I have both the Camber Brace and Cross Brace installed on my 93. I love 'em. They really helped out the handling of the car. If you wish to make your own, those that made their own may be happy to give you specs to do so. Those of us that have purchased R&D products, you won't get those specs from. All of us are very loyal to Dave and R&D Racing. I am saving right now for the Cross Frame to have three major products on my Vette that R&D makes. For $160, it is a GREAT buy! Even at $199, I would still have purchased this from R&D. The quality is top notch. There is absolutely no give. I don't know what Britvette's home made Camber Bar is made out of (very impressive by the way), but the materials that R&D use are great. Also, I don't know how many old trolley jacks you can find here in the states.
:cheers:

 

Well, call me ignorant, but here goes...
What does a "camber brace" and "cross bar" do?
I'm familiar with "tower braces" which run from either the firewall to a shock or strut tower, or from tower to tower. They can't be the same thing cause there are two of them, and they have different names
Would anyone be willing to shed some light for me?
Thanks.
Glen

 

The Camber brace is a sort of tower brace, goes across the car tying the left and right suspension together. THe Cross brace is a big"X" shaped thing under the car, tying the four corners of the chassis together.

Sort of.

When I get a minute (see sig), I will saw my camber brace in half, drop the two ends down a couple of inches and bolt them to the frame crossmember. I reckon it will be a more rigid job triangulated to the frame than tied to each other.

Incidentally, an old trolley jack is not mandatory to make your own, I just used what I had. Thats why I never throw stuff away! :D

 

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:


I'll keep my R-D Racing Camber Brace, thank you. I like driving my car without the fear of it cracking (see pic) and shoving a chunk of metal through my hood!!

 

:iagree:

Doesn't look to strong to me. Any flex at all and it serves no purpose.

 

It is easily the best sub-$200 mod I have done. It is a night and day difference on the twisties. I was skeptical too unitl I bought one.

 

Camber Brace: Mounts between the upper control arms like a strut tower brace. Strengthens the front suspension.
Cross Bar: Ties the upper seat belt points to the cargo area (Under the mounts to store the top.). Makes the rear of the car a little more ridged, similar to what the Camber Brace does to the front.
Cross Frame: X shaped brace similar in design to the braces put on the convertible C4's. The coupes did not get this. Strenghtens the frame and helps reduce the flexibility of the C4 coupe without the targa top on.

Hope this helps you understand what each one does. Took me a while as well. :cheers:

 

Thanks for all the info :thumbs: :cheers:

 

I just shaved 6 seconds off my best time at Sebring a couple of weeks ago... it was the first time there with the Camber Brace. My car feels rock solid now. I highly recommend it.

Mike

 

Nice job! You have a better load path (straighter) in your brace than R-D does. But OTOH, your brace puts the pin the a-arm mounts on in bending and will actually cause the rear end of the a-arm to move slightly in the wrong direction. It would take some good analysis or testing to determine which approach works best overall. My guess is R-Ds, but it's just a guess and anyone who designs and builds their own stuff gets extra karma points.

If you triangulate from where your mount attaches now down to the factory cross member by cutting your brace, you will be adding bending loads to the cross member. It would be stiffer overall if you ran a new diagional from one end of your existing brace to the cross member.

One of these days I plan to do that to my R-D brace one of these day. I will leave the attachment just snugged so I can see how much things are moving now from the paint scratches before I tighten it.

Dick


[Modified by xs650, 11:25 AM 2/5/2004]

 

Question: how hard is it for a minimally competent owner to install?

 

Easy. I haven't install one on mine yet but I was there when Whitvette installed his and being minimally competent myself, I wouldn't be afraid to try it. The right tools and an extra pair of hands would definitely help. I don't recall the exact tools necessary but they weren't anything that a reasonably stocked toolbox wouldn't already have. Whitvette could tell you for sure...

 

I spent more than a long time as an engineer designing stuff that required fitting 15 lbs of crap into a 5 lb sack. Retrofitting a new part into an existing crowded design so that it's an easy bolt in is a bitch.

My hat is off to Dave for the job he did on making the brace fit so that it is a straight forward bolt in operation.

That is a crowded area in front of an LT1/LT4 engine and designing and building it so it can be installed by following some simple instructions without taking the rest of the car apart took a lot of talent.

I seriously doubt that if you had detailed drawings of the R-D brace and took them to a fab shop, you coukd get small quantities of them built for less than Dave is selling them. Daves price is very reasonable and people like him should have our support so they will keep cranking out goodies we want .

If you can design and build your own, that's even better. But, not many can do that, and most of those of us who can won't because we recognize what a job it is.

When I first got the brace, I saw several ways to improve the design:) When I installed the brace I then understood why some things weren't done the way that looked good when the brace is sitting on the table. After I installed it, I just stood back and admired the design. It was designed by a master.





[Modified by xs650, 1:50 PM 2/5/2004]

 

XS650 -
Thanks for the input and compliments.

Others who shall be nameless. That is NOT a crack. It is scruffy welding. The pic was taken during test fit stage, when it was sprayed with silver aerosol paint. It is now powdercoated and has done 6000 miles on the car without issue. Thanks for your concern however. :)

 

:iagree:

 

John helped me install mine. It was very easy, even if we were not replacing the upper control arms. Here is what you need to do:
1. Slotted screwdriver, loosen the clamps holding the rubber air duct and remove.
2. I think it was a 19mm sdeep socket that I used to remove the front upper control arm bolts on both sides. To gain more room to access this, pull the fender well weatherstriping off and with a 10mm socket, remove the center portion of the inner wheel well. (I think there are 6 small bolts)
3. Lower bar into place with plastic covering in place. Watch the coolant temp sensor. If you let it drop into place, you can break the sensor. A lot of guys warned me about it, so we took special care.
4. Put the front bolts back in with the shims that you removed. If the bolt is not long enough, use one of the longer bolts that come with the bar as a replacement. (I had to do this on the driver side, passenger side just required the factory one.)
5. Torque them to specs. Don't remember what the specs are, had my service manual while doing the work.
6. Install rubber air duct, tighten clamps.
7. Get in car and hit the corners hard. You will have a :D from ear to ear! Enjoy!!

BTW, This is pretty much the directions to do it. Dave also has some nice pictures and tips on how to get the bar into place. This is one of the top mods you can add to your Vette and get immediate results!! John, when are you getting yours? :D

:cheers:
Neil

 

I waiting for you to buy that C6 so I can get yours used.... ;)

 

Keep dreaming! :jester :D No way I am going to part with my C4! Besides, then I would have to get a new email address. :lolg:

 

And to think John, all I got from you was an envelope full of beach sand , and a couple of leaves :lol:

Seriously though, this reminds me to contact Dave, like I've been SAYING I'm going to do for a year now... I guess at $160 I'm kind of glad I procrastinated :yesnod:

 

Good news, you can keep your email address! I just checked over in the C6 section and it will be available in Arctic White...