Nate (ETKA+Scumbag)

Good point.

Jretal

which doesn't necessarily help you w/ the group buy

Only thing I noticed that I didn't 'like' was that the way they designed it, it's a water trap. looks great from the underside, but the top will hold water/dirt/crud. NOt that big of a deal due to the use of stainless steel, but just something I would try to work around.

I would love to see pix of what you come up with, though!

A400

center on either side and those will be outside edges o the 'rail". It an be mounted further up or back depending on what is under your car. Regarding your concern. I will definately do a continous tig weld to all pieces vs. the spot welds they have, and a few well placed holes made with aq good drill bit should help it drain as well. I am not as concerned that the brace should suffer from moisture as that it 'might' hold moisture against the bottom of the car which isnt SS ;>}} I think the piece is fairly universal, and the changes you may make to make it more specific to your car will just be icing. I think this is a MAJOR addition to the integrity of the suspended system and may be worth whatever you choose to do to make it nicer. It is the price of a set of good roll bars and will do much more for your handling if you plan on taking the car further. I also beleive it will extend the ligfe of an already aged car. My 97 has less than 70k miles, has never seen snow or salt and very seldom seen rain, and has been as well maintained as is possible - but I drive HARD and the underbdy takes a great deal of the stress of the WV and track related curves (WV is tougher than track). I had a 2 part reason for pursuing something like this, longevity and making a stronger platform to let suspension work fully. Send me a private e-mail and I can discuss further if you wish.

s4audinut@aol.com

WJM

Again I'm in

Silver Streakin'

honestly, I see some clearance issues that will vary among cars with/without DTS, exhausts, trans, brake/fuel/vent lines, etc. and hopefully it doesn't cover up the tow holes on the frame.

you say it doesn't start until after the tranny, but it can't utilize (or come close to) the front sub frame plates/bolts where the DTS mounts, but should it tie in?

also, ground clearance? I already bang my DTS on things.

I wonder how much cabin vibration this is going to cause.

weight?

If caged, will this be much of a benefit?

hopefully the mouting points will be adjustable... because I'm sure there are cars that are out of wack from the factory since there are tolerances for that.

A400

mine is done.

If all these minute questions need to be answered you will just have to buy one and see. I will take pics of mine when done within the next month. To get a gain you need to take a risk - it will work, but I am not the person to hold anyones hand. If nothing else, you can see the concept and build your own.

Silver Streakin'

it works for others on the board(s). Otherwise, why did you even bother asking if others are interested in buying one? I'm not going to chip in to total 15 buyers if your version is the only one made to ensure fitment for the remaining 14. That's not how this works, imo. The final product should be something that allows for tolerances of (at least the majority of the popular) modifications (current and maybe even future) done to the projected 15 cars on the list or open to all B5 cars and respective mods available.

Basically, for example, AWE's DTS allows for multiple applications with one version. It doesn't restrict you from using an APR, Milltek, or Borla exhaust, for example, namely because it's been tested and designed around such. If, by way of an example, your A4 is running a custom exhaust that clears the final version and the above referenced would not, then you're going to have some unhappy buyers...buyers who are not going to just modify it their garage (or driveway or apartment complex parking lot) or even want to pay someone else additional to have it modified to fit accordingly.

Other answers can simply be answered when the final (or near final) product is completed -- I was only curious, especially if I'm going to buy the thing.

A400

to buy and install. Even if it requires mods, and it will, it will also save you 90% of the work you would have to do to build your own. I will make it work, and even if one was done for the B5 A4, it still could not begin to address all the variations one could have on a car. DTS is not in this picture unless you do specific mods to tie it in. I will probably tie in the subframes, but maybe not if the geometry isnt right. It will stiffen the chassis considerably the way it is. Variations such as exhaust hanging below DTS will have to be fixed on a one on one basis. The reason I asked how many might be interested was to get the word out. All of them will need to be adjusted to your car. For instance, I run 3.5" exhaust partof way back, 2 magnaflow mufflers, an rs2 tranny and who knows what else. It could turn out that it will hang low enough that the center section will hang so low I only use it on track days (but I dont think so). Did you look at the middle and 3rd pic, the center is adjustable up and down. I saw it as a way to stiffen the chassis a lot cheaper than doing it myself, and it is an off the shelf piece for a Miata. They are willing to mod for us if someone makes a template and we get 10 buyers. I will take the pics of mine, but past that I was just giving you guys a heads up and hoping you saw the value of someone doing 9/10's of the work for us. I gave you the measurements and if you want further call flyin miata, get under your car with a pic and figure it out. Dont wait for something specific for our cars, there is simply not enough interest (read money) for someone to do it for us.

Silver Streakin'

one for your A4 or for an A4 application because you posted "made specifically for our cars".

yeah, that would be difficult to modify a Miata application to your A4 to also ensure it fits everyone else's B5 application.

Still... that's great for you, but it's not exactly what I had in mind. maybe a few others here too.

personally, I don't like the idea for my A4 because I've banged my DTS enough on the street, coming down on it hard going over speed bumps that are more like curbs (like at Watkins Glen) and sorta clipped/high-sided it on the N'ring turn at Summit Point, Shenandoah as well as my FIL's driveway (he wasn't too happy about that and never good for the son-in-law, eh?), and more recently on a big rock that an SUV in front of me cleared but not my DTS (no time to go around it) -- that's been the worst hit of them all. I can only assume this mod would create more of these issues, namely on a street driven car (on the crap roads in PA)...whereas this appears to serve better for a track only or needed for big hp applications. Plus, I like the OTS applications. Call me lazy, but even OTS products have cauased me to made modifications to make them work soley because they don't work right out of the box or it's because of another modification done to the car -- which prompted my initial questions/comments.

Jretal

I have a feeling that the center section will probably work fine w/ my car and I'd have to adapt the outside pieces to work as the 4000 is a narrower chassis (I believe) than the A4. Haven't crawled under the car to measure, but that's just my guess.