strut tower brace
02-01-2005, 05:34 AM
#1
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strut tower brace
i've been following this thread for a while now and hope to shed some lite on the subject. the bernie brace is worthless.
1. for a brace to transmit a force from one side of the car to the other it needs to be mounted solid. check and book dealing with vector analysis.
2. the bernie brace uses heim joints (spherical bearings) to mount on top of the struts (shocks).
3. total vertical movementof the strut is between .4-.5 mm. that little bit of movement will be cancelled out by the rotational movement of the heim joint. even if the one strut moveved enough to move the brace it would pivot at the other end.
4. the crack in the tower to firewall brace is due to metal fatique from years of the unibody flexing, pot holes, etc.
5.to stop this a brace mounted solidly between the towers is needed. ex. v8, s4-s6 some of the 90 q.
6. suspensions are a compromise between rde and handling and i have never seen a manufacturer put a brace between the struts.
7. a good rference book on suspensions is how to make your car handle by fred puhn.
i hope this has helped and to further be of assistance i will make available to anyone that sends be a self address stamped envelope the part # for the s4 tower braces and a detailed drawing of the brace with measurements and directions so a local shop can build one for you.
email me and i will give you my address
83 urquattro
86 5000cstq
91 200tg
92 100cs avant
95.5 s6
lance russell
quattro south ent
1. for a brace to transmit a force from one side of the car to the other it needs to be mounted solid. check and book dealing with vector analysis.
2. the bernie brace uses heim joints (spherical bearings) to mount on top of the struts (shocks).
3. total vertical movementof the strut is between .4-.5 mm. that little bit of movement will be cancelled out by the rotational movement of the heim joint. even if the one strut moveved enough to move the brace it would pivot at the other end.
4. the crack in the tower to firewall brace is due to metal fatique from years of the unibody flexing, pot holes, etc.
5.to stop this a brace mounted solidly between the towers is needed. ex. v8, s4-s6 some of the 90 q.
6. suspensions are a compromise between rde and handling and i have never seen a manufacturer put a brace between the struts.
7. a good rference book on suspensions is how to make your car handle by fred puhn.
i hope this has helped and to further be of assistance i will make available to anyone that sends be a self address stamped envelope the part # for the s4 tower braces and a detailed drawing of the brace with measurements and directions so a local shop can build one for you.
email me and i will give you my address
83 urquattro
86 5000cstq
91 200tg
92 100cs avant
95.5 s6
lance russell
quattro south ent
02-01-2005, 01:36 PM
#3
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At least one Acura model comes stock with a strut brace
6. " . . . i have never seen a manufacturer put a brace between the struts."
I just saw one today on a (2003?) completely stock 4-door Acura sedan. It looked well done, as you'd expect, fabricated of ~ 1 inch tubing.
I just saw one today on a (2003?) completely stock 4-door Acura sedan. It looked well done, as you'd expect, fabricated of ~ 1 inch tubing.
02-01-2005, 03:28 PM
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Russ, I think he meant...
He's never seen one with a brace from strut to strut.
He's seen them that go tower to tower.
There are a bunch of cars that come with strut tower braces.
Was the Acura you saw setup this way?
Steve
Michigan
He's seen them that go tower to tower.
There are a bunch of cars that come with strut tower braces.
Was the Acura you saw setup this way?
Steve
Michigan
02-02-2005, 01:17 PM
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Re: The brace isn't for vertical movement
you are correct in that the body is twisting in on itself, but it is due to the vertical force of the suspension moving upward. i checked an 2003 acura 3.2 tl today and yes it has a tower brace.
go figue audi and acura engineers came to the same conclusion. the bernie brace will not stop the towers from moving.
opelman
go figue audi and acura engineers came to the same conclusion. the bernie brace will not stop the towers from moving.
opelman
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02-04-2005, 07:38 PM
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Bernie's original intention......
was to get as close to 0 camber as possible.
He indicated that any improvements were gravy since his intention was to fix the camber which could no longer be set to specifications due to some kind of creep in the chassis/suspension components.
Remember that the 200 has a rubber isolator that Bernie hoped to force outwards to eek out that last bit of camber.
He never addressed vertical suspension movement, only side to side movement.
I just ordered one set of stuff for the Bernie Brace. I figured what the heck, I can always take it off.
He indicated that any improvements were gravy since his intention was to fix the camber which could no longer be set to specifications due to some kind of creep in the chassis/suspension components.
Remember that the 200 has a rubber isolator that Bernie hoped to force outwards to eek out that last bit of camber.
He never addressed vertical suspension movement, only side to side movement.
I just ordered one set of stuff for the Bernie Brace. I figured what the heck, I can always take it off.
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