Body stiffining tehniques

[BusBOy]

What do you guys think the cheapest body stiffining technique is? Tack weld all the seams, cage, sway bars, strut tower braces. What do you think has the most bang for your buck?

[Jgrand03]

strut bars are cheapest but if u can weld thatd probably be the cheapest most helpful one

[azndummie]

one technique is to give it a boner, jk. just get some strut bars/fender braces they are quick and easy

[98koukile]

chassis stiffening foam mod on freshalloy? It's like $20 or less but it works better with supporting mods

[slideways2004]

strut bars are cheapest but if u can weld thatd probably be the cheapest most helpful one

summed it up in one sentence.

cage+seam weld!!

[Dousan_PG]

bang for the buck?
spot weld the car yourself
just takes time
not really money
once u already have the welder
maybe like 20 bucks in wirewheels and such. thats about it.

[bejota180sx]

i believe sway bars and strut towers are the most cost effective ones

cage is good but not cheap

but like said above if u can weld i have read thats its a very helpful technique

[johngriff]

Chassis foam, you can buy it wholesale somewhere, search around, my mind is gone tonight, from inhaling too much metal.

[steve shadows]

hurry the fuck over so we can get drunk already :gives:

[BusBOy]

alright, thanks guys..

[Project3328]

kicking trees with ur shins will eventually harden ur legs :)

jk use anything the ppl above mentioned they all work

[BusBOy]

I'm scared to do spot welding ..
does anyone have pix of some spot welds??

[xpl2007]

Seam Weld and Cage your good for the 3 wheel motion....!lol

[kandyflip445]

s13

Chassis Foam
Power Brace
RXB

Then whatever else you want.

[MAGILLA]

+ 1 for the foaming, not only stiffens but also gives a better quality ride and makes a lot of your current suspension more effective. but I don't think it is as cheap as spot welding if you do it yourself. Spot welding is time plus what ever you rent or buy a spot welder for(most likely around 40 to rent+ day of work). I believe the foam is a bigger job and the materials are closer to 100. either way great bang for the buck.

[racepar1]

Spot welding the chasis is VERY difficult and time consuming, however it does make a noticeable difference (trust me I spot welded my entire front end). If you plan to spot weld the chasis be prepared to spend a couple months doing it, if you wanna do the entire car and you don't plan to quit your job to get it done. Fill any gaps that you can as that will significantly increase the overall stiffness of the car. I would not reccomend that you weld the entire car though as it will take about a million hours of labor, do it strategically. Do the entire front end of the car from the firewall forward, do the frame rails, do the rear strut towers, and the brace that runs across the car under the front seats. Combine the welding with structural foam and you will have racecar like stiffness without a cage. I would not reccomend anyone that is not an experienced mechanic at the least to undertake this monstrous task. So basically you should just buy some braces. I would reccomend strut bars, nismo power brace, fender braces, and a c-pillar bar.

[hustlervibes]

I heard the NISMO power brace does wonders for the price, but also some sway bars (assuming your talking about body roll in corners), and the foam if you're willing to spend more time on it.

[drifterRS]

dont all you retards mean stitch welding?

[kandyflip445]

Also, sway bars do not stiffen the chassis. They prevent body roll among some other things.

[racepar1]

dont all you retards mean stitch welding?

Stitch welding and spot welding are just 2 different ways to describe the SAME THING asshole. Have you ever welded anything in your entire life? I doubt it.

[S14DB]

chassis stiffening foam mod on freshalloy? It's like $20 or less but it works better with supporting mods

Real foam will cost you $400 in materials. $20 may get you some home depot crap that will rust your frame.

[kandyflip445]

http://www.foampower.com/store/two_component/index.html

For some reason they don't list the smaller kit anymore. A higher density would be better but IIRC you can't buy anything of a higher density without it being a pour-in type foam.

I used that one I linked to, and it worked great.

[Koopa Troopa]

Foam is only recommended if you live in a dry place. The foam likes to prevent moisture from escaping where it normally wouldn't collect and then will eventually make your shit rust faster...

[IIIXziuR]

I guess the cheapest would be just strut braces and things of that sort.

Foam is awesome cause you don't have to hack up your interior and it keeps the stock look of the car, just stiffer.

For full-on awesomeness, multi point cage and seam welding is the way to go, IMO.

[hustlervibes]

I know sway bars don't stiffen up the chassis, but I put in parenthesis that if he was talking about body roll. And don't stitch/seam whatever it's called your car, it makes it pretty harsh to drive on if you DD the car I heard.

[pr0ject TRUENO]

Foam is only recommended if you live in a dry place. The foam likes to prevent moisture from escaping where it normally wouldn't collect and then will eventually make your shit rust faster...

Right on the money. Moisture accumulates in the small pockets caused by the foam and doesn't leak out as easily. This is especially apparent in the frame rails. I think I have some pictures of my old S13 where this happened and the frame rails started rusting from the inside out. Any gains associated with foam injection can also easily be acheived with a roll cage. Although the cost is significantly higher, you don't have the bad side effects.

[SimpleSexy180]

http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=143957

get that. It helps a ton, trust.

[slw240sx]

Seam welding if you want to even do it some what throughout the entire car is a long and tedious process. Im doing a customers car now, and i have about 24hrs of labor into it and i have only done the hatch area and the engine bay. the welding itself is the easiest part, its the prep work that takes for ever. we took everything out of the car, i mean everything, and have stripped out the sound deadening, tar, and any glues and seam sealer, next we prep the entire chassis for primer so once its done and welded it can be primed then painted and ready to be reassembled. There are also debates on how to weld it, some people run 1/2 to 1" beads at a time others one spot every 1/2" or so. I prefer the short beads spaced out evenly, i think it looks cleaner this way. If you have a few weekends and nothing to do you could probably get it done. for the cost of having a shop do it you can probably buy a decent mig welder, gas bottle, welding hood, gloves, a bunch of wire wheels,dry ice and anything else that is needed.


Jon

[!Zar!]

Seam welding and a cage is your best bet.