kevin12973

Good day Gents, I have an early '85 NA and it is an exclusively track (DE) car. So after 2 years of DE, I will take the advice of my instructors and install a strut tower brace. I don't need bling or fancy expensive name brand to feel good, just something that works. I could make something like Van has on his cars but if I could find one for a couple hundred bucks, I would buy it, that is if it's not a POS.
I found one from Racing Dynamics for $265 plus s+h. Anything cheaper out there that is a functional unit? Thanks, Kevin.

pkt1213

These guys are local to me. One of them put my 944 back together.
http://www.klaindustries.net/944strut/944strut.htm

kevin12973

Thanks for the reply, thats a great price! I am concerned about the use of hiem joints on their piece. I have been told that hiem joins allow movement so the effectiveness is very diminished. I dont know how true that is so thats why I'm posting the question.

mj951

I have a Racing Dynamics on my car and while it can be a bit of a pain if I have to take it off to do major work in the engine bay, I like it and it makes a noticeable difference in the cars handling.

The KLA brace would be easier to remove when necessary because the bar is bolted on both ends. While good for removal a pinned connection on both ends also reduces the effectiveness of the brace by allowing both ends to pivot.

The Racing Dynamics bar is fixed to the mounting plate on one side offering more rigidity and I've found I rarely need to remove it. There have been some threads and discussion regarding these in the past.

I went with a Racing Dynamics bar and don't regret it, good luck.

V2Rocket

I'll be making one of my own later this year, which isn't much help to you, but I plan on double-bolting on each side so no pivoting can happen.

HICKS

The KLA is nice, I live mine, but you should also look into a lower chassis brace. RSBarn.com

HICKS

Love*

kevin12973

Thanks for reminding me about the lower brace Hicks. A while back I came across some good posts about it and thought the brace made sense to get.

KevinGross

Some years ago, Jon Milledge (http://jonmilledgeengineering.com/) did some measurement and math on this and determined that a strut brace was no benefit on 944 series cars. I took his advice, deleted the one I was using on my 944S, have not missed it.

Kevin
Catellus Engineering

T&T Racing

I agree. I have a Greg Fordahl prepared 944 Cup race car, no strut brace. Just adds weight. Ten pounds is 1 horsepower less from the engine. Greg is the race engineer for Alex Job Racing.

There is data that shows a autocross car with and without the strut brace had no time advantage.

Ask the instructor why your car needs one?

Save your money for other suspension upgrades or professional coaching.

kevin12973

Wow guys!! Thanks for the info.. I guess its a placebo effect then. I swear my truck runs better after I wash it too. Yea my $ just went to 3 instructed DE events totaling $900 +. I'm sure there are die hard supporters of the brace but I will save my money for now. Thanks again, Kevin

Oddjob

I do agree that its healthy to be skeptical of the "need" for many of the upgrades and aftermarket parts available, including factory parts. And I certainly doubted the benefit of a shock tower brace.

But I was surprised how much the 944 shock towers move just w/ the car's own weight. So they do move with corner loading. Likely the reason that the factory did utilize strut tower bracing on their motorsport cars, to include pushing the roll cage tubing out thru the firewall to tie in the shock towers on the 968 Turbo RS's.

To determine how much flex there is in the shock towers, you may want to try this for yourself. With the car sitting level on the ground, mark and measure between two known points on the shock towers. Then lift the car off the ground and recheck the measurement.

For track use - we are concerned w/ 10th's of degree w/ camber alignment, and 1/64ths of inch for toe settings, so significant body flex will create changes in dynamic alignment when the car is loaded. Is it enough to be concerned about? Is it enough that the average amateur driver can notice the difference during a club track event? Is it more than can be accounted for w/ the static alignment settings? Maybe not or even probably not. It ends up a subjective judgement call on how useful stiffening the front structure of the car is.

For certain, I absolutely agree that there are significantly more important things to upgrade on a track car (suspension, brakes, and especially safety-wise), before anyone should consider adding a strut brace.

Van

I agree with Jim... and I can tell you that the top of my shock towers deflect almost 1/8" just from picking the car off the ground with a lift. So, do I believe those towers deflect on cornering? You bet.

Remember, we replace rubber bushings with mono-***** to try and eliminate small amounts of flex at the bushings. Shouldn't we try to eliminate as much chassis flex as possible?

One added benefit of the KLA strut brace - due to its turn-buckle style, you can actually pull the tops of the shock towers a little closer together and get a little more static negative camber than you can otherwise get from just the strut eccentrics. (Which could be a benefit if you're not running camber plates.)

f1rocks

When you do decide to get one, the KLA brace will be all you need.

kevin12973

Thanks for the insight guys.