BurgerMan

Has anyone with a C4 installed a camber brace? What was the result?

Here's their website: http://www.r-dracing.com/Camber-brace.htm

JrRifleCoach

I have one on my 86.

There IS a felt difference in the twistys.

Its a bitch to install and is usually in the way when ever your working on the front of the engine.

Handling improvement... I'll give it a 7 out 10

Richard G.

Have one on order. Will let you know the difference.
On my 94 it is SCARY to remove my top and drive these curvy
and rough WV roads.
I have experienced a lot of bump steer. It actually made me think
the steering wheel was going to shake out of my hands.

Joe B.

I was very happy with the way the steering wheel stabilized. The whole car felt more solid. Here is what I encountered when I installed it in July of '08. This was on my '91. Very tight fit, 1 bolt barely long enough because of the shims, 1/4" clearance at serp. belt by A.C. comp., move P.S. res. inboard 1/2", raise A/C drier 1/2", modify upper rad. hose bracket, it added 11# of weight. "But the improvement made it worthwhile."

jon0108

i installed one and love it. Prior to it, the front end felt like it was going to fall apart going over railroad tracks. Now it feels much firmer

PLRX

The installation is complicated but, if you stretch the AC line all the way it will make it a piece of cake.

I had to remove the ones off my 96 to fix the oil leak and I grabbed a prybar and pushed out the AC line all the way out. It went in like the way it goes in to a date in the Philippines.

Yes, it will tighten your front end. I have it installed on each Vette.

c4cruiser

The Camber Brace is not going to help with what is called "cowl shake". Once the targa top (either the solid or clear top) is removed, the bracing between the windshield frame and the "halo" bar is effectively gone. A "targa truss" will help with adding support when the targa top is removed.

You may want to read this thread from the C4 Tech section. Personally I do not recommend buying the Targa Truss from R-D Racing.

The Camber Brace may help with bump steer as the brace provides a solid connection between the front upper control arms. You may want to experiment with alignment to see if that can help too.

JrRifleCoach

The camber brace adds additional support across the front end of the frame tying the upper control arms together. It has liittle (no) effect when removing the top. An X-brace or under frame cross brace is required to eliminate this problem. Another and best option is the roof brace that replaces the roof panel.

When I pull the roof, its time to slow down.......

shakedown067

I have the camber brace and cross-bar. Love the way my car drives and handles! Felt like a whole new car after installing both. But like said above, does very little with the top off.

Calderone

i'm keeping an eye on both the crossbar and camber brace maybe for a year or so, i will end buying both !

littlesk8cracker

iv considered the camber brace but whats holding me back is wondering how much difficulty it adds to working on the engine. i removed my whole a/c system to clear up space when im working under there, but i also added an electric water pump which would make it tighter up there

jon0108

Get it Especially that youre redoing your suspension. Youre going to love it

pologreen1

I have it, and it helps sturdy the car. It is not hard at all to put in, the only thing bothering mine was my frisbee which I removed anyway, and my power steering reservoir.

Now I have no a/c no smog/ no idler pulley, etc and I have tons or room for it, and I have full tilt adjustment that the bar allows for, and the reservoir is no where near it anymore.

The only thing I ever had to loosen it for to work on was changing pulleys.

littlesk8cracker

haha ya well this years work is all going into suspension and brakes, that way next year i can start setting up for my ls1 swap. i forget, but i believe the ls1 sits back and inch or so from where the lt1 does so that would probablly add extra room with a camber brace. haha its being considered. i still need to get the sway bars and box in my x brace!

Calderone

Did you have to relocate the ps reservoir or this was for the installation only ? thanks !

pologreen1

Just loosen a screw on it for installation.

firstvetteRI

I have one in my 93 convertible, the brace tightens up the front end. When I installed it even with a shim it pulled in the tops of the control arms a bit. It makes sense to get an alignment afterwards.

shakedown067

If you don't have the A/C system any longer, it'll take about two minutes to get it out of your way to work on the car. Even with the A/C, I can pull it off to work on the front of the engine in under 10 minutes...most of which is getting it around the A/C hoses. They make a version for an electric WP. Doesn't look quite as robust to me, but probably still does the job well.

dizwiz24

I have an rd camber brace that would work for anyone w an ac delete pulley. I clearanced the drivers side of mine.

I liked it but can't use it now that I havr a supercharger.

Im prob going to try and sell it soon. If interested drop me a pm about it.

BurgerMan

Thanks for the response, my car is a convertible and anything that provides stiffness to the structure is a welcome addition.

Here are some additional threads and info about this topic, also a Gordon Killebrew design C4 frame stiffener:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-t...orth-it-2.html

http://www.corvette-guru.com/modules...=12244&forum=1