Strut Braces, again!

[Bernie Benz]

Hi Rees,
Comment interlaced below.

From: "Rees Pritchard" <reesisright at netzero.net>
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 19:51:58 GMT
To: b.benz at charter.net
Subject:  Re: I¹m back! Well, we¹ll see.

Hi Bernie, 

My eurocar mechanic did an alignment on my 200 20v last week, and couldn't
get the passenger front within specs. The tower on that side is tweaked, and
he wondered if the car had been hit. (Not to my knowledge)
I assume that he meant more neg camber on the pass side than on the drivers
side? This can and should be normalized to some degree by shifting the
subframe within its mounts.

I searched the archives and found your article on the B.Brace you designed.
Chris Miller's site had a link to member dicussion about the brace, but it
has been eliminated.
That¹s too bad! 

There seemed to be some controversy about your design vs. a modified Audi
brace, and strut vs. tower braces, but I can't find many details. Your brace
appeals to me as inexpensive, and pretty elegant.
Thank you, and I agree with your latter assessment.
A Tower Brace stiffens the towers (lessons their deflection) somewhat,
depending upon its design, but it does not reduce the latteral cornering
forces (LCF) applied to the towers. The outside tower is still subject to
the full LCF.
A (good) Strut Brace divides the LCF equally between the two towers, thus
halving  tower deflection. This is the theoretical limit short of chassis
redesign. Further, it
also equally divides the LCF between the two strut top isolators, thus
halving their considerable deflection without effecting their isolation
effectiveness. The total result is a suspension with much increased latteral
stiffness. Further it allows preloading of the strut top isolators for added
stiffness of this component, with a reduction in negative camber by about
1/2 degree on each side.
IMO, no contest between the two braces!

The archives are from 2001. What I'm wondering is; how has your brace stood
the test of time? Has there been any troubles to the car, and how has the
brace held up?
Absolutely bullet proof, and my DIY alignments are rock solid, unchanging
over the years. 

My mechanic has seen factory Audi braces, but had not heard of yours. We are
both excited by the notion of an effective fix. You must have spent
considerable time on all this. Every owner of these cars owes you gratitude.
Thanks. For additional + camber over the SB, one must go to moving the lower
control armŒs inboard pivot point inward, IMO by slotting the sub frame
mounting holes. I have not had to resort to this, having achieved zero
camber with the SB.

Bernie

Thanks, 

Rees Pritchard