Shock Tower Brace

[gnosez]

The original windshield would have been made differently that a replacement you'd get today. the glass today is softer to allow for more flex, not because a Z needs it but because really large windscreens do on SUVs, etc.

That softness has a negative effect since the elements and sand can easily pit and mark a windshield in just a few months.

[TomoHawk]

Are you sure that's adhesive and not lubricant?    They use the rubber seal to attach it.

[the_tool_man]

On ‎2‎/‎26‎/‎2015 at 6:17 PM, John Coffey said:

The second biggest bang for the buck is full length, welded subframe connectors that go from the TC rod mounts to the rear subframe combined with triangulated front strut tower bracing.

I have no experience with the Z chassis (yet).  But I can vouch for this reasoning on other cars.  I put welded-in subframe connectors on my Mustang, along with a triangulated front strut tower brace.  The STB tied into the firewall across its middle third, similar to the one pictured by grannyknot.  It made a very big difference in the consistency of the car in rapid transitions.  It made a noticeable difference even in normal driving over uneven pavement.  To be fair, that car never truly felt planted until I redid the whole rear suspension (torque arm and panhard bar).  But the SFC alone improved the stiffness enough that I could jack up one corner of the car and lift both wheels off the ground for rotating the tires.

Does anyone make a subframe connector for these cars?  There were a variety of kits for Mustangs, ranging from small rectangular tubing to add to the factory bracing, all the way to 2in x 3in tubing that had to be sectioned into the floorpan.  My floors are in good shape.  So I don't think I'd ever consider cutting them.  But if an add-on SFC exists, I'll definitely put them on my list.  BTW, don't forget that one of the largest masses in the car is the driver.  Any good SFC will provide bracing for the seat mounting points, as well.

[John Coffey]

Bad Dog Parts makes weld in subframes.  Regarding the Fox body Mustang, I built an NASA AIX 1991 hatchback for a customer in Seattle.  You basically have to replace the rear suspension and the front K member and suspension to make those cars handle.  A lot of work.

[the_tool_man]

13 minutes ago, John Coffey said:

Regarding the Fox body Mustang, I built an NASA AIX 1991 hatchback for a customer in Seattle.  You basically have to replace the rear suspension and the front K member and suspension to make those cars handle.  A lot of work.

Yup.  But when you do, they handle pretty well.  Mine was a SN-95 chassis ('98 Cobra), but pretty much the same story.  By that measure, I should be ahead with the Z, lol.  Thanks for the source.

[Zed Head]

24 minutes ago, John Coffey said:

Bad Dog Parts makes weld in subframes. 

Does he still?  He only shows replacement rails on his web site.

http://baddogparts.com/

http://baddogparts.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2_5

[the_tool_man]

FWIW, it looks like even his replacement rails are thicker, and fit over the existing ones.  That would stiffen things up over stock.

[Zed Head]

On 2/26/2015 at 3:17 PM, John Coffey said:

 

Sorry, can't get rid of this box, even after starting over.  Once you put something in a Reply box it seems to be "cookied" forever.

 

Anyway, the Bad Dog rails don't connect the sub-frames, which is what the goal was I thought.  Just looking for the connectors connection.

 

[the_tool_man]

True.  But stiffer rails help to some degree.  We're getting into details here.  And I didn't attempt any rigorous analysis.  But for my Mustang, the SFCs probably only provided half their stiffness contribution due to stiffening the subframe attachment area.  The rest was due to adding more cross section to the floor.  Since I haven't studied the Z yet, and I haven't seen pics of Z SFCs, I may be completely wrong.  But even stiffening the floorpan has got to help.

As far as removing the quote box, I've found a workaround.  If you click the "Source" box above and to the left of the reply box, you can manually delete everything, including the HTML code for the quote box.  Then click again to restore the normal view and proceed as if nothing ever happened.

Edited March 24, 2016 by the_tool_man

[the_tool_man]

Since I helped pull this thread off topic, I'll try to help bring it back.

Grannyknot, have you considered whether or not you really need the near vertical tube on the passenger side connecting the two attachment points?  It would seem to be redundant since it's parallel to the passenger side strut tower.  Though as someone pointed out, you could mount a fire extinguisher to it.  Still, even in that case, it could be a piece of flat bar instead of tubing, and be a little lighter maybe (depending upon your tubing wall thickness).

Edited March 24, 2016 by the_tool_man

[Zed Head]

On 2/26/2015 at 3:17 PM, John Coffey said:

The second biggest bang for the buck is full length, welded subframe connectors that go from the TC rod mounts to the rear subframe combined with triangulated front strut tower bracing.  

I'm just pointing out that Bad Dog does not appear to provide the solution that John Coffey, professional race car builder, suggested was the second best bang-for-the-buck.  That's all, not even debating whether it's truly worth doing or not, just saying that there's no sub-frame connector offered by Bad Dog.  I seem to recall seeing the actual connectors on Bad Dog's site in the past, but maybe he doesn't make them anymore.

gnosez (Gino says?) is Bad Dog.  I'll send him a message and maybe he'll get in here.  He already replied on the windshield question.

Edit - Sent him a message, let's see what happens.

Edited March 24, 2016 by Zed Head

[the_tool_man]

Good point.  My ADD got the better of me.