DIY tower brace

[mazdaspeed32007]

im just thinking instead of spending 500 on the two autoexe braces i go to home depot and pick up some square steel pipe and some steel plating and do it myself for under 100. i can weld and cut no problem.

im thinking the brace needs to be as straight as possible and if its not it needs to be supported where it bends to handle the weight of the car. i know they can come up with specs of weight per inch and im not sure it really matters....the stiffer the better.

so what do you think....give it a go and get back to everyone or is this one of those things that you shouldnt try to replicate?

 

[Moody]

I'd say go for it. If you know you can do it and how to do it.... whats stopping you??

and when you get it to work as it should. replicate extras and sell them to us.

 

[bmcb]

I was thinking about this today...getting in-between the intercooler and the hood shouldn't be a big problem. It's effectively getting over the fusebox that's gonna be a problem. Fill us in on the outcome...good luck!

 

[derspi]

I don't really see the need for a strut tower brace on this car TBH.

 

[Nliiitend1]

There is absolutely no need for such a bar on this car.

You'd be doing little more than adding weight in the worst place - up front.

The strut towers in this car are already butted up against the firewall, and there are stock triangulating braces already there as well.

It'd be a waste of time, money, and effort in my opinion...

 

[mazdaspeed32007]

theres already a triangular brace? ive never seen anything coming off te strut or frame to show extra support. hmm. ill have to recheck and see where i go from here then. lol. i saw a bunch of suspension pieces such as the strut tower bar....rear brace...and h frame brace and said....dude, i can totally make those for like 1/5th the price. ill have to look over the suspension again and see where i go from here then. any other suspension braces necessary such as mid frame or rear? like i said if the front is already covered.....

 

[Nliiitend1]

The "triangulating braces" are those brass-colored things attached to the top of the strut towers that are also bolted to the firewall.

We also already have an exhaust tunnel tunnel brace and some other extra bracing on this car already from the factory. Without seeing torsional load/stress analysis results from before and after adding all those "GT Spec" braces, I'd be skeptical of any benefits they claim to gain from adding them/replacing the factory braces with them.

They look to me like little more than added weight, for the most part...

 

[mazdaspeed32007]

i know about the brace on the undercarriage. not sure like you said the added benefits of an aftermarket one but i would assume going from a flat pan shaped brace to a solid steel bar brace would delete some torsion on the body no? i would say the price to advantage is off quite a bit with a bought piece. hence my maybe attempt to do this.
i know what your talking about now as far as the front strut brace goes. i didnt know those were part of a strut brace...i actually never really thought about them to be honest.
well...i can make an undercarriage tunnel brace for like....30 bucks and i bet it would weight the same and have a little added performance. not to make myself look like an ass but i bet i wouldnt even notice much added gain for the fact i dont race the car besides backroads on very rare occasions and drag pulls on straight aways near my house.
i know springs and struts are the big suspension mod for this car but i guess it comes down to what you want to spend on what you what to gain. if i can build it all for under 100 then well...i can look for some weak spots i can reinforce. unfortunately without and analysis like you would be looking for. only my word when i do it. ill let you know and take some pics when i get aroudn to it. ill prob buy the parts this weekend and do it in a few weeks.

 

[derspi]

The Mazda3/Volvo S40 platform, although getting a bit old, is plenty stiff and a solid platform to begin with. The MS3 is a lightly beefed up version of it and I have zero complaints - the chassis is flex-free and actually quite rigid.

I honestly don't believe there is much to be gained from all those braces the aftermarket sells unless you plan to road race your MS3 extensively.

 

[meicalnissyen]

I'd say go for it. If you know you can do it and how to do it.... whats stopping you??

and when you get it to work as it should. replicate extras and sell them to us.

(kiss)

 

[mazdaspeed32007]

The Mazda3/Volvo S40 platform, although getting a bit old, is plenty stiff and a solid platform to begin with. The MS3 is a lightly beefed up version of it and I have zero complaints - the chassis is flex-free and actually quite rigid.

I honestly don't believe there is much to be gained from all those braces the aftermarket sells unless you plan to road race your MS3 extensively.

so basically piece of mind you have it all on there for no real reason except for when you swerve to dodge an animal or pot hole you could say...i never would have done it without my extra braces.

just something else on the car that someone else doesnt i guess. one of those things. (dunno) ill prob run the undercarriage one and rear at first since the front already has its own....if i notice anything from those ill add a small tower to hold strut to strut.

like said before...no real reason for me to be doing this. more just one of those things.

ill let you all know the price of my undercarriage and rear\, take some pics, and see if i feel like vending these. gimme a few weeks and ill get back to everyone. feel free to keep posting.

 

[Gmac03]

Any updates?

Gmac

 

[mazdaspeed32007]

yea. my cars ebrake decided to work for 2 hours then mysteriously loosen and roll backwards down a hill into my friends 3 and cost me a lot of money. DOH!

 

[Gmac03]

Let's try to stay on topic here.

j/k, sorry to hear that. Hopefully your 3 learned it's lesson though.

Let us know if you ever get around to making these, I'm interested to know if you notice any difference.

Gmac

 

[mazdaspeed32007]

my brother said he thinks it tried to commit suicide because i clean it so much. it just couldnt take it any more. lol. douche.