tomcat

Carl, do the rear mounts stiffen the rear bar by pre-loading? If so, what's the difference from just adjusting the drop links?

Carl Fausett

John,

the rear sway bar mounts we sell allow you to reduce the torque-moment-arm that the moving tire and wheel assembly has on the arm of the swaybar.

this means: you get to adjust the leverage that the swayber must work through.

By giving the swaybar more leverage, it functions as if it is a larger sway bar.

This is different than adjustable drop links that have no effect on sway bar stiffness. For circle racers, they use adjustable drop links to add "stagger" to their car to make it turn left better at the loss of turning right (which they do not care about). For road racers like us, we use the adjustable drop links to remove pre-loading so there is no stagger in the bar and the vehicle is optimally nuetral-steering.

Carl Fausett

As an added benefit, they also provide excellent attachment points for tow hooks or tie down straps.

Charles Parkinson

That is real bummer. I am using the standard front undertray (some sort of fibre material) and it fits fine over the frame brace. Cheers, Charles.

Carl Fausett

My 928 International aluminum engine belly pan fits over the front lower frame brace too. I did have to cut two small crescent shaped notches in the lips on the sides (just like those already there for the sway bar), but thats all.

Ispeed

Carl: are you talking on an S4? Or a pan mounted to a 928S???
I have the International aluminum pan and notched the sides out. Still a tough fit, so I may do something more drastic to mod the pan so it fits without taking 1/2 hour and a lot of cussing...

Carl Fausett

On a 1991 928 GT

Carl Fausett

Here is all you need to do to modify the aftermarket engine belly pan to allow for the Front Lower Frame Brace.

1) Mark the edge for the relief
2) cut it out.

They belly pan has notches in the sides just like this already for the sway bar - this is the same thing, just a little further forward. Mine fits on both my '78 and the 91' without conflict.

James-man

Any other feedback on this?

It is looking pretty good to me about now.

Thank you,

Ispeed

I think it makes the steering feel better. It holds a line better at speed without as much drama.
The added protection for the alternator, compressor and pan are a good thing too.

Charles Parkinson

Smacked my GTS nose first into a wall a few weeks ago. Heavy impact on LHF which broke to top CF strut brace. Carl's lower frame brace remained dead straight and saved the sump and probably the block from being damaged. Speaking only from my own perspective (not an engineer) I think the lower frame brace helped tie the front together so that it absorbed the impact energy more effectively ie transferred less of it to me. Cheers, Charles.

Carl Fausett

At Pikes Peak, we had the FLFB mounted and covered by the alluminum engine belly pan. I cam 'round a corner and a previous competitor had left a 6 x 6" rock right on the line for me and there was nothing I could do about it.

I took it just right of center, and the rock definately was winning against the engine belly pan, as this photo shows. Up to the point where it met the Front Lower Frame Brace. It shows the FLFB supported the engine belly pan and the combined stregth of the 2 is what overcame the rock.

Definately saved a hell of a hole in my oil pan mid-race!

Although this is not what the FLFB was invented for, its a wonderful side benefit.

James-man

My alignment has as much neg camber as possible with stock a-arms. I am cording the outside edges of my tires while I still have decent tread depth in the middle and insides. If frame flexing is the primary culprit and the bar corrects enough to improve wear to a least 1/2 way more even, the bar will have paid for itself.

I hope Carl has them in stock. I want one ASAP.

Thanks.

mark kibort

I have stock everything up front and i see no unusual tire wear. scot doesnt either and he is all stock as well. we cord the tires on the inside edge unless we visit a track like Sears with a high speed carocell, and we have sligthly more outside edge tire wear, but its not much. mostly due to understeering.

the frame doesnt flex. all you need to do to prove this is to grab the outer part of the wheel and tires with a tie down and start to bind them down. the most force the tire will ever see on a street car is about 1 G, so there could be 1500lbs of force on that tire. take a look at all the components here. the LAST thing in the world that is going to flex is that part of the chassis. You can see by my wheel cam that there is little flexing going on by the tire as it loads and grips the road. However, it does provide some great protection for the underbelly from what i see.

mk

drnick

mark, if the frame dosent flex - why did the factory add the brace to the top of the engine bay?? seems the engineers thought it flexed, take a look at the factory stock brace - its bent from flexing. i know this is at the top of the frame but for every action there is an equal and opposite one - if the top is going in then the bottom is twisting out etc.