Coil/Shock Tower Braces

[MrShoeBoy]

Would the Cherokee's unibody benifet from one? I am talking about connecting the passenger side to driver side where the coil and shock mount on on the inner fenders. I know that import cars and other preformance cars benifet from them, so what about us?

Make sence or have I been hanging around the ricer crowd too much?:rolleyes:

AARON

[Faux4X4]

Yes anything to stiffen up the unibody is good, the brake booster gets in the way some, but you can get around it with some work.

[CW]

I agree, anything you can do to add stiffness to the chassie. A set of stiffeners that tie the front and rear suspensions together is even better.

[jack SF]

i have been thinking about a brace like that for a few months now. i want to do something like the mustangs in late 60s.
from shock to shock and than also to the fire wall.

maybe all the experts here can say if they think that it would be helpful. i think that with the shock brace and than a brace under the engine, it would really stiffen up the front. driving the xj on a bumpy street doing a turn i feel like i am driving a convertible. some one should make them for sale. i am surprised that there is no braces of any kind available for the xj. jack

[MrShoeBoy]

Ok it sounds like there is some intrest in this type of thing. So who wants to start building and selling?:D

Any more opinions?

AARON

[REDXJ4FUN]

This sounds like something XJguy could do. If not I can start producing them in about 3 months.Also the chassis stiffener from T&J performance would help alot.
WWW.TANDJPERFORMANCE.COM

[jack SF]

the braces from TandJ are more for stifening the the complete chasis. i dont think that it would add any strength to the front shock area. even a complete cage would leave the front as is with out any reinforcement. i feel that at hight speed and especially on a bumpy road or freeway, that the front end is just flexing a lot. and you can feel that thru the front end and steering wheel (not DW).

i hope XJguy just finishes the cage, i would not want to distract him with another project. i am kind of talking to a local guy that makes stuff for XJs. if there is a lot of interest than that might speed things up. jack

[REDXJ4FUN]

You would still feel a diffrence with the t and j set up. I haven't knowticed much flex in the front but then again my front bumper is pretty good at keeping everything tight up front. But for the street crowd a 100lb winch bumper isn't the greatest idea. right now i don't have a whole lot time to build anything right now but if you used some tubing and just tied in a few areas up front it would help alot.

[MrShoeBoy]

The T&J stiffys wouldnt work for me. I have custom long arms and cut off the stock LCA mounts. Also I have rock rails which mount in 3 places along the "frame rail" so again the T&J stiffys wouldnt work for me. Its a good idea though.

I am perfectly capable of fabing up a front bar for myself, its just that I am really lazy:D

Thanks for the replies,

AARON

[mark91xjbeef]

track bar brace helps alot and i made a pair of frame stiffeners.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid66/p14d501cd4a309939dfa24f6b472db6ed/fbe0a0ba.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid67/pd942aae155363608f2e21abf4f4d10fa/fbc67ec9.jpg
www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid67/p3052e70613eb481460e9e254a9fa535e/fbc67dcf.jpg

[XJguy]

Ive thought about doing this for a long time. I also subscribe to the idea that more stiffness is better, if for nothing else to reduce the metal fatigue of the uniframe thus prolonging the life of your XJ under even normal street use. However, being that our vehicles do not have IFS, the front axle housing itself keeps the front wheels functioning properly in relation to one another; as far as keeping one side of the suspension behaving in a calculated manner in relation to the other. It will require relocation and or removal of many things to get that tubing across, at least in my 92 4.0 this is the case, other years or engines may vary. I do not think I have ever seen those bars ever installed in a non competition vehicle that solid axles.

Tieing the whole thing to a roll cage would be ideal, but it would require a significant amount of hacking, in other words its reserved for trail rigs or race vehicles IMHO.

XJguy

[lucky14]

Holy Old thread batman... let me bump this up.

I was just thinking about doing the same thing.. like a fox body mustang type brace or a simple hoop.

Anyone ever do it?

[REDXJ4FUN]

wow.. very old thread.. haven't realy thought much about that part of bettering the handling in a while. but a brace like in the picture has worked wonders on my dodge ram.. i ties in both frame rails and the steering box. http://www.solidsteel.biz/images/img002.jpg

[o-gauge-steamer]

The existing chassis stiffeners will not do much to increase torsional stiffness as they run parallel to the frame and not perpendicular to it. One of the reasons I selected the DirtBound rear bumper is that it goes into the uniframe adding some torsional support for the rear as well as just plain making the tow points near bullet proof. It would be a real challenge to tie the front end together due to the suspension mounts. Mustangs, etall, can do it as the shock mounting towers are high up in the bay making a cross over brace along with ties to the firewall practical.

In order to stiffen the frame it would need to be triangulated at the header panel then tied to the firewall. Don't know about your rigs, but I do not have the room under the hood. I run the RE Track Bar Brace and it helps. A cage would help, anything would help the Flexi-Flier. I'm thinking the H.D. Offroad Engineering Roof Rails would help. They are on my to-do list. They will help the cab but that still leaves the front end flexing. Anyone seen the thread on the cracks at the cowl one of the members has found? Front end flexing... All unibodys flex. It is the nature of the beast when you stop one place from flexing the stress is transferred to the next weakest link.

This is what we get when we drive a vehicle originally designed around a 4 banger. No room. Wranglers were designed with V8s in the mix so they get better options. OK, they get a real frame too, don't be so picky.

[lazyxj]

wow.. very old thread.. haven't really thought much about that part of bettering the handling in a while. but a brace like in the picture has worked wonders on my dodge ram.. it ties in both frame rails and the steering box. http://www.solidsteel.biz/images/img002.jpg
Is that a PSC brace?
Wonder if the pitman arm nut is the same size, on a XJ's steering box, as the Dodge box? The brace should help the steering box last longer, before developing side play, by putting the pitman arm in double shear.
Never seen it done to an XJ. Wonder if there is enough room to clear the XJ's sway bar?

[sharq]

That dodge brace sure looks a lot stronger than any XJ box brace I've seen. If your worried about clearing the sway bar mounts you could just run spacers.

[REDXJ4FUN]

i belive it is the same size. I might be able to check it if i head out to my storage and see if i can find a jeep box to compare to the spare dodge box. Not sure what make that support is but they are all very similar. and I'm sure smaller tubing and or a different placement could be done with an XJ

[lazyxj]

I believe it is the same size. I might be able to check it if i head out to my storage and see if i can find a jeep box to compare to the spare dodge box. J

If you have time, I would appreciate it.
Surprised thus has not been used on an XJ before. Done right, it would significantly decrease the stress on the lower bearing in the steering box.

[sharq]

Does that brace have some kind of bearing here it bolts to the pitman arm?

[lazyxj]

Does that brace have some kind of bearing here it bolts to the pitman arm?
This shows the bearing that fits on the new pitman arm nut.
http://www.pscmotorsports.com/09-10-dodge-2500-3500-dodge-ram-steering-stabilizer.html

[lucky14]

Looks nice... and big response for such an old thread. I think with some fab I would have room for a shock tower brace in my rig.

[sharq]

Looks nice... and big response for such an old thread. I think with some fab I would have room for a shock tower brace in my rig.

would you brace to the firewall? what would you do about the brake booster?

[purplexj]

When i added a strut tower brace to my unibody Oldsmobile it made a bigger difference than adding a rear sway bar and bigger front sway bar. Also added braces from the strut towers to the header.

http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz33/purplexj225/88caddybars-1.jpg

Kind of like the fox body mustangs. This braces coupled with poly end links made a big difference in ride and handling.

[sharq]

Rusty's coil over brace
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/319964_10150333025826339_347839366338_8495439_1097 224094_n.jpg

[Talyn]

You may run into problems with hood clearance.

[Boostwerks.com]

Yeah i dont see that at all working on an xj. It also seems a little overkill for connecting just the top of the coilovers. A single tube is more than enough.

[souske]

Hey, but if you have a serious trail repair, the STB doubles as a little step ladder to work from

[REDXJ4FUN]

I agree that something up front to brace the front end would help but a "strut tower brace" doesn't do much for an XJ. In the cars that have true struts it will make a huge difference because of the fact that the front end geometry relies on everything staying where it should but our steering and geometry is based on different locations. A front brace like the one shown for a dodge ram would do more than a strut brace, and with a little extra work a system like the psc one would be great.

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk

[sharq]

You may run into problems with hood clearance.

Umm...yeah. Just saw that somewhere and remembered this thread. Just pointing out that something exists for a TJ i guess. Of course it wont fit. Did you guys really think that i thought that would fit in an XJ? seriously? Jeez.

[tbburg]

Been beating this around for a while brainstorm style.

'Couple thoughts on a shock tower brace:

The tuner cars you see with braces are all strut design suspensions. The brace is not only bracing the shock but also the suspension loads from the springs. On these cars, as the body twists due to suspension loads, it affects the alignment/suspension geometry because the top of the strut is also the upper spindle mount. Stiffening this area will make the suspension act properly.

On an XJ, the spring load is in a different area, forward and down from the shock mount area. Bracing the shock alone will make little difference in handling or front chassis deflection, as the major suspension load(the spring load) is in a different location then the shocks/shock brace.

Also on the XJ, chassis twist doesn't affect front alignment geometry(solid axle and all,..) What has a larger effect on alignment is control arm bushing and track bar bushing and mount deflection.

My particular situation is a little different then most.(Trying to figure out how to game the system while following a very strict rule book for competition)

But for a street XJ:

Build a dual tube brace: one bar runs from shock to shock: actually I'd aim the bar to land outside the shock mount and have brackets down to the shock mount area drop off it. The second bar from the top of the spring pocket/outside edge of the inner fender area with an extension to the inside of the spring pocket, triangulating the whole mess.
Then attach the 2 bars together. Also, to help with sanity issues later on and make current life difficult, make the whole assembly removable so the engine can come out without cutting the brace.
I don't think I'd bother to brace to the firewall, although there is a convenient lip on it similar to the early mustang to bolt a "Y"brace to. I don't think the metal there is strong enough to take any side loading. 'Could be wrong though.



That big-a** brace on the TJ probably isn't overkill. It's for coilovers. It's carrying the full suspension loads, not just the shocks.

[RedChuck]

i think that the fender wells are flexing in under loads. mainly at the springs. i don't think this is going to help your handling very much. it will do something but i don't think you will notice. but it might help in prevent the uni-body from cracking sooner. i guess any stiffness is better then none.

if i were going to do it, if clearance was not an issue i would brace from tower to the center of the firewall and strait across connecting the towers.