Well, I finally installed the lower brace to compliement the upper bar I installed a couple of weeks back. I too had a minor clearances issues. I took a slightly different approach for a solution. It may not be perfect, but it did work. On the assembly of the right angle bracket, washer and bolt to the A-Arm bracket, I reversed the order of the Bracket and thick washer. I placed the washer against the A-Arm brack (as it was originally), and then placed the right-angle bracket. This gave me a few more millimeters of clearance, which is all I was looking for. I had 9mm of clearance between the upper strut bar and the top of the engine, instead of the expected 7mm. Flipping the order made up the 2mm, and gave me another 2mm extra.
On the benefit of the lower suspension brace, I must admit it was far better than I expected. When I go over a very rough section of road, I used to get a slight, but noticeable, bit of cowl shake, and I could feel the movement in the steering wheel. Now, nothing, and the wheel is completely unaffect. It was a fairly dramatic change. Can't wait to see how it feel out on the track. Nice job Flash.
ok - you need the longer brackets - i'm not happy with the surface contact of those washers - the idea is sound, but the rounded shape of the washer could let the bolt wiggle and mess up the threads in the frame - that is a friction washer, designed to prevent sliding, but it is not designed to do what you are doing
the brackets should be done in a couple of days
one thing to be very careful of is ground clearance - one good shot in the middle, and it could make a mess of things - if you are lowered, this could be an issue - i seriously doubt it though on stock ride height cars
side note - at 2mm drop, you are a third of the way through your motor mounts - start saving those pennies
[quote name='flash' post='39615' date='Aug 8 2007, 10:16 AM']one thing to be very careful of is ground clearance - one good shot in the middle, and it could make a mess of things - if you are lowered, this could be an issue - i seriously doubt it though on stock ride height cars
side note - at 2mm drop, you are a third of the way through your motor mounts - start saving those pennies[/quote]
I'll add motor mounts to the winter to do list. I also used the Locktight "green", which is used after installation, to help prevent "wiggle".
I will restate, these brace is an extremely worthwhile investment. Really surprised how much movement there must have been prior, and this is in a Coupe!!
Even with the 2mm drop, the crossbrace sits very nicely behind the third bellypan. I cutoff the back lip of the pan, and it is nicely flush, and looks very factory. Additionally, the third belly pan provides a certain level of protection from anything catching on the cross brace. I'll take some photo's this weekend, and post.
the wiggle i am worried about is what happens when an impact forces the bolt to thrust - the top of the washer does not have as much real estate as the bracket
just be careful until we can send you the new brackets
but, i'm glad you like the effect - the amount of change really surprised me too
any more of these left?
can i use this brace and the BK brace at the same time?
call pete for a stock check
i suppose you could use them both, although i have not checked the brackets to see if they interfere, but i don't see why you would - if you already have the brey krause lower brace in there, there is no reason to install this one
this was designed as an alternative to, not a replacement for the brey krause unit, and the primary consideration was eliminating the need for an alignment after installation
Weee! my new goodies just arrived <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> Here's hoping my motor mounts are still good, I know I had one of them replaced last year since it was toast. I'll have the shop do a check when they're in there next week. As for the struct brace, I'll install that as soon as I can <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />
BTW, why are you so opposed to using a click style torque wrench?
not accurate enough at low torque values - very easy to over-torque at something small, like on the strut tower nuts
brackets are cut - being bent today - off to powder coater immediately thereafter - anticipate shipping on friday
Hey Flash, any further update on the longer brackets? When can we low-pipers expect some relief (already called Pete and I'm on the list)?
Thanks!
supposed to pick up the brackets today - i am told they are done being powder coated and just awaiting arrival back at the sheet metal shop later today - if it happens soon enough in the day, i can swing over and grab them - otherwise it will be first thing in the morning
finally got brackets today - shipping this afternoon to pete
Flash,
I installed my lower suspension brace on my coupe about a month ago, then promptly went in for shoulder surgery, so I haven't had a chance to measure the clearance between the brace and the exhaust pipe until just now. I immediately noticed a pronounced rattle right after installing the brace, particularly during acceleration and decelleration (more so on decel), so I suspected the clearance was very tight, and I was right - it's 1.3 mm. And I replaced the engine mounts with new OEM Porsche mounts on 4/13/06, about 7,000 miles ago. Doesn't seem like I should be a candidate for the modified brackets, given the new mounts. Any thoughts? Thanks.
call pete - he will have new brackets tuesday
it seems there are enough anomolies that dictate replacing brackets with the longer ones on a number of these cars (i think yours is the 4th) - rather annoying to me, but it is what it is when dealing with a hand built car
Yeah, that's kind of what I thought. OK, I'll call Pete on Monday. I the meantime, I'll remove the brace so as not to damage my downpipe.
well, we hit a hiccup in the brackets - sheet metal shop blew it - they came back wrong - i didn't check for anything but the new change, and ignored the hole sizes - they arbitrarily made a hole size change - arrrrgh
new ones being made now hot hot rush rush
Flash,
Any update on the longer brackets, or should I call Pete? I'm doing a driving event on 9/22. Do you think they'd be available by then? Thanks.
yes - the new batch will arrive at pete's on tuesday - i checked them - they are right this time
[quote name='flash' post='40952' date='Sep 8 2007, 05:56 PM']yes - the new batch will arrive at pete's on tuesday - i checked them - they are right this time[/quote]
Woo hoo, now maybe I can get mine.... cant wait