I am trying to build a MC brace for my EK. I bought some hardware from home depot, but am a little skeptical of the integrity of the strut housing area (where I need to bolt the brace to.) Has anyone drilled any holes in their strut housing area for this purpose? Is it strong enough?
I got the idea off Tweakmeister's website, I hope he doesn't mind me posting a link:
http://hogens.com/car/default....x.php
He also sells the units for $25 shipped:
http://hogens.com/car/default....e.php

Is it ok to just drill away?

 

here is my DIY


i just don't see how those little brackets can work...
edit: sorry bout the size.

 

What chassis was this for? DC2? Did you just bolt it right into the strut housing or was there any holes pre-drilled you drilled that bracket into??

 

bolts to the strut tower. drilled the holes. made it in our tool room at work in my free time. it's nice to have mills, lathes, heat treating ovens to use when you want

 

So how much flex occurs in an unbraced MC? Is it from flex of the power booster to the firewall or the MC flexing on the power booster?

I've never heard of needing or using a brace before but will be using a Honda power booster and MC in the initial brake version on the racecar. This could be an answer to a problem that I didn't know that might exist on it. Are unbraced MCs causing a problem on people's cars?

 

I made one very simmilar to tweak's, and can really tell the difference this weekend going from my car in 70 -> 20mph turns, compaired to my friends LS that didn't have one.

So it must flex enough to make a difference.

 

If you can get someone to hit the brakes for you while you watch under the hood you can get a good idea of how much flex there is. Unbraced MC's dont usually cause any problems, it is just supposed to feel a lot better with it braced.
I was thinking that the MC brace might actually make the pedal stroke more efficient by transferring all of the energy down to the brake line rather than wasting the engery due to MC flex... make any sense??

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by StyleTEG &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I made one very simmilar to tweak's, and can really tell the difference this weekend going from my car in 70 -&gt; 20mph turns, compaired to my friends LS that didn't have one.

So it must flex enough to make a difference.</TD></TR></TABLE>

This was in a DC2 chassis? Did you have to drill into the metal or where there any pre-drilled holes you bolted the brace up to?

 

Didn't have to drill into the chassis, there were already two threaded holes. One of them held a hose to the strut tower housing, but I just zip tied that to my strut brace and used the hole instead.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by siisgood00 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">... make any sense?? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yup. I'll have to check it out. I always thought CRXs had marginal brakes for true racing and maybe this could be a contributing factor.

 

Hey guys,
I love mine, and everyone who has given feedback after buying one has loved theirs. You can buy those Simpson Strong Tie brackets at Home Depot.

The first brace design gave a noticable difference but it wasn't mounting right, so it got scrapped (after some research, including looking at TommyGunns' design) for the second version.

The DC2 chasis has welded nuts already in place, so it's as simple as bolting this up. You could drill two holes and just mount the assembly with washers on either side and be fine.

 

With all this removal of flex, I have to ask. Has anyone considered where the "point of failure" has been moved to? As in, there's a certain amount of give somewhere in the brake system at high temps. Do master cylinder braces move this from the firewall (which apparently only affects "feel") to, say, the caliper seals?

Only asking because I'd rather have less-than-ideal brake feel than a blown caliper seal (only my chosen example) given the choice.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by krshultz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">With all this removal of flex, I have to ask. Has anyone considered where the "point of failure" has been moved to? As in, there's a certain amount of give somewhere in the brake system at high temps. Do master cylinder braces move this from the firewall (which apparently only affects "feel") to, say, the caliper seals?

Only asking because I'd rather have less-than-ideal brake feel than a blown caliper seal (only my chosen example) given the choice.</TD></TR></TABLE>

This is a good point. I'd love to have improved pedal feel but I break enough parts already. Don't wanna risk breaking anything else.

 

I definitely see your point, but I can't really think of a downside. Which leads me to my classic question: Why didn't it come from the factory like that?

I see the mod almost as the same thing as getting some ES motor mounts. It removes the flex, thus transferring the energy down to the ground...

 

Very good points.

I've had an MC Brace in one form or another on the car for many months of hard braking. They're also used in other vehicles to some extent (a.market for some Chevy's, WRX, etc.).

I don't see it putting any more strain on the system than what it was designed to take. You're basically making the unit as efficient as possible.

The only problem I see arising is from the contact of the outside MC to the bolt holding it (rubbing). You have to watch your metals, and how tightly you adjust the bolt. Again though, I have had zero issues.