Front fender braces.... Questions..

[formeRiceR]

As some of you might have noticed I've been doing some research on making the chassis more rigid without compromising safety (ie crumple zones and such) I was looking al these braces and they look very beefy with is good for stiffness, but they seem to near where the front is suppose to crumple.:smash:

my question is :

1, will having these on your car make it more dangerous for you and your passenger in the event of an accident?

2, do these really make a difference in reducing flex?

[s14slide]

well first, I don't imagine these compromising crumple zone to any degree that would cause concern for safty of the cabin because of the fact that they just bolt onto the door attachment points. But the front only has two bolts with a plate behind it in the rail, and it only reaches over the very rear of the tire. If your crumpling the front of your car all the way to where these braces are, you have bigger problems to worry about, like how your going to make wearing an engine fashionable.

Now for two, I have these from Nagisa and out of every brace I've ever felt a before and after for on a car, these made THE biggest difference. I can tell immediately when I just in another s13 that they aren't there. From low speed cruising over road bumps to flogging at the track. I love mine.

Hope this helps in your decision.

[Brian]

I think they will have an effect on the front end of the car in event of an accident. I DON'T think it will be dangerous for you as a driver though.

[formeRiceR]

http://i2.tinypic.com/rbfz3q.jpg

so help me out a bit, the rectangle hole and the little U-shaped scrunch, are those not safety features that allows that part of the car crumple??? and wouldn't having the brace negect that feature???

[s14slide]

from the research I've done on stich welding chassis, I've come to the conclusion that is not a hole that is a "crumple zone", it's the fact of how and where they spot weld the car. As the metal crumples, the welds have to pop apart, which takes energy, and they are supposed to pop in order. If he were to stich weld the whole front forward of the firewall, then he would completely disable the whole crumpling design and in an accident, more energy would be transfered to the driver instead of the car absorbing it like an accordian. That's part of why late 80's and 90's chassis are so flexible, because that's when car manufactureres started to design this feature into the chassis. Like I said before, if you get the front of the car to crumple all the way back to where these braces are, you have bigger problems on your plate, "like how to make wearing an engine fashionable."

[Nizzan4u2nv]

I have nagisa fender braces along with the Shakitto plate. I installed them at the same time so I cant really comment on each. But yes, it did provide a lot more rigidity to the front end. I think its a very worthwhile mod.

As for crumple zone issues, im not sure about that. To tell you the truth I could honestly care less.

[EchoOfSilence]

The front fender braces DO stiffen up that part of the chassis by bypassing that crumple zone. It's give or take. Most track cars that have them aren't necessarily unsafe, however. They'll have rollcages and such, as their primary safety-threat zone isn't a headon crash like a roadcar.

[formeRiceR]

does anyone hae the ones from ebay??? if so how are they?

[Wei240]

you could probably fab one up yourself much like many other parts, especially if you know someone who can weld stuff up, but i think it's a worthwhile mod, turning seems to be more definite if that makes sense at all

[Nizzan4u2nv]

does anyone hae the ones from ebay??? if so how are they?

Which ones are you talking about? rndfactory or nagisa? theyre both on there. They arent that much different so id say either. I myself have a nagisa.

[formeRiceR]

I'm talking about the rndfactory ones...:)

[KA24DESOneThree]

I have nagisa fender braces along with the Shakitto plate. I installed them at the same time so I cant really comment on each. But yes, it did provide a lot more rigidity to the front end. I think its a very worthwhile mod.

x2

Much better feedback. I enjoy my car that much more because of them.

[kandyflip445]

I have the SPL front fender braces. Made a big difference. The Nismo Power Bar made a bigger difference though.

I don't think anyone here can truthfully and fully tell you if it's going to affect crumple zones without crash testing. Only speculation. Just keep that in mind.

[m0rex]

I have the SPL front fender braces. Made a big difference. The Nismo Power Bar made a bigger difference though.

I don't think anyone here can truthfully and fully tell you if it's going to affect crumple zones without crash testing. Only speculation. Just keep that in mind.

x2. Im pretty sure you guys are overthinking this. Nuff said. I don't to overthink it either.

[MikeFD3S]

+1 Nagisa Auto Fenderbraces + Shakkito plates. They really do make a big difference.

If you have an impact that is strong enough to crumple the front end, i would imagine that the welds or bolts would just shear off. Any accident that would severely crumple the front end is dangerous.

[chmercer]

hey, when you put these on, do you do it with the nose of the car on the ground, or in the air? wondering which way it flexes.

[BRB26]

+1 Nagisa Auto Fenderbraces + Shakkito plates. They really do make a big difference.

If you have an impact that is strong enough to crumple the front end, i would imagine that the welds or bolts would just shear off. Any accident that would severely crumple the front end is dangerous.

thanks for the input on the nagisa fenderbraces and shakkito plates..
i just put in an order for these! i was searching for a little reassurance of my purchase, haha.

here i found some pics for those who want to see..
Shakitto plates
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y226/ukeeninam/nams_shakkitto.jpg

Fender Brace / Gacchiri Support
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y226/ukeeninam/XNG0092Top.jpg

[yokotas13]

what do the plates do?

[Dousan_PG]

brace the strut tower to the firewall
just seam weld the chassis and add a cage
well worth it then misc bars and such.

[McRussellPants]

The "Shakitto" plates work well enough to be illegal in most racing series which is good enough for me.

Im not about ready to pay Nams for them though.

For the money for those I could buy a drill and a die cutter and make some super badass ones, then make super bad ass cage gussets and then swiss cheese my chassis and lose no rigidity.

[Slidin240Wayz]

Who has a picture of the plates installed? I just can't picture it.

Carlos

[trsilvias13]

I have the plates on, but no camera. You can come check it out. It does clean the engine bay a bit as you can hit anything under there for cleaniness (sp).

I still looking for a deal for the fender brace and the nismo power bar.

[hellion240sx]

i too would like to see the Shakkito plates installed. where do you go about seam welding the chassis? my interior is completely gutted anyway. and i know a few ppl that weld. aaand i'm getting a roll bar in the near future.

[ThatGuy]

http://www.speedoptions.com/members/146695/38735/pic220.jpg
Searched on Google. Found the EGay auction in less than .15 seconds. Auction included scan of magazine showing plates installed. Not the best picture, but there you go.

[Nizzan4u2nv]

A little bit or searching goes a long way.

http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=102752&highlight=shakitto

[Slidin240Wayz]

ooof, the search demand. thanks guys.

[ManoNegra]

Shakitto.... Taquito... Dorito

Pardon the naivete but do people run these instead of a strut bar or in conjuction to one? Would having both be better or detremental? Just curious.

[Slidin240Wayz]

strut bar- left to right
plates- front to rear

Beneficial, I think so.

[ManoNegra]

strut bar- left to right
plates- front to rear

Beneficial, I think so.


So you have both installed? Reason is I see one or the other and wondered if there was a particular reason why.
Just installed a Nismo powerbrace a few days ago and that made quite a difference.

[slow_sr20]

i have wondered about the plates myself but i got assurance after comparing the construction of my 13 versus my long gone 14-s14 have pieces of metal welded onto the frame where the plates would go. good enough for nissan to engineer so definetely worth wile to install aftermarket :werd:

[red240]

Not sure who's car this is but here the full setup!
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i171/wide240sx/DSC04666.jpg

[ayuaddict]

wow thats really nice

[EchoOfSilence]

Those plates really look like they don't do shit

[TurDz]

I don't think anyone here can truthfully and fully tell you if it's going to affect crumple zones without crash testing. Only speculation. Just keep that in mind.

Very wise statement. Nobody should really claim "it shouldn't affect it that much" or anything to that affect. I think the only ones who can really answer that question are chassis engineers from the car companies.

I wouldn't want anyone to feel even remotely liable if something did go wrong and it was due to a modification that was thought to be safe.