Strut Brace And/or Cambertops Design

[trav_555]

i don't have enough cash at the moment to buy either, so i thought to myself, I'm a sheet metal appretice, why the hell don't i just make em?

 

strut brace shouldnt be to hard, but should i go a 3 point? and made of stainless you reckon?

 

and does anyone have the measurements and such of a 3 point or 2 point strut brace so i can get a basic idea?

 

its in my ke70 with a 4k

 

also a rear 4 point strut brace as well, has anyone got measurements for me?

 

and now to the harder part, the cambertops

 

now i know this will be a bit tricky, I'm going ae86 struts, with coilovers, and sigma lcas, so i need camber tops to reduce camber alot, hopefully to around 2.5-3 degrees neg

 

has anyone got designs, or measurements or cad drawing, or anything to help me with this

 

cheers

 

Travis

[SLW42]

in 1 of project threads ther is a guy who has redone new camber tops using s13 adjustables can't remember which thread but

[Redwarf]

I'll take a pic of my good one. It's made from Aluminium, welded and super strong.

 

I'll see if I can get it up tomorrow/ tonight....

Edited December 20, 2008 by Redwarf

[Redwarf]

Okay, with strut braces, if you're looking to compete in competition, you need to check the rule book. All of the ones that I've briefly checked state something like this:

A brace of free design may be fitted between the front suspension towers providing it only links the towers.

 

Thus one going from tower to tower is probably the best option. Most common braces are two flat plates, a raised bracket with an adjustable bar. A common fault with most mass-manufactured bars is that the plates and bracket bend, as they are not strong enough. Most people this isn't a problem, as most people have them for wank value. I personally have bent a few. I don't have a photo of the bent brackets, but this is what I had to do after:

 

That was n the old car. I manufactured new brackets for for that and all was ... better.

 

With the new car a bar was manufactured for it. The base plates are 5mm alloy, and the bar is 32mm OD alloy tube of about 3.5-4mm wall thickness. Can't remember to be honest. The bar is solid, and far better than anything you'll buy off the rack. If you look at the bottom pic, additional strength to the tower is gained by running a bar from the front leg of the cage to the strut tower, which is legal.

 

 

[trav_555]

ok cheers

 

do you find that to be one of the more efficient designs?

 

i should do that except i should have a gal solid bar in the aluminium pipe

 

i don't have a cage so i wouldnt be able to have the bar from strut to cage

 

do you have a picture of some good home made decent camber tops that would more suit reducing camber in sigma lcas? as i wouldnt want it for adding camber

 

cheers

 

Travis

[irokin]

The weakest point, even if you do make it out of only aluminum (and plenty of commercial ones are), isn't going to be the brace itself, its going to be the car.

[trav_555]

yea, ok so the gal inside the brace wouldnt be doing much unless the gal was inside a cage aye

 

ill still do it just in case it helps

 

cheers

 

cambertops anyone?

[Redwarf]

yea, ok so the gal inside the brace wouldnt be doing much unless the gal was inside a cage aye

 

ill still do it just in case it helps

 

cheers

 

cambertops anyone?

 

 

The only thing the gal would do is add weight. With all due respect, if an alloy tube is sufficient for my purpose, it'll be adequate for yours.

 

The forces on the tube are acting in comperssion. You are not going to compress 32mm tube with a decent wall thickness. Therefore the gal is redundant.

[trav_555]

ahh yes, i got top of my class in engineering studies i know all about compression and tension forces

 

for sure that is true

 

if i was putting vertical weight on the strut brace i would need the gal

 

cheers

[Falken_KE30]

Does adding a Strut brace do any damaged to the vehicle in normal everyday driving?

 

I got one not fitted, Cusco brand straight from japan to suit KE70. unsure what it actually does :lmao:

[Redwarf]

The weakest point, even if you do make it out of only aluminum (and plenty of commercial ones are), isn't going to be the brace itself, its going to be the car.

 

Ben, not completely true. The weakest point is generally the vertical lugs that are welded to the strut plate. i.e the bit between the bar and the plate. They can and do bend before at the same time the car does. It's usually at this point that you have other problems as well. Like having to port-a-power your strut towers back again.....

 

Therefore if you have a strong enough bar, the towers shuldn't bend. A bar with a weak point, slightly stronger towers, but not as strong as it could be. Or something.

 

Falken. No it won't damage the car. As for what it does: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strut_bar

Edited December 21, 2008 by Redwarf

[Falken_KE30]

Most people this isn't a problem, as most people have them for wank value.

 

me...lol :lmao:

 

Thanks redwarf...