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Post by wannabe on Mar 27, 2019 9:50:32 GMT
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Post by atlex on Mar 27, 2019 10:19:58 GMT
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Post by Zed. on Mar 27, 2019 11:37:28 GMT
so, the 'reinforced' version is round holes compared to the 'lightwieght' with oval holes wonder if they are actualy made of thicker metal? the cynic in me giggles at the use of "practically" the images show the same use of 6 bolting positions on each of the rails (for both types) and these secure through thin body floor metal also, if you fit this type of reinforcement, clean the underseal off the floorpan first otherwise it is 'clamped' between to metal surfaces & will 'move' out and the bolting will become loose needing re-tightening - possibly several times untill the underseal has left the joint-face? sorta. Rich. (I've written & removed a lot of ranting as it was going a bit Off topic BUT I do wonder if this type of brace is actually needed? I think a 'door-bar' type of accident-protection might add more stiffness admittedly not 'skid' protection though but an overlaid 'rail' with holes can catch on stuff............. )
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Post by atlex on Mar 27, 2019 11:40:09 GMT
I agree, you want a flat metal surface instead of holes. no radiusing on the holes will save you^
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Post by Zed. on Mar 27, 2019 11:52:01 GMT
also, ideally the 'over-rail' should be a tight fit on the origonal but in reality this is hard to make due to production tolerences & the cars 'age' in use / change shape / damage etc. everyone wants an easy-fit solution I'm going to replace the damaged 'rails' on my car with box-section steel, it's a weld-in solution but as I do a bit with the 'hot-glue' I can manage the repair - wil be the car's first welding I believe ^^ Off-Topic again......... Rich.
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Post by wannabe on Apr 1, 2019 9:04:32 GMT
Thanks for the replies, chaps!
Seems like not many people over here have them, but I did find a US page with some glowing reviews of the butterfly brace thingy, but then I should hope it did something at over $500...
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Post by Zed. on Apr 1, 2019 15:42:25 GMT
I did find a US page with some glowing reviews of the butterfly brace thingy I find a lot of US forums can have severe brand & vendor loyalty - regardless of the pricetag sometimes the 'emperror's new clothes' come to mind anyway, did mazda fit a sorta X-brace on the later NB's? Rich.
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Post by Whistler on Apr 1, 2019 20:18:48 GMT
I had the FM rails and butterfly brace on my last 5, now being transferred to the G-Ltd. Of course it's all subjective, but the car squeaked a lot less after they were fitted. Once I got the roll bar and door bars in it felt really solid. I got mine second hand for a steal, so it was worth fitting. Did it stiffen the chassis?... I'd say yes. Would I pay the price for a brand new one?... Hell no!
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Post by wannabe on Apr 2, 2019 12:11:23 GMT
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Post by jass on Jul 29, 2019 15:30:48 GMT
so, the 'reinforced' version is round holes compared to the 'lightwieght' with oval holes wonder if they are actualy made of thicker metal? the cynic in me giggles at the use of "practically" the images show the same use of 6 bolting positions on each of the rails (for both types) and these secure through thin body floor metal also, if you fit this type of reinforcement, clean the underseal off the floorpan first otherwise it is 'clamped' between to metal surfaces & will 'move' out and the bolting will become loose needing re-tightening - possibly several times untill the underseal has left the joint-face? sorta. Rich. (I've written & removed a lot of ranting as it was going a bit Off topic BUT I do wonder if this type of brace is actually needed? I think a 'door-bar' type of accident-protection might add more stiffness admittedly not 'skid' protection though but an overlaid 'rail' with holes can catch on stuff............. )
Thicker metal does make ZERO difference. Sure I started the calculations with this, just to make myself feel stupid. What stiffens are the vertical walls. ONLY. Some put lightening holes in them - I would spare the comments.
Anyway, turned out, at the expence of 0.5kg per frame rails I could get considerable stiffening. More is not there, simply because there isnt anymore space.
The idea about the reinforced frame rails was copied wrongly (of course) by the skid nations. I had to correct their copy design twice in the Nutz forum, so they dont sell worse copies at a cheaper price to the community. That, if not the first, should be appreciation of how good the design idea was?
Anymore smart questions I will be happy to answer.
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Post by warpspeed on Jun 1, 2021 2:11:46 GMT
Has anyone actually carried out a proper chassis torsion test, I mean a REAL laboratory test with measured ft/Lb per degree torsional before and after figures ?
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Post by wannabe on Jun 1, 2021 9:37:19 GMT
I doubt it! lol FWIW V6's car was ridiculously quiet in terms of rattles after the half-cage, door bars, frame rail brace, wing braces, turret brace, strut brace and hard top - the only thing that rattled inside it was the fan mounted on the roll cage!
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Post by scottydugg on Jun 1, 2021 13:44:32 GMT
I've got frame braces and I'm not sure if they stiffened things up a noticeable amount, I did them the same time as other bracing, but they did save me from crushing my frame rails on three separate occasions this weekend past, so well worth fitting even if just for that.
I've since added doorbars, that's stopped all chassis rattling, so now I can perfectly hear the glovebox rattling and it's doing my nut in!
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