i'm pulling my engine soon to do some modifying to the bay and repaint. i've been considering a brace for quite some time now. would i be better to get one and set it up before painting or would it really matter? what would you guys do and does anyone make a polished brace?

also, a 2 point should be good right or is a 3 point really worth it?

 

7 people looked and no one has a suggestion.

alrighty then.......figured i'd ask for opinions, guess i'll go with my gut.

 

I have the 2 point Hotchkis one.

 

I think a 2pt would work fine. I would install one though BEFORE you pull your motor and paint the engine bay. just my 2cents though

Josh

 

I also have the Hotchkis bar and am very happy with it.

 

I think Jamex carries a polished bar... not positive though.

 

Another shot...

 

thanks guys.........i see different designs all the time but it seems like the hotchkins is the most popular any reason to this?

 

In my opinon, Hotchkis is the most popular, because it is by far the most advertised... Quaility is very good with it too.

 

thanks........

 

Its also easy to remove & reinstall when necessary. My opinion of the Jamex STB is it a piece of junk.

 

this is my brothers BMR stb that he got fir his 91 z28

 

The BMR STB looks good except the third point is not helping much being tied in the thin sheet metal by the cowl. Just my opinion.

 

that one just doesn't look as nice in my opinion though....

i think i'm going to just custom make one; anyone ever done this?

 

From strictly a strength standpoint, tying it into the cowl like that doesn't seem like it would help much, but I would think that it would help out with cowl rattle.

 

cowl rattle??

yeah i think if i were to go with a 3 point i would only do so if it were possible to mount to the firewall, just leaning on that sheetmetal causes it to flex..........i really don't see what it's purpose is?

 

I like my BMR, looks better than the others IMO.

 

yeah the black is a little nicer, but i still don't like the mounting point....i mean if you were to step on that part with a little force it would bend....how could it not flex under the amount of stress that a heavy car can see?

 

I'd say for normal daily driving (or even spirited driving on the street) the 2 point is a great choice. People who push the car to its limits on a road track can justify the cost of a 3 point. Both would look good. I think a polished one would look the best. Or maybe a combination of polishing the actual bar but painting the mounting points to match your color scheme. Thats what I plan to do to my 91z after I get the Evo II kit next year (will be repainting the engine bay and stuff).

 

tell ya what, if i go and stand on mine near the back of those rods, and it dont bend, will you believe its structurally strong enough ?

 

hey now don't get all defensive........i mean look at the point of origin. how can that be stronger than say a firewall mount?

i just don't see the reasoning behind it. i guess my point is there is no way (to me anyway) that i can justify bracing something from that point. obviously it must work or people wouldn't buy them i suppose. just from a standpoint it doesn't look strong enough.

i would like to see you jump on it though........might be fun.

 

I think with what you've done with the motor, the STB should look as stock as possible. It would look great if it was painted body color but that might be a little too much $$.
The BMR bar is nice but I don't like the mounting at the strut towers, looks like removal would be a PITA and trust me, you'll remove the bar if you like to work on your car.
The lip on the firewall is plenty strong for it's purpose. Since it is so close to the firewall there isn't much structural issues unless you plan on standing on the STB! The 2 bar keeps the strut towers equal distant and when you turn hard the inside tower will help keep the outsided loaded tower from flexing too much out of position. The 3rd point is ment to supress movement in the forward-back direction, not torque. If it was trying to supress the torque it would definatly have been best to mount directly to the firewall. I guess a good example of this is when you go hard into the brakes the torque arm and brakes will pull down in the middle of the car, this little extra piece will keep the towers and front end from buckling in towards the firewall. I guess you can call it a truss and that probable also explains why it's a triangle and not some other shape.
I love my 3 point edelbrock brace but I've also got TBI, doesn't fit with TPI.
I'd get the Hotchkis brace if you're going for looks and function would be the BMR or other 3 point brace. If you're going to make your own you might as well make it a 3 point.

 

Haha, go look at the actual metal there, and that spot is actually two walls of steel, the base of it being the top edge of the actual firewall it goes all the way up, me jumping on it, or standing on it isnt going to hurt anything im 135 Lbs

 

no i suppose your right.........

 

I have the polished jamex brace on mine and I love it. Not as effective or as expensive as the 3 point but I am happy with the results.

 

Anyone care to chime in on the Kenny Brown STB? I'm more about function than appearance. The KB brace looks very minimalist from a styling standpoint, but looks very solid structurally.

czech it out...

http://www.kennybrown.com/images/jpegs/briceshood1.jpg

http://www.kennybrown.com/fbodystrut.html

 

do they have any better pictures??

i love all my kenny brown peices, i would think the stb is just as nice.

i have yet to find anything i like, i think i'm just going to make one...probably going to go with chormolly (forgot how to spell it).

i'll post some pics when i'm done! thanks for all the suggestions guys!

 

From looking at the pictures, first of all I like the looks of the Hotchkis the best. Second, I like the fact that it is a two point, so that means less stuff to work around as opposed to a three point. Also, if someone could help me out here, it looks to me that the Hotchkis can easily be removed at the two joint if you really want to get your hands dirty working on the engine....am I right here? With the others, it looks to me that you're kinda screwed when it comes to temporarily taking the thing out. -89IRO

 

I have a Jamex one. You can't get them anymore though. They are polished. The picture I'm attaching is not my car, but the brace is the same. I just don't have a pic of my engine with the brace on it yet.



more pics are here: http://sethirdgen.org/stb.htm

-Jesse

 

You are right about the ease of removing the Hothkis STB when you need more room to work. Just 2 bolts as in the picture (one
on each side) .

 

DJ- cool, I think I am going to get the Hotchkis then. One more question though, does this Hotchkis kit come with like full instructions and like some kind of template to show where to drill the wholes and everything? Also, how many bolts hod the thing down on each side- I can't really tell from your pics? Does puting the aluminum piece under each side make it stronger, or is that strictly there to help clear the TPI? Jees, I hope I don't have any hood clearance problems with this thing! I'll probably be scared to close the hood for the first time after I install it! -89IRO

 

Oh DJ, one more thing, your engine compartment looks great, with the STB and all, but just get rid of the blue radiator hose! LOL. -89IRO

 

89IRO
Answer to your questions:
1) Insructions as good as any other for 3rd Gen cars. (brief)
2) Two bolts per side for mounting.
3) Aluminum shims were installed to clear the top of TPI (note! you may not need them).
4) The top of STB will indent into the Hood Insulation. No problems with Hood closure.

Thanks for the compliment on the Engine compartment. The blues
hoses match the blue plug wires and it grows on you after a while.

 

Alright thanks for the help, still wondering how those mounting points on the strut towers is strong enough though. I mean I was looking at it today, and it is pretty thin metal. Oh well, thanks! -89IRO

 

The part where the brace attaches to in the rear in F****ng stronger than you think. It took forever to drill thru it.
I bet you anything that it does not flex like you guys think. Where it mounts is not going to be flexed up and down anyway...just like the brace thats on the passenger side from the factory..... That is just my opinion.
Where you drill thru the strut towers is strong too. I like mine and it was cheaper than the others and can be had in a number of colors.

 

So the strut tower metal is plenty strong right? Because just from the looks of that thin metal doesn't look like it's gonna cut it, but I'm probably wrong. -89IRO

 

what thin metal? what are youy talking about?

 

what thin metal? what are youy talking about?



I'm probably wrong about it being too thin, but I'm talking about the mounting points on each side of the STB where the brackets get mounted to the strut towers. The metal just looks too thin and weak there to support this. -89IRO

 

wait till yo go and drill thru it. or better yet go out there and tap on it with a hammer and tell me if it sound thin....The shocks are attached there it cant be thin.

 

I like the Edelbrock brace for TPI cars the best. It seems to have the best form and function IMO.

Alot of the racers in the NASA Camaro vs Mustang challenge use the Edelbrock so it must work.

Sorry about the pic its the only one I could find. Not my car BTW. Mine is in peices for some upgrades so I dont have any pics of mine yet.

 

Think about this , how wel is a stb going to work if it has hinges? I would look for a bar that is solidly mounted. If you just want it for looks than go either way , but for a performance stand point , i would say you would have better luck with a bar like the bmr or like wise .

 

Yeah, wishmaster, you're right, I took a closer look at the strut towers today and I see what you're saying. As for the stb, as long as there is no slack or slop in the joints (hinges), then it should be just as good as a solid piece. Plus, I need something that can easily be removed. -89IRO

 

One problem, how do you remove it to work on the engine????

 

But no matter how tight the joint is , it still is a pivot point . For as much money as they why not get the most out of it.

 

As DJ said obove, you just remove it at the joints. -89IRO

 

I can't reply on how well the Kenny Brown STB works since I've had it for over 2 years and haven't installed it yet (car's still apart) but examining the quality it looks top of the line for sure. If anyone needs a good picture of the brace please email me drabicki2@attbi.com and I'll snap a few pics for ya.

- Joel

 

i have always like the KB brace the most of all the TPI braces. is it one peice welded right? not bolted together like the edlebrock or BMR

 

KB brace is one solid piece , but i had problems with mine . It didn't sit right . I was hitting the brake master it was about 1/4 away from the firewall . And hitting the plenum . I brought it back , and went to a fabricator . And had a custom one made , then sent it to be powdercoated .

 

The 2 point BMR is one solid piece and so is the 3 point except for the points that go to the firewall.

 

Hotchkis for me!