How are you going to grab that bar, twist it so it will "impale" the cabin, and still have engouh time/distance to force it up into the cabin (obviously just impacting the floorboard is inconsequential)? Think about that for a second.

I won't say it's not possible. But the circumstances needed are astromonically improbable. If you're that unlucky, you're screwed anyway.

I still like the idea of using a brace material like aluminum because it's probably weaker than the bolts, and obviously weaker than the subframe. It just needs to be soft enough to be the weak point, and strong enough to actually function.

C.T.S wrote:...If you're that unlucky, you're screwed anyway.

LOL. Agreed.

EdgeZ24 wrote:I dunno about the idea of a round bar ..a.k.a tube type brace. Sure cylinders are one of the strongest shapes, a lot of force can be applied to the ends of a cylinder. But any force to the sides will make it cave in.

I can't speak for the others who suggested the round stock, but I was talking about thinner, solid round stock, not hollow. I was suggesting this because the lower profile would decrease the chances of something coming into contact with it.

Aluminum bends too easily to function as a good brace. I used a Control FX brace(which is made out of steel) for awhile and I have hit a few nasty things and never bent anything. You would pretty much need to hit a tree stump with a steel brace in order to do some damage.

Also, if you use aluminum and it gives away, there is a possiblity it could poke a hole in your transmission pan.

As far as the steel channel goes, its ugly but I think it will work fine.

strat81 wrote:just a thought... if you hit something with the lower grade bolts and they snap off, wouldn't that allow the bar to drop and possibly bounce back up and impale the floorboard?

i could be wrong but i don't think that a quick fix for a problem is the best solution.

I know what your talking about. Kinda like a drive shaft. If the universal breaks, and your drive shaft dropped to the ground, While in motion, it could suddenly grap the ground, say like a pothole and either flip you, or impale upwards through the body of your vehicle.

Well to answer you why that wont happen is simple. I have 2 bolts on each side, that keeps it in place even in one direction. If i happen to break 1 side of the hardware, it will only hang down about 3mm. Thats how tight i have the fitting. If i lose both sets of hardware, and the bar were to drop, then it can do a bit of damage. Most likely either blowing out a tire or two, or slaming into the vehicle behind me.

Oh btw, for the record. I will never lower my car, so a 1" obstruction under the car is minimal chance of hitting something. My muffler at its lowest point is a tad lower then the subframe brace.

Hello,

just my input...Zach is on the right track with the being to weak to be a good brace without flexing. The ideal case which is what I'm working the calculations out on would be a brace that will survive being sheared off when hit and making the bolts the weak point. Use something like grade 5 bolts and take the cross-sectional area down in the critical area forward and backward but leave all the are side-to-side. You can do this easilly in a mill. This will allow the bar to be very secure for side to side strength but very very weak to front and rear impact. This way when you do drop the bar in a bid frign pot-hole you just pull over and pick that @!#$ up...get more bolts and bolt it back up without f'ing up your arms or your brace. :-)

Cant wait to see what ya get.

I will tell you guys. I have Tried MANY different designs.

The aluminum is by far the best job to cover all of the areas you guys talked about.

1. Its Strong
2. It doesn't rust
3. Affordable
4. Its forgiving.

I did come up with a SUPER SUB FRAME BRACE for those who are seriously into Auto X.
But I figured no one would pay the Extra money.

I will,
What does it look like?
Do you have a brace completed?
How much for it?

I think SpeedracerZ is too backed up with things to finish up with his updated design.

So how about it?


-M


Remember....syringes go in the RED waste basket.

A "super sub frame brace" will not improve anyone's track times. Don't waste your money Mastin(especially on aluminum).

Inst the super just a Kbar?

Quote:

Don't waste your money Mastin(especially on aluminum).

But that's kinda what I'm getting at.
I'm willing to shell out the funds...to a point.
Crap product or not, it would be nice to have/see something other than a straight bar.

The one place locally I can go to I can't afford to have my car sitting overnight or whatever.

Money usually talks, but guess not talking loud enough.

-M






Remember....syringes go in the RED waste basket.

hey i think i read this post too late, i can´t see the pics :p so if anyone can post them again, it would be great.

thanks.

Ha Ha Ha, it is good to see someone actually doing their research!! Topic is a year and 2 months old!!