Alan

Tom - I guess I'm not getting how its not tied to the shock towers... not directly maybe - but its pretty close and thats where the forces emanate from...? As to the compression vs tension - I bow to other knowledge of what happens re-supension up/down forces vs cornering forces.

Anyway I did drive the car this afternoon - plenty hot to start @ 110F ambient - drove for 30 minutes - car sat for about 20 minutes in full sun - then 20 minutes more driving - everything was very hot - strut way too hot to touch - does not move one bit for all the force I can put on it... actual Temp. unknown - but it doesn't get much hotter than this... I'd guess at around 200F - just a guess. SFSG.

Alan

Tom. M

If you look at a 928 shell (H's 89 might be a good example heee heee heee) with no motor you'll see the tub where the engine sits...I am guessing that structurally direct flex on the body is directed to the shock towers and this is where you want to tie the two together to prevent them from bowing in. I am sure the current mount points get some of this too..but its further away from the direct stress point and the mount points are structurally not very strong... I would gather the 928 "strut" bar is more of a "keep the fenders in place" kinda thing..

my main point was that even if the bar experiences some pulling apart...( I suppose if you go airborne..) there would be some separation potential..but if it's less than 2" ..then no big deal.

Later,
Tom

F451

Tom, that was my exact uneducated impression the first time I took a close look at the "strut brace" closely.

I was like "what?!", its not attached to the strut tower mounts?"

It should be re-labeled the "fender brace".

Jim bailey - 928 International

Actually the 928 has no struts ! therefore no strut brace...

Dan87951

Who ever said they could bend this bar must be the hulk! I just got my strut brace today and its a nice piece for the price. Noway in h*ll can I bend it. Nice quality and very stiff. Looks great on my 88 S4.

Tom. M

haha..I guess you haven't seen a pic of Abby..(FYI..I have never met him personally..just seen pics)...I think Abby could bend any brace just by sheer intimidation..haha...

Later,
Tom
89GT

F451

LOL! Good point Jim.

Alan

A few pics .. including of the added bushing (not included...)

ew928

That fender brace looks real substantial and nice.
So what's a good source for stainless bolts to complement the brace.

Is there a coating over the CF tube or is it raw CF?

Alan

OK so revisiting this one. Its still looking good after some good heat soak testing in Phoenix for the last 6+ weeks.

I removed the brace after a week and again today - and the ends are still quite solid.

I did also update the attachment bolts today - as previously noted they needed work to match.

Could not see any particular reason they were cheese head allens - it seemed to me that straight SS bolts & SS washers would be better (more surface area) - so that's what I now have...

Ernest - you can source these bolts/washers at most decent hardware stores (Ace etc). The CF is completely high polish smooth - seems like a coating of somekind. It has not deteriorated at all in gloss finish...

Alan