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I have a hard time believing that was a garden variety pothole that he hit. The wheel doesn't even appear to be damaged. A pothole deep enough to rip the strut tower out of the car would have destroyed a 20" wheel.
I stand corrected, I watched the video again and there is significant damage to his front wheel and what looks like curb rash on the rear wheel. However, he still could have hit a curb rather than a pothole.
Last edited by cutlass476; 04-28-2022 at 06:38 PM.
Very Cool. I was always told the straight ones never did much, that they needed to be braced against the fire wall. Thanks for double confirmation. I wonder if the cup car one would fit. Maybe just remove the wiper mount?
It has also answered another question. I am going stiffer springs “Again” and i was wondering should i also increase helper spring stiffness? This pretty much confirms.
FWIW I ran one on my 93 RX-7, but that was a much older chassis / design and cars have become a lot stiffer since then. It definitely improved how it felt to the point that my friend could tell the difference (with it installed) when he drove my car and asked what I changed.
wow..... thats serious....quality issue and safety failure. This cannot be common at all or NHTSA would force a recall.
I used to have a GT4 and read up on this pretty extensively. The GT4 forum has a whole 'database' on it but there are only 8 self-reported strut tower failure issues.
I've rarely seen anything, if at all, about this failure on the 991 forum.
I don't have the data to draw conclusions but in my experience on our lumpy backroads here in Northern Cal it was easier to bottom out a GT4 than a standard 911 on sports PASM like my T.
I'm nowhere near you guys in terms of track stuff and I don't doubt that you're pulling the kind of Gs where a strut brace could help - just commenting on the apparent failure rate GT4 vs 991.
I must admit those strut tower pics gave me the funnies in my stomach, so I installed one of these a few months ago…. might not do much, but it made me feel I tried something. 🤷🏻♂️
No, but I didn’t expect to. I’m not pushing the car at it’s limit, not a track toy. Simply did it cause of the potential benefit of distributing loads and help lower chance of ripping off a strut tower (see pics above), since I am lowered and potholes can happen. Paranoid?, maybe. It might not do much to help either, but it was not very expensive and can’t see it hurting. I’m not advocating this as a solution, have no valid data to support this. I did it just cause. 🤷🏻♂️
FWIW I ran one on my 93 RX-7, but that was a much older chassis / design and cars have become a lot stiffer since then. It definitely improved how it felt to the point that my friend could tell the difference (with it installed) when he drove my car and asked what I changed.
Bracing to the fire wall will definitely help.
I haven’t gone any further with the strut brace as yet.
i have completed the Manthey Racing spec spring rates.
I ended up with 120 fr and 170 rear and its perfect.
so much going on with the car at present. Once all the latest stuff has been fitted, I’ll resume my search for
A strut brace.
That crack is scary! I'd be concerned just driving the car on the street, and definitely wouldn't take it to the track.
With metals the cracks don't usually just stop growing. They may slow down for a bit while additional fatigue cycles accumulate and lead to more crack growth and ultimate failure.
No, but I didn’t expect to. I’m not pushing the car at it’s limit, not a track toy. Simply did it cause of the potential benefit of distributing loads and help lower chance of ripping off a strut tower (see pics above), since I am lowered and potholes can happen. Paranoid?, maybe. It might not do much to help either, but it was not very expensive and can’t see it hurting. I’m not advocating this as a solution, have no valid data to support this. I did it just cause. 🤷🏻♂️