Gaining Interest: S13 Trunk Brace

[Keegster]

Gaining interest for fabricating a trunk brace for S13 hatches.

My friend and I are looking at making braces for s-chassis's.
These braces are only for S13 hatches, we will do S13 coupes in the future.

The brace will be made form DOM1020 11 gauge 1 1/4" tubing, and 3/16" angle iron. The brace will be MIG welded, until we have the capability to TIG weld them.

It will include all mounting hardware, including 10.9 metric bolts.

It will currently be $150 shipped. It will be painted or raw, you choose. Once we get the means, we hope to offer powder-coated options for $200 shipped.



All of the profits will go towards making more braces and to help pay for our schooling costs.



Mock up render of what the final product will look like

https://imgur.com/122yLHR.png

https://i.imgur.com/JAIhw9W.png

https://imgur.com/QVsnqbU.png

[tuzzio]

I like the rendering of it. Not trying to be a dick, trying to see discussion.

Curious what your advantage is over the alutec brace (obviously different material construction) which comes in at a cheaper price point:
https://www.circuit-sports.com/collections/alutec-chassis-brace/products/nissan-240sx-s13-alutec-rear-trunk-bumper-reinforcement-bar

Or, for a slightly larger price point, the 4 point ultra racing brace?
https://ultraracing-usa.com/nissan-240sx-s13-1988-1994-rear-trunk-4-points/

[Keegster]

I like the rendering of it. Not trying to be a dick, trying to see discussion.

Curious what your advantage is over the alutec brace (obviously different material construction) which comes in at a cheaper price point:
https://www.circuit-sports.com/collections/alutec-chassis-brace/products/nissan-240sx-s13-alutec-rear-trunk-bumper-reinforcement-bar

Or, for a slightly larger price point, the 4 point ultra racing brace?
https://ultraracing-usa.com/nissan-240sx-s13-1988-1994-rear-trunk-4-points/

Thanks for the reply man.

I didn't know you could still buy the Alutec brace. Our brace is going to try to fix a few issues that I see with that brace, mainly being the area of space that it takes up. We are going to give access to the spare while trying our best to avoid any cutting on the interior, where as the Alutec doesn't. I also checked the shipping on the Alutec, and it was $30, which resulted in the total being $150; the same as our brace currently.

The same point of spare access can be made for the Ultra Racing brace too. As far as the 4 point bracing, that is superior, but it only utilizes 2 of the 4 bolts in the rear.

Ultra doesn't list any of the materials that they are using, but I believe our brace will be stronger/thicker than theirs. I've talked with a few people who make braces, and my father who is a machinist, and they said that 11 gauge tubing is pretty substantial for the brace.

[tacotacotaco]

This is a great option for guys looking for a brace that doesn't kill trunk space. I have the ultra racing 4 point on my coupe and if i had a spare to use it would be a bitch to get it out. I also had to modify the ultra racing 4 point so that I can use existing bolt locations. It would be nice to be able to bolt to the 2 bolts on each side that connect to the crash beam.

Id prefer the solid design you are proposing vs he alutec which can pivot. I know its minimal but with strut tower bars chassis braces I prefer solid designs as every little bit of stiffness counts.

https://i.imgur.com/jt7fUucm.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/19N6remm.jpg

[Keegster]

This is a great option for guys looking for a brace that doesn't kill trunk space. I have the ultra racing 4 point on my coupe and if i had a spare to use it would be a bitch to get it out. I also had to modify the ultra racing 4 point so that I can use existing bolt locations. It would be nice to be able to bolt to the 2 bolts on each side that connect to the crash beam.

Id prefer the solid design you are proposing vs he alutec which can pivot. I know its minimal but with strut tower bars chassis braces I prefer solid designs as every little bit of stiffness counts.

https://i.imgur.com/jt7fUucm.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/19N6remm.jpg

Isn't the Ultra brace only for hatches, not coupes. I'm pretty sure the floor pan is different in the rear.

[Wookie384]

Isn't the Ultra brace only for hatches, not coupes. I'm pretty sure the floor pan is different in the rear.


Negative. I had this brace and it didn't line up with the bolt holes in my coupe, I sold it to Racepar1 and he had to drill holes in his hatch to bolt it down.

You have to drill holes to mount the Ultra Race bar regardless if you own a coupe or hatch.

[Reece]

Count me in, rough estimate on when production would start?

[Keegster]

Count me in, rough estimate on when production would start?

Production should start mid to late January, more likely mid.

[RedSled]

OK not here to bash or condemn but seriously how can you advertise a product that cost as much as a properly patented, registered and engineered product from a well known company and in top of that it's mig welding ! and you don't have an actual product to advertise but an autocad drawing and this is to support your school expense ,sorry but I can't see myself supporting someone basically experimenting while putting myself and also my car in danger to fund their schooling

[tuzzio]

All of these "well known" companies started off small. Look at street faction, and xcessive for instance.

How many of these products are really patented? I'd venture to guess not many. Lets see some of these patented products you speak so highly of, patents should be public information, no?

Also, whats the issue with mig welding? Most cert'd roll cages are mig welded..

On top of all that, IF this brace failed (i'm not sure how it would) how would your car or your person ever be in danger?

Anyways, that aside. Pretty neat product, addressing some issues with current products. I like it.

[Dolph_KYAS13]

putting myself and also my car in danger to fund their schooling

... Its a chassis brace not brake or suspension components, if it fails it wont danger anything. Like the above post states, you have to start somewhere.

Shit like this is refreshing to see. people making their own shit and taking the time to design, test and build it. so much better than seeing people flip "rare" parts to make a quick buck

[Thursday7]

OK not here to bash or condemn but seriously how can you advertise a product that cost as much as a properly patented, registered and engineered product from a well known company and in top of that it's mig welding ! and you don't have an actual product to advertise but an autocad drawing and this is to support your school expense ,sorry but I can't see myself supporting someone basically experimenting while putting myself and also my car in danger to fund their schooling

well aren't you just lovely

[Keegster]

Thanks for the support guys. We will try to find a coupe to test it on to see if it fits before we start shipping them.

If this brace does well, would you guys be interested in a 4 point brace like the Ultra racing one?

We can also paint these in a 2 stage paint with added costs if anyone would like, that is what we're going to school for.

[tacotacotaco]

I would be down for a 4 point if it utilized the impact beam bolt locations. I would be even more interested if you did a 4 point that triangulated like the cusco 3 point strut tower bar. AHHH yeee

https://image.nengun.com/catalogue/1024x768/nengun-4654-06-cusco-os_3_point_bar.jpg

[Keegster]

I would be down for a 4 point if it utilized the impact beam bolt locations. I would be even more interested if you did a 4 point that triangulated like the cusco 3 point strut tower bar. AHHH yeee

https://image.nengun.com/catalogue/1024x768/nengun-4654-06-cusco-os_3_point_bar.jpg

We will definitely look into making a 4 point brace

[Keegster]

Hey guys, we got an update. We weren't able to go with the original metal supplier because they had a minimum sale that we didn't meet. Good news though, we found one right down the street. The tubing we will be getting from them will .095 thickness instead of 14 gauge; we talked with the motorsports teacher at our school and said that .095 is what most tube chassis's use, like Nascars. Unfortunately the price will remain the same, because even though we went down in size for the tubing its actually slightly more expensive from this supplier. If everything goes to plan we should start making test pieces this weekend.

[tacotacotaco]

Still looking like the original design you rendered or any changes?

[Keegster]

Still looking like the original design you rendered or any changes?

We're still looking at the original design. Although we have considered spraying this in a single stage paint, what colors would you all want. I was thinking black or grey

[Keegster]

We have made one brace so far, and we got it installed today.
The final materials we used were 2" x 2" x 1/4" angle iron and DOM1020 1.5" round tubing. We ran into one clearance issue with the the bolt on the passenger side that holds the gas strap in, but that shouldn't be an issue with future ones as we are moving the bend in one inch. However, the brace does clear the interior and allows access to the spare tire. If I had to estimate how much the brace weighs, it's between 5 and 10 pounds.
Here are some pictures after welding it, but before we cleaned it up.
https://imgur.com/DTcEbpa.jpg
https://imgur.com/bRFb3o1.jpg
https://imgur.com/JFEozb1.jpg

We added the notch on the end, so that way the angle iron could slide under the interior, while still maximizing the contact surface. Overall I think this brace was a huge success. We should be making more this weekend. Sorry for the delay, we've been very busy at work.

Also sorry for the huge images!

[mr.nismo.]

Any update on this?

Sent from my Galaxy Note 10+ using Tapatalk

[Keegster]

We've made a few of them, but we had trouble finding local aluminum round stock that we didn't have to turn down in a vice. If you're interested in one we have those few we can sell

[mr.nismo.]

We've made a few of them, but we had trouble finding local aluminum round stock that we didn't have to turn down in a vice. If you're interested in one we have those few we can sellStill 150 shipped?

Sent from my Galaxy Note 10+ using Tapatalk

[Keegster]

Yes they are, pm me

[cole d]

Will this fit a convertible ?

[cured13]

any pictures how it fits with spare cover and carpet?