mrchris1979

Just wondering is it safe to cut the lower radiator support so that the my half radiator can be mounted in front of the traction bar so I can have more room for my new manifold and larger downpipe. I've seen a few set-ups that have done this but I'm mostly concerned about safety. Will cutting that lower support weaken anything given that the traction bar and front bumper support are still bolted on the chassis. I may consider removing the upper T-bar as well since I do not use the hood latch anyway but I can keep it on there if it has any benefit.

Here's a pic of the lower radiator support that I want to cut out.

shortyz21

yeah u can knotch that out, i wouldnt cut it entirely out..

Autoworks

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by shortyz21 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yeah u can knotch that out, i wouldnt cut it entirely out..

</TD></TR></TABLE>
agreed, I had the same problem...I actually decided to go back to a thinner OE 92-95 radiator and ditched my 2.5" thick core alum rad.

mrchris1979

Well I was planning on cutting it out entirely due to the radiator's thick core but if it will weaken the chassis at all then I should plan on reinforcing it somehow just not sure how.

janz3n

ya dont cut it out.. if you do weld up some supports.. or els you weaken the body of the car.

91ed9

cut it out and use the metal you cut out and bend it around the support and weld it for reinforcement

betsy84

Cut it out and smash it over your head. Retarded.. cant believe I'm in here.. Thats the front support for your vehicle. Supporting the 2 front upper and lower rails from twisting.

mrchris1979

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by betsy84 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Cut it out and smash it over your head. Retarded.. cant believe I'm in here.. Thats the front support for your vehicle. Supporting the 2 front upper and lower rails from twisting. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Hold on there noob. If you have nothing constructive to say then get the f#ck out and don't even start sluting up my post if your gonna keep talking smack. Like I said, I've seen a few set-ups with that section cut out and however they did it is what my question was all about. Idiots like you is what ruins forums so please keep your negative comments to your self.

betsy84

Idiots like me, you must be kidding, youre the guy talking about removing his rad support. You may have seen it, but it doesnt make it correct. Yes I could have said it a bit nicer, but a unibody car such as yours relies on it's structural parts. The structural parts of your front end are:
1. upper and lower rails
2. rad support
3. cowl
4. strut towers

You jeprodize the structural integrity of the front end by cutting, even HEATING structural parts as they are high strength steel. So go ahead, tell me to get out of your thread, but I'm right. Maybe not immediatly, but over time the car will sag.

betsy84

and how the expletive am I a noob with over 200 posts. It's guys like me that gives forums a bad vibe? Well its guys like you that give Honda drivers bad names

mrchris1979

Interesting. Well at least you gave some good insight about structural support and such. It is now obvious to me the significance of keeping that section reinforced if I do in fact cut there. Why couldn't you just say that! I'm crushing this BS. I don't care anymore. And in terms of giving Honda drivers a bad name, come on now. At least check out my sigs. I'm proud to say that I represent the few respectable EF's out there .





Modified by mrchris1979 at 7:40 AM 2/21/2007

Boosted Chemist

iTrader: (1)

Try thinking outside teh box, there has to be a way to get the rad to work without hacking up your car

betsy84

Well ok, especially with those numbers I wouldnt cut anything structural. If you need a bigger rad for cooling, may I suggest a slim rad with some push/pull fans which you can put either behind or infront of the rad. Lots of guys run electric fans with big block 8 cyl cars and it is sufficient when it comes to cooling. Just have it on a switch for when you're at idle. Also, older muscle car guys often remove their fan shrouds when they clean up the engine bay, and after experience overheating, the fix is simply just putting the shroud back on.

QuarterMileMaster

I, personally have cut out the radiator support (top and bottom) to be able to fit everything I need in my engine bay. Although I will be reinforcing it with stronger material then the flimsy stuff that was there. I'll post pics this weekend when I finish.

betsy84

Be careful not to put too much heat in it, or weld too many plug welds in. The factory did everything for a reason.

QuarterMileMaster

Yeah, I was probably just going to do like an X brace or something with some flat or square stock...

Stefndogg

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by betsy84 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Cut it out and smash it over your head. Retarded.. cant believe I'm in here.. Thats the front support for your vehicle. Supporting the 2 front upper and lower rails from twisting. </TD></TR></TABLE>
no its not, thats what we have a front crossmember for..it just supports the radiator(although im sure it provides some torsional stiffness..prob about the same a strut bar)

QuarterMileMaster

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Stefndogg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
no its not, thats what we have a front crossmember for..it just supports the radiator(although im sure it provides some torsional stiffness..prob about the same a strut bar)</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah, I'd have to agree. I mean, the pieces that I cut out (entire t-bar upper support and entier lower section support) might have weighed like 6 lbs all together. It couldn't have provided very much chassis stiffening being as flimsy as it is. The small amount of bracing I'm going to do should be beefier than the stock material.

betsy84

Anything that bolts on, like a crossmember, is not structural on a unibody car.

QuarterMileMaster

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by betsy84 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Anything that bolts on, like a crossmember, is not structural on a unibody car. </TD></TR></TABLE>

So you're telling me a little 18"x3"x3" chunk of metal that weighs less than a few pounds holds structural integrity over a ~30lb steal brace that bolts to the actual frame of the car and the front suspension? Somehow I can't agree with the statement "anything that bolts on is not structural." That's like saying strut tower bars or braces don't do anything for the structural strenght of the car... Eh, I'm not even wanting to argue, all I know is that I dont' feel bad or unsafe with mine off. Like I said before, there's no way those little dinky peices do anything for the actual chassis as far as rigidity or anything else except to hold the radiator and a/c junk in place. And just so you know, the whole front section of the car (entire headlight section, radiator / core support) bolts on so I guess it isn't structual to the car after all according to your statement.

mrchris1979

These ones caught my attention. Original post on https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1873859. I'd like to see how he mounted the radiator on there and any additional reinforcements, etc.


This one is not done yet but I'm subscribing to his post to see progress and what he plans to put on the rest of the engine bay. https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1132409

Autoworks

You can go to Fotki and look at the gallery of Wayne's CRX. You 'll see how he removed that bar and made a new one more forward. Redzcstandardhatch did it too, I beleive.

Autoworks

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Autoworks &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Redzcstandardhatch did it too, I beleive.</TD></TR></TABLE>

khoalie

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by betsy84 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Anything that bolts on, like a crossmember, is not structural on a unibody car. </TD></TR></TABLE>

come on newb, listen to what you're saying. nearly every unibody car has chassis braces that bolts on. take a crossmember out of a car, drive it, and tell me it doesn't affect its rigidity.

mr. chris, what i have done in the past is notch the rad support and box in what was left by welding in what i cut off, essentially making a thin rad support. this was on a car w/o a traction bar tho, so i'm sure you will be fine with just cutting it, esp with a bumper beam still intact

91ed9

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by khoalie &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> what i have done in the past is notch the rad support and box in what was left by welding in what i cut off, essentially making a thin rad support. this was on a car w/o a traction bar tho, so i'm sure you will be fine with just cutting it, esp with a bumper beam still intact</TD></TR></TABLE>

x2 .... thats what i said to do before in the begin of the thread no one listens to anyone giving information in here only people badmouthing everyone