cocked in there sideways or fell out of the car, can't quite remember. The control arm itself is probably a lot stiffer than the brace though since it is a straight tube of larger diameter, so I think you could safely ditch the brace if the big bolts were tight and had no possibility of loosening up (thinking safety wire). What is a much more useful brace for most people is something that laterally locates the bottom of the uprights in the suspension. They really aren't designed well to take a lot of lateral load, and by attaching the upright to the frame rail or something else, I think you'd get more benefit. You will occasionally see racers' cars modified with diagonal braces from the bottom of the uprights to the frame or mustache bar mounts, and I think that's a much better idea for the kind of use that most Z's get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1 Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 That looks like a nicely done mod, but I don't quite understand what they were trying to accomplish. Did they give any details on how they came up with this, and what the goals were? jt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 They went to the trouble of adding that brace but kept the stock diff mount and strap. I think the brace is of dubious value but it may solve a problem that I'm not aware of. As Jon said, a lateral brace to the mustache bar mounts will do a lot to stabilize the rear transverse link brace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tube80z Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Attached is a pic of the bracing Jon/John have discussed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezzzzzzz Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 (edited) Attached is a pic of the bracing Jon/John have discussed. That makes a bunch more sense to me. Add the fact that those braces are diagonal on two planes should really stiffen the uprights. Edited April 8, 2011 by ezzzzzzz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280z"Vador" Posted April 9, 2011 Author Share Posted April 9, 2011 I was going to completely write this off, but then I thought again. I think if you have a V8 and soft bushings this might make some sense. There have been cases where the torque has loosened the big ol 24mm bolt and tried to move the control arm back. I can recall I think Jeromio had this happen with enough force that the bolt fell out and the control arm pushed back and I think the bushing actually pulled through the saddle and either got cocked in there sideways or fell out of the car, can't quite remember. The control arm itself is probably a lot stiffer than the brace though since it is a straight tube of larger diameter, so I think you could safely ditch the brace if the big bolts were tight and had no possibility of loosening up (thinking safety wire). What is a much more useful brace for most people is something that laterally locates the bottom of the uprights in the suspension. They really aren't designed well to take a lot of lateral load, and by attaching the upright to the frame rail or something else, I think you'd get more benefit. You will occasionally see racers' cars modified with diagonal braces from the bottom of the uprights to the frame or mustache bar mounts, and I think that's a much better idea for the kind of use that most Z's get. Yea, actually I think that a diagonal brace is the way to go and it is more logic too! Like I'm not running a v8 with enough torq to loose these nuts (running a L28ET) I think I don't have to worry about loosing my rear end on the road Maybe one day I will try the diagonal braces but for what I do with my car, I don't think I need that now... I was just curious and you did answer pretty well at my question thanks! That looks like a nicely done mod, but I don't quite understand what they were trying to accomplish. Did they give any details on how they came up with this, and what the goals were?jt It was on a japanese blog so I'm not able to read it I was just looking at the pics on is website Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 (edited) If you took those two braces in the OP and X-crossed them horizontally across the bottom of the diff, you would really stiffen up the rear uprights. Welding them at the intersection would be even better. Without getting under the car and looking, I am not sure there is enough air-space to do an X brace under the diff. Edited April 9, 2011 by cygnusx1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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