Experience with Front Fender Brace?

[JagoBlitz]

Hello,

I am currently restoring a 1977 280Z and I am thinking about reinforcing the car.

Does anybody have experience with the Front Fender Braces from Apexengineered (https://www.apexengineered.com/store/p67/Front__Fender_Brace.html)? 

Or are there any other braces that are more beneficial than the ones for the fenders?

JagoBlitz

[cgsheen1]

I'm laughing at reading their description "to add rigidity and strength to the front fenders" as it welds to the chassis and has absolutely nothing to do with the fenders themselves. It definitely is a chassis brace.

I would look at what the others have done to strengthen the chassis to prep for racing their Z (even if you're not - racing). But honestly, I think the greatest strength of a Z Car would be the ability to avoid being in a collision.

[zKars]

Extensive roll bar additions throughout do all the strengthening needed in a race car. I would add strut tower/firewall bracing to an auto-cross or weekend racer first before these chassis bars. 

None of the above are necessary or will provide any noticeable difference to a street driven car. Spend your money on stickier tires.

Edited August 4, 2022 by zKars

[JagoBlitz]

Originally, I was planning to install strut bars front and rear, but a friend of mine uses a similar setup and still complains about lack of body rigidity.
I try to find out if this is an obersavtion of a single person or a sympton of a single car or if there is general and significant room for improvement.

[rturbo 930]

Simple front and rear strut bars are not going to turn the flexible Z chassis into a stiff car. I would suggest you log onto HybridZ and search for what people have done with chassis reinforcement, and what is suitable for a street car, as that subject has been covered many times there with lots of discussion. How do you intend to use the car and what do you expect from it? You're in Germany so I would think the car will have to stay fairly stock. 

Here is the late John Coffey's list of reinforcements for a street car:

1. Seam Weld (every sheet metal seam overlap.)
2. Bad Dog Subframe Connectors
3. Weld-In Roll Bar.
4. Welded In Rear STB.
5. Triangulated Front STB.
6. Radiator Core Support Reinforcement.
7. Transverse Link Bracing Reinforcement.
8. RT Diff Mount.
9. Tubular Seat Mounts.
10. Box Upper Frame Horns to Firewall/Cowl.
11. Reinforce Pedal Box/Brake MC Mount.
12. Reinforce Front ARB Mount.
13. Reinforce Front Strut Tower to Frame Rail Junction.

Doing all of that would be a lot of effort, I'd probably look into numbers 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, and 12. The reinforcements you posted would serve the purpose of number 10.