C2-C4 strut tower brace. Which is best?

[BRAINIAC]

Well, anybody tried different braces? I want the one that is the most flex-reducing since my car is a Cabriolet.

The ones with the heim joints seem like they would allow the towers to move too much in parallel in hard corners. I don't believe anyone makes a triangulated brace for the later cars, but does anyone have opinions on which one is the most resistant to parallel movement?

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Tyson Schmidt
72 911 Cabriolet
92 C-2 Cabriolet

[neil.home]

I will have to have a look on my C4 but I think it may have a Porsche one. I know it has a part number so I will have a look and see if it has a brand.

Well here is the part number, no other identification I am afraid.

R64 501 33301

It bolts directly to the bolts in front of the strut itself.

Hope this of some help.

Neil

90 C4

[BRAINIAC]

Thanks Neil. Could you post a pic? How much dinero are we talkin'? 'Spensive I suppose from Porsche, eh?

If I don't like any on the market, I'll design one myself. My friend is a welder/fabricator for a machine company and he can build about anything I ask. And he owes me big-time.

They all seem to tie the towers together just fine, but none that I've seen are capable of controlling parallel movement. The joints they build in seem to deliberately allow this. Maybe it is to prevent stress fractures in the upper strut mount. Hmmmm......

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Tyson Schmidt
72 911 Cabriolet
92 C-2 Cabriolet

[neil.home]

Hi,

I do not have access to a camera, but I will post on "another" board to see if anyone knows if it is a Porsche part and the cost.

It was in my car when I bought it!

Cheers

Neil

[Randy W]

Tyson, there is a triangulated strut tower brace avilable from a company called "Vision" (see Panorama ads), however this type of brace may be illegal depending on the class you run in (ask Greg Fordahl). The TRG strut brace in conjunction with their strut monoballs is probably the best setup of the single bars, but also one of the more spendy options.

[BRAINIAC]

Thanks Randy! That's the info I was hoping for. I'm not worried about class-legality since I'd remove it for auto-cross anyway. My boss runs in Stock class with it. But he may want to go up in class next year. (Besides, the 72 is *my* auto-X car.) I mostly want it for DE events and street use to tighten up the open chassis. Thanks again.

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Tyson Schmidt
72 911 Cabriolet
92 C-2 Cabriolet

[BRAINIAC]

Ooh! Just had a thought. If Neil's car has a strut brace from Porsche with a Porsche part number, does that make it legal in stock class? Aren't optional parts from the dealer legal in Stock? That'd be just dandy if that's the case.

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Tyson Schmidt
72 911 Cabriolet
92 C-2 Cabriolet

[neil.home]

Here is a reply I got to my question about the part number:


"Looks like an original number to me. Porsche did make their own strut
braces. These strut braces are made by FVD now. They purchased the design
rights from Porsche in 1995. Or so I was informed,
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4"

Not sure who FDV is but will ask Adrian.

cheers

Neil

90 C4

[David Griswold]

Here are the links to the FVD site. Follow the links and there is a picture of the strut brace.

I also have the factory unit (I know that the 94 Turbo 3.6 came with a strut brace as standard equipment and that it was an available option for the 993 series. I am not sure about the 964)...After seeing many of the aftermarket braces, there is nothing special about the factory piece. The brace is the same for the 964 and 993 cars. The factory strut brace is very light. I also have a triangulated brace (for a 911) which is quite heavy.

http://www.fvd.de/fvd_en.htm
http://www.fvdmotorsport.com/

David

[BRAINIAC]

David, is the one on the FVD site exactly what yours looks like? Is that the factory brace? I like it.

I sure would like to know if this brace was optional on the 964 and whether or not that would make it legal in Stock class. Anyone?

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Tyson Schmidt
72 911 Cabriolet
92 C-2 Cabriolet