diff/trans braces
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 3,163
Likes: 6
From: Oceanside California
diff/trans braces
Is there any hard evidence that the ECS or DTE diff/trans braces do what they were made to do? How does one know if the drive-train would or would not have lasted without it? Has anyone gone from breaking components to not after an install? It seems like most people install them as a precaution, but who would likely have been fine without it.
Anyone go from wheel hop to none? Or less? Looking for real life testimonials, not "I heard this" or "You need it for so and so power" Says who?
Im sure a lot of people with high power cars have them installed. But to know what its doing exactly is a different story.
Just for the record on why Im asking, I currently make 430whp on a H/C build and looking to supercharge.
Anyone go from wheel hop to none? Or less? Looking for real life testimonials, not "I heard this" or "You need it for so and so power" Says who?
Im sure a lot of people with high power cars have them installed. But to know what its doing exactly is a different story.
Just for the record on why Im asking, I currently make 430whp on a H/C build and looking to supercharge.
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,687
Likes: 86
From: De Pere, WI
I can tell you this first hand. The way it is designed and how it works it would have absolutely prevented me from breaking my diff and trans.
My mainshaft broke right as it leaves the trans, the diff case broke clean off right where it bolts to the trans. This is absolutely caused by the diff trying to rotate downward.
My mainshaft broke right as it leaves the trans, the diff case broke clean off right where it bolts to the trans. This is absolutely caused by the diff trying to rotate downward.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 3,163
Likes: 6
From: Oceanside California
Also, I drag race often (once or twice a month for years now) launching on real bias ply drag tires. I have no wheel hop issues and no breakage thus far. I am running an RPM stage II diff.
Just wondering if the diff/trans brace makes sense at all to do.
Just wondering if the diff/trans brace makes sense at all to do.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 3,163
Likes: 6
From: Oceanside California
I can tell you this first hand. The way it is designed and how it works it would have absolutely prevented me from breaking my diff and trans.
My mainshaft broke right as it leaves the trans, the diff case broke clean off right where it bolts to the trans. This is absolutely caused by the diff trying to rotate downward.
My mainshaft broke right as it leaves the trans, the diff case broke clean off right where it bolts to the trans. This is absolutely caused by the diff trying to rotate downward.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 3,163
Likes: 6
From: Oceanside California
Now can you be sure it was a flexing issue that caused the case to break (in which case the brace would definitely help), or did the diff grenade from the inside out and destroy the case? (making the brace ineffective)
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 3,163
Likes: 6
From: Oceanside California
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Premium Supporting Vendor
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 23,599
Likes: 1,225
From: Providing the most proven supercharger kits for your C5/6/7 609-752-0321
The Pfadt brace and our brace do to totally different things. Our set up is designed to eliminate the rear from breaking off as you see in the pictures above and I can assure it works very well.
I have never seen a rear rip off the back of the trans with our brace on ever, the rear can still fail of course internally, but never have I seen one fail in the method that the brace is designed to stop.
It's a pretty reasonable insurance policy because basically it's about 10% of the cost to replace your trans shaft and diff if it was to break.
Hope that helps.
I have never seen a rear rip off the back of the trans with our brace on ever, the rear can still fail of course internally, but never have I seen one fail in the method that the brace is designed to stop.
It's a pretty reasonable insurance policy because basically it's about 10% of the cost to replace your trans shaft and diff if it was to break.
Hope that helps.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 3,163
Likes: 6
From: Oceanside California
The Pfadt brace and our brace do to totally different things. Our set up is designed to eliminate the rear from breaking off as you see in the pictures above and I can assure it works very well.
I have never seen a rear rip off the back of the trans with our brace on ever, the rear can still fail of course internally, but never have I seen one fail in the method that the brace is designed to stop.
It's a pretty reasonable insurance policy because basically it's about 10% of the cost to replace your trans shaft and diff if it was to break.
Hope that helps.
I have never seen a rear rip off the back of the trans with our brace on ever, the rear can still fail of course internally, but never have I seen one fail in the method that the brace is designed to stop.
It's a pretty reasonable insurance policy because basically it's about 10% of the cost to replace your trans shaft and diff if it was to break.
Hope that helps.
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dte brace is steel, will rust, and weighs more... ecs is mostly aluminum so it won't rust and weighs less obviously... I would go with the ecs brace personally... I have the pfadt diff mount and that eliminated all of my wheel hop, now if only it cured spinning I would be set
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 11,060
Likes: 291
From: Pasco WA
Mine shattered (shadoobie) in much the same way as above, just hitting third gear.
I got both ECS, and Pfadt braces, along with a built diff, even though my car's never been raced. With your setup, I highly recommend the ECS brace. I still get some drivetrain shake, but only on street tires, and below 40 degrees ambient. My Invos are pretty greasy, and better traction helps minimize the shake.
I got both ECS, and Pfadt braces, along with a built diff, even though my car's never been raced. With your setup, I highly recommend the ECS brace. I still get some drivetrain shake, but only on street tires, and below 40 degrees ambient. My Invos are pretty greasy, and better traction helps minimize the shake.
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Joined: Oct 2004
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From: Providing the most proven supercharger kits for your C5/6/7 609-752-0321
dte brace is steel, will rust, and weighs more... ecs is mostly aluminum so it won't rust and weighs less obviously... I would go with the ecs brace personally... I have the pfadt diff mount and that eliminated all of my wheel hop, now if only it cured spinning I would be set
You summed it very well thank you!
I do not know exactly how much this will effect the trans if any, but being that our rods are aluminum, they will also expand and contract closer to same rate as the trans too.
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 12,392
Likes: 2,911
From: Fort Worth, Texas
I do believe the bias ply tires do help to cushion the drivetrain parts and seems far less rears break with them. I would like to know if anyone out there has broken the trans output shaft and not had the diff case crack because they had a brace on? I personally haven't and have been the victim of a stock driverside rearend output shaft sheering from metal fatigue I believe after hundreds of passes, a stock diff case cracking/taking out the output shaft of trans on street tires that started hopping rolling out of the burnout box before I could get out of it which possibly a brace could have help save and then I dead hooked a 6k rpm launch once that broke the stock output shaft on the trans that took out the differential case. So the brace may limit flex, but if making enough power/launching hard enough to break parts or metal fatigue sets in they won't stop breakage it seems. Nothing of course is bullet proof, especially when it comes to drag racing a manual late model vette.
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 1,412
Likes: 15
From: Richardson TX
I bought my engine/turbo from a guy who sheered his mainshaft and shattered his diff case exactly like hardcoreABN. None of the gears or internals of the tranny or diff were broken, only case and main shaft which indicates to me it was caused by the differential case shifting under the torque.
I bought an ECS brace before installing the new engine and turbo. People spend several thousand dollars on built transmissions and diffs, and for $400, the ECS brace seems to counteract the more common breakage issues, so it seemed like an obvious choice for me, not to mention if you're in the 500-700hp range, you can probably get away with stock trans/diff and an ECS brace instead of shelling out a lot of money on built tranny parts or TR6060 swaps, etc.
I bought an ECS brace before installing the new engine and turbo. People spend several thousand dollars on built transmissions and diffs, and for $400, the ECS brace seems to counteract the more common breakage issues, so it seemed like an obvious choice for me, not to mention if you're in the 500-700hp range, you can probably get away with stock trans/diff and an ECS brace instead of shelling out a lot of money on built tranny parts or TR6060 swaps, etc.
Last edited by PhysicsDude55; May 8, 2014 at 07:26 PM.