Sway bar bracing

[Riceburner]

I have just fitted a 24mm front sway bar, should I be bracing the front chassis rails under the captive nuts?

 

Edit: I've read with the larger bars there is a risk of tearing the captive nuts and some sheet metal from the underside of the chassis rail, 24mm isn't huge but I thinks it's getting on the bigger end of the scale.

 

Cheers, Gareth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[d3c0y]

Something like this:

 

 

http://www.zccjdm.com/catalog.php/azcarbum/dt93862/pd2118872/SWAY_BAR_BRACE_PLATES__FRONT__

[Agno]

$28 for something that can be knocked up in less than 5 minutes? I'm in the wrong industry!

[dat2kman]

Time, labour, sourcing material, jig for holes,

 

Howabout them Doctor types, 15 min consultation, $140, or them lawyer blokes, up to 600 an hour.

Fancy mechanics are up to $100 an hour.

Crazy stuff

 

And we wonder why the joint is going to the dogs.

fwiw, the grassroots on the street economy in the USA is doing very well, a jolly damn sight better than us here,

Hard to believe it, fuel, food, shopping, labour, all very much lower cost!

It's just their Gumbymint is buggerizing it up for them

 

[Riceburner]

Something like this:

 

 

http://www.zccjdm.com/catalog.php/azcarbum/dt93862/pd2118872/SWAY_BAR_BRACE_PLATES__FRONT__

 

Saw those ones but I can't understand how a bit of right angle welded to the underside of the rails would stop the inner fender from cracking away from the top of the chassis rail? Is the issue that the stock rail flexes at the sway bar mounts?

 

Quote from ZCC "When using a larger front sway bar, it’s likely you can see cracks between the inner fender and frame rail. This is from the additional stress put on the frame rails. To correct this problem, weld in our brace plates, and reinforce that area"

 

I measured the old bar and it was only 22m Vs. new bar at 24mm, no signs of any cracks or stress yet with the standard rails. I guess I'm wondering if it's worthwhile or not. Perhaps It's more for the huge bars like 28mm?

 

$28 for something that can be knocked up in less than 5 minutes? I'm in the wrong industry!

 

+ post too, I'll be making my own if I go with this setup.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dat2kman]

Ideally, some seam welding, when chassis/frame is being prepped, is all that is needed.

It is rare, even in the rigours of dirt rallying, that the captive nuts will pull out, the above bracket wont stop that.

24 mm bar wont be an issue.

 

But yes, that big open rectangular box f an engine bay does flex, twist and warp a bit, a bit of decent seam/stitch welding makes a huge difference to overall stiffness.

[Riceburner]

Thanks Jason

[d3c0y]

I think the braces are aimed at stopping that specific area from flexing as much, which will probably prevent the problem. It's probably along the same lines as upgrading the chassis rails. You don't have to do it, but its better if you do.

 

 

 

 

They do look super easy to make and if i was in the US $28 would seem reasonable for not having to go to any effort to make them in my opinion. The postage definitely makes it less of a bargain.

[Riceburner]

I'll keep a close eye on the areas and see if anything changes. It's not like I get it far from the garage atm anyway 

[dat2kman]

One thing to consider, localised welding of a bracket, such as this, can fail at the welds, if undue forces are applied over time, how lng? Who knows, but the propensity for breakdown of metal compisition immediately next to weld site is high.

Small , say 5mm long with 10-15 mm gaps f no weld, all along this brackets edges would be preferable,,,,

But,,

The area/seams/body joints/stock spot welds surrounding will still be "stressed", again, it is an  " over a period f time " thing.

The stresses have to be pretty high for them to show, case in point, the crack that can appear in the C pillar of a Z, this is just a body seam, welded, filled and painted at factory when new.

In a dirt car use, a lot more cracks appear, and simply welding them, causes the metal on either side to fatigue, often quite quickly..

 

If there is a bit of "opening up" of seams in the front lower rails area, a few bits of weld, the addition of a bit of angle ( this bracket) held on by more short runs, will go a long way to helping.

Just dont weld it fully around the whole edge!