Strut braces? Any good?

[jamesrguk]

I've seen various strut braces for the DeLorean, and one which recently came up for sale renewed my curiosity as to how they can work on a D.

On a normal car the strut brace attached to the top of the shock/suspension turret and is held in place with multiple bolts but the ones available for the DeLorean attach with one bolt and often has an end which allows the fixing to swivel.
So if the brace is allowed to twist at either end how on earth can it offer any kind or additional bracing to the suspension.

Maybe I'm being really stupid but I can't see how this offers the slightest bit of support if it can twist at both ends.

I'm not looking to add something like this to my car, it really is just to settle my curiosity.

James

[Nicholas R]

The idea is that as the shock towers and frame flex, part of the load is distributed through the brace to the other shock tower, thereby restricting the individual movement of each side and the front end.

The swivel is irrelevant to the load distribution. The lateral load is still distributed through the bar because the bar is rigid and a fixed length. The load is only left to right.

If the ends didn't have the swivel joint, there would be a concentrated moment at the bolt head when either side hit a bump. It's not as big of a deal when there are multiple bolts to distribute the load but for one bolt, there is the possibility of the bolt failing, especially over time (cyclic fatigue). Still the swivel does not affect the bars ability to transfer energy from one side to the other.

I bought one from DMCMW back in 2008 and it is still on my car today. Everyone has their own opinion of these and some say they dont work. In my experience, I noticed an immediate change in the handling once it was installed. The biggest differences are noticed on hard turns and while on the highway. The front end is stiffer and wanders less. I definitely believe in them will not be removing mine from my car.

There is a reason why so many performance cars have shock tower bars. The design of our front end makes it more difficult to incorporate, requiring the long M10s and spacers, but there is still most certainly a difference.

Between the shock tower brace and the lower control arm brackets you cannot go wrong. The combination really stiffens the front end. I still get scared every time I drive any other DeLorean that doesn't have them because I'm not used to the loose handling.

[Grover]

After recently installing one and driving the car for 5 years without one, yes, it does help.

But, I also have lowered the front, boxed the LCA, and added the poly sway bar bushings. I have been driving with those mods for about 2 years.

I installed the bar last week, and just recently took the car to a track event. The body roll up front to me has changed, as well as stability at higher speeds (I was doing 110mph). A bit more hard/harsh ride over bumps, but def. not a "I paid xx amount of $$ and therefore I THINK it's an improvement".

Just my 2 cents.

[Starglider]

I wasn't sure if the improvement in rigidity would be noticable, but I installed the bar anyway because I thought it can't hurt to have more weight over the front wheels. :)

[Spittybug]

I have one and I'm confident that it made things "tighter" up there. That along with having boxed the LCAs, the addition of my LCA brace and poly bushings has really made the handling much better.

[jamesrguk]

Thanks for the useful responses.

I've got poly bushes on the front but like the idea of boxed in LCA's and the support brackets as per Ed Uding (DMC Europe) or indeed the new ones Spittybug has designed.

To be honest my biggest frustration at the moment is a 'loose' rear end on my car, I have new TAB bushes and 'Toby TABS' correctly torqued and had a 4 wheel alignment but I think I may need to look at all of the bushes at the rear end, 30 years is a lot to ask of a rubber bushing.

My car gets out of hand when negotiating mini round abouts where a sharp left then immediate right turn is required.

James

[Starglider]

To be honest my biggest frustration at the moment is a 'loose' rear end on my car, I have new TAB bushes and 'Toby TABS' correctly torqued and had a 4 wheel alignment but I think I may need to look at all of the bushes at the rear end, 30 years is a lot to ask of a rubber bushing.

If that doesn't fix it you can install a rear anti-roll bar.

[WelmoedJ]

I've got poly bushes on the front but like the idea of boxed in LCA's and the support brackets as per Ed Uding (DMC Europe) or indeed the new ones Spittybug has designed.

To be honest my biggest frustration at the moment is a 'loose' rear end on my car, I have new TAB bushes and 'Toby TABS' correctly torqued and had a 4 wheel alignment but I think I may need to look at all of the bushes at the rear end, 30 years is a lot to ask of a rubber bushing.

My car gets out of hand when negotiating mini round abouts where a sharp left then immediate right turn is required.

James

I agree with all of the afore mentioned arguments for the shock tower strut bar.

My car has all of the above mentioned parts: shock tower strut, poly bushings, boxed LCA and LCA braces, lowered springs and all aroud adjustible shocks.
My car also has the Toby TABs, but also poly trailing arm bushings.

I agree all these 'improvements' make the car having harder dampening of road unevenesses, but as said (hard) cornerning and hard braking does no longer have that unpleasant feeling of trembling, shaking and not knowing where the car wants to go and end up.
The rear end roll at higher speed turning however still could need some improvement.
Nevertheless that rear end behavior, I'm very content with the current handling.

[Mark D]

I know this is an old thread but I finally got around to installing the strut tower brace I bought from DMCMW like 2 years ago. I wish I would have installed it sooner. It took all of 15 minutes and it definitely does make a difference. It's not a huge change by any means, but the front end feels a little tighter and the steering feels more responsive and firm. I'm also running poly bushings at all locations in the front with LCA supports, Eibach lowering springs and DMCH Spax shocks.

In the rear I'm running new rubber bushings everywhere...I can still feel some body roll in the back but the front feels very flat and grippy through the corners. Compared how it used to handle before all the mods and new bushings it feels like a totally different car, especially at freeway speeds.

This final part being installed marks the end of a 2 year long chassis, fuel, and cooling system restoration project. Now it's on to the VOD and transmission....