[Kunz]

Hi everybody



Even though I didnt manage to complete everything some of you might take a look at what I have just welded together...



Togehter with the lower chassis brace I made the front end is... well stiff!



Best regards and till later

Kunz

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Eric_K]

I like it. I can't tell from the pic, does the main strut unbolt from the strut tower brackets or is it welded there too?



Lets see the lower too.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Kunz]

Hi Eric



Thanks!

Yes! I wanted to weld the brace to the brackets but then I couldnt take it out again due to clearance problems and contact to the strut tower / upper damper bearing. So up to now it is kept in place by M10 screws there... maybe I find a solution for that.

I will work a bit on the bracket's finish and paint it all black...

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[rxter]

Stencil PORSCHE across the horizontal bar. Would look the teets.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Eric_K]

I was hoping there were some bolts on the backside. Welded would be good, but maintenance would be a chore. You could have also welded brackets to the strut towers, ala 951 turbo cup strut bars. Is this a one off or are you making more?

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[flash]

this is a very complex problem - i've spent the last 3 years working on how and where to stiffen things without creating bigger problems than i had before i started - the design of the car has made this very complicated



i looked into the rearward connections when i designed my brace - while certainly there is benefit to be had, the real gains would be in connecting points forward, and not strut towers to the firewall - picking up the suspension loads from the front control arm bushing impacts, and transferring them across and aft, would be more effective



but then, i found, after a lot of research, that because this is a unibody car, the real problem is that stiffening up too much is actually a bad thing - the load has to go somewhere, and unfortunately it goes to the sheetmetal - you get to a point of no return - if you were to add underbody frame members, and convert the chassis to a space tube frame, you could end up with a very stiff chassis, but with the suspension design as it is, this actually results in a very twitchy car - a certain amount of flex is a good thing on a unibody car - i've seen strut braces that were too stiff actually rip the sheet metal of the strut towers



remember, that load has to go somewhere



bottom line, it's just not as simple as it might seem



but i applaud the effort - that had to be a lot of work

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Lim Yong]

HI all,

Interesting. I am thinking by stifftening the chassis, the suspension can be made softer to compensated, So it will

give a more comfortable ride?

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Kunz]

Eric:

Yes! now it is easier to get it out and in again. If I can find a solution for the clearance problem I will weld the main brace to the brackets as I these connetions then can be designed stiffer...

And sorry, as I am doctor and family-father I only do such things from time to time... Sometimes my had is close to just explode due to all the unused ideas I have to keep down!



Flash:

Thanks! What you write about the toal stiffness of the car is what I experianced as well, that's why my car looks like this on the inside; sorry, this is the only pic I have right now but you can see the "co-pilots" seat there as well (14 month old Marc likes driving Porsche). It is a 17-point welded / bolted cage with connections to the firewall...

I found the part of the car that needed stiffening after that is the front end. I even took out the diagonal in the roof to get a bit more of a harmonic "rest-flex"...

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[flash]

bingo - nice job

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.