silver69camaro
07-17-2009, 05:48 AM
We always work hard at increasing overall vehicle stiffness for obvious reasons - allows the suspension to do it's job, reduces squeeks and rattles, and increases handling capabilities.
As you may have seen in the previous thread, our rear clip simply replaces the factory spotwelded rails. No floor cutting required, but you do need to stitchweld the clip to the floor and rear valence. Truely something anybody can do in a weekend, even with a 110v welder (or pay somebody for an hour of welding time).
Replacing the .045" thick 2x3 C-channel rails with mandrel bent .120" wall 2x4 tubing makes a heck of a difference as you can see here.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
Here the floor jack is placed about 24" ahead of rear axle C/L on the clip's frame rail. The jack is pumped until the rear left wheel is about 5 to 6" off the ground.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
With absolutely no changes in door gaps or strange noises, the front wheel left wheel lifts off the ground as well. Keep in mind the weight of the front end is making the car tilt on the jack, keeping the front tire from raising as much as the rear. This is a good indication of bending stiffness. There is a huge moment arm between the front wheel and jack placement, I'm amazed it is this stiff.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
Because of a high degree of torsional stiffness, the right rear tire is off the ground as well.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
Here is a rear shot to illustrate how stiff this is. This photo is actually misleading because the majority of the vehicle's weight is on the front right tire, and it's actually the only tire touching the ground. Yep, the car is balanced on the floor jack and 1 tire...you can move the car up and down with your index finger placed on the rear bumper. If I were to lock the front suspension, the car wouldn't look nearly as twisted.
As you may have seen in the previous thread, our rear clip simply replaces the factory spotwelded rails. No floor cutting required, but you do need to stitchweld the clip to the floor and rear valence. Truely something anybody can do in a weekend, even with a 110v welder (or pay somebody for an hour of welding time).
Replacing the .045" thick 2x3 C-channel rails with mandrel bent .120" wall 2x4 tubing makes a heck of a difference as you can see here.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
Here the floor jack is placed about 24" ahead of rear axle C/L on the clip's frame rail. The jack is pumped until the rear left wheel is about 5 to 6" off the ground.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
With absolutely no changes in door gaps or strange noises, the front wheel left wheel lifts off the ground as well. Keep in mind the weight of the front end is making the car tilt on the jack, keeping the front tire from raising as much as the rear. This is a good indication of bending stiffness. There is a huge moment arm between the front wheel and jack placement, I'm amazed it is this stiff.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
Because of a high degree of torsional stiffness, the right rear tire is off the ground as well.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
Here is a rear shot to illustrate how stiff this is. This photo is actually misleading because the majority of the vehicle's weight is on the front right tire, and it's actually the only tire touching the ground. Yep, the car is balanced on the floor jack and 1 tire...you can move the car up and down with your index finger placed on the rear bumper. If I were to lock the front suspension, the car wouldn't look nearly as twisted.