Hey guys, I have my brackets off my engine. They are pretty heavy. Why are the brackets so heavy?? Do you think it would be possible to thin them out before I put them back on??

I am just so surprised they are so bulky and heavy. I want to shave off as much weight as I can off the car....without pulling parts off it that will make it less comfortable to drive.

The thought just crossed my mind about this since they are already off the car.

Let me know what you think.

 

I'm sure you can shave off some meat on those brackets... just try not to go too overboard that you ruin the structural integrity. Also weigh them before and after to see if you're actually making any progress

 

Yeah, I actually have an extra set of brackets. That is why I have no problem attempting this.

I know the H23 and H22 PS pump brackets are different but are the rest of the brackets different??

I just weighed all three brackets. They weighed in at a combined weight of 18-19lbs. It looks like there is quite a bit of metal that can be shaved off. I just need to know how necessary all the metal is. It just looks like there is a lot of wasted material on the brackets.

My shop guy is doing all the work for a low price. He said anything I want to modify just to let him know. He is actually having fun doing this for me.

 

A good rule of thumb is you shave off 1/10th of a second off the quartermile for every 100lbs you remove from the car.

So if you were to remove 18-19lbs you would save .02 seconds off of your quartermile time. Modifying them you might save 7-10lbs max. If you are a serious racer or like corey where every pound counts, then I can see why you would do this. If you are not, leave them alone. The way the supports are designed are designed for a reason. The extra braces you think are worthless are actually needed, they help to distribute load and if you modify them you are increasing the stress placed at certain points as well as weakening the strength of the original members.

There is also something called thermal expansion. When materials get hot, they expand. Materials also tend to have a higher failure rate when heated. So basically you have 3 forces, the weight of the AC/PS/ALT pulling down in the J direction along the Y axis and the other forces applied in the X, Y, and Z direction that are due to the tension in the belt. The belts require a certain tension, thus the supports need to be strong enough so that failure does not occur. The reason they are so 'bulky' is because the AC compressor and altenator are not the lightest things in the world. And you may say 'well there are 4 bolts holding it on, why can't I use only 2?' Well... all 4 corners of the member help to distribute the load, if you reduce them to 2 you will increase the amount of load at certain points by reducing the number of supports.

You can take your chances, but a measley 7-8lbs is not worth jeopardizing the structural integrity of the supports.

Cliff notes: Mechanical Engineering is fun.

 

Hmmm, good stuff.

The heat properties of metal is cool to know....but I thought about that and didn't think that applies to my situation.

I am not as serious about racing as Corey is ( I have met him....I know he is serious ) but I want to do all that I can before my motor goes into my car. That i why I looked at these parts too. I thought about this because these parts really don't experience too much of a change in force like....say.....as shock, tie rod, control arm. I just didn't think the motor puts out enough power to warrant that much metal.

Trust me...I know Honda knows what they are doing...but I do know that they have to over build their cars too to last longer. They have to be more generous with material to make certain that the parts don't break.

Thanks for the info. VERY good stuff.

I will talk to my rebuilder about this, along with my dad. They are both MEchanical engineers.

This is why I asked.