lucky14
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Pittsburgh, PA
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.
-
Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.
Coil/Shock Tower Braces
- Thread starter MrShoeBoy
- Start date
would you brace to the firewall? what would you do about the brake booster?
purplexj
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Bronx N.Y.
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.
Kind of like the fox body mustangs. This braces coupled with poly end links made a big difference in ride and handling.
Kind of like the fox body mustangs. This braces coupled with poly end links made a big difference in ride and handling.
Talyn
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Radford, Communistwealth of Virginia
You may run into problems with hood clearance.
Boostwerks.com
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Colorado
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
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- The land of competition
Hey, but if you have a serious trail repair, the STB doubles as a little step ladder to work from
REDXJ4FUN
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- fredericksburg VA
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
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
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
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Scottsdale AZ
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.
'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.
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.
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.