Rear Strute Brace Preload?

[GTSBoy]

Placebo effect.

[MrStabby]

However (and I am not imagining this) ->

After In had the rear brace installed the car is now very willingly going into a controlled oversteer/drift.

This was not the case before.

Also the rear feels less wobbly.

(I am still on the standard suspension)

I like to find out im wrong - let me know if you can come up with an explanation as to how this could be. Until then i'm going with GTSBoy's placebo explanation

[Checkbuzz]

I have heard many people say that the rear brace does nothing on an R33/34 and your explanation makes sense.... however have you seen the amount of extra strengthening and bracing in the rear of a GTR? All of this extra expense and weight added by the manufacturer for absolutely no gain or reason?

There are a lot of after market (including NISMO) rear braces and I find it difficult to believe that they were all developed cynically just to make money.

I would like to know the answer to this too

I like to find out im wrong - let me know if you can come up with an explanation as to how this could be. Until then i'm going with GTSBoy's placebo explanation

[Torques]

That was actually a point I was going to bring up.

Why would Nissan fit these when there is no added benefit?

[GTSBoy]

Customer demand.

[MrStabby]

That was actually a point I was going to bring up.

Why would Nissan fit these when there is no added benefit?

I think you mean "no added TECHNICAL benefit". Of course, there could be a non-obvious technical benefit that i'm missing, or a non-technical benefit.

This post from SydneyKid is probably the most insightful (and what originally alerted me to the issue - was good to read it again): http://www.skylinesa...ost__p__4744778

[Torques]

Well,

I now got the final word on this.

By pure chance I found two pages about removing and re-installing the (front) strut brace in my workshop manual.

It states:

Tightening the middle screw by a full turn!

If you don't believe it, I could upload a scan ...

As above. Pre-load not required or desirable.

[GTSBoy]

That's hardly preload. 1 full turn is 1 thread is 1.5mm.

Edited December 8, 2012 by GTSBoy

[MrStabby]

That's hardly preload. 1 full turn is 1 thread is 1.5mm.

That's a little dismissive. Distance cant tell you load (force) directly, you need to take into account how stiff the loaded structure is. If the structure is flexible, the load will be low, if the structure is stiff the load will be high.

[GTSBoy]

Any of those strut bars that have an adjuster in the middle are sufficiently flexy on their own that they'd bow up as you put that little bit of "preload" on them.

You don't even need to be an engineer to imagine how little force you'd need to apply to the adjuster to crank one turn into it once the slop had been taken up.

[Torques]

Yeah I see what you mean,

But a full turn on a thread/bolt can put up a significant force ranging into the tons.

(Also that was what I considered to be pre-load)

But my initial question is now answered by myself:)

You're supposed to tighten the bolt, so pulling the brace more together.

Also the manual states that the car has to be on an even surface, not jacked up when installing the brace.

I'm glad I did this right

That's hardly preload. 1 full turn is 1 thread is 1.5mm.

[simpletool]

If you were to do this jacked in the air I imagine that turn wouldn't be needed (or only half a turn). I find there is a tension difference on my front strut brace between on the ground and in the air.

[XGTRX]

Interesting read. So does that mean that all the aftermarket ones that dont have adjustment are substandard to the adjustable stock ones. Are there any real advantages to the big dollar aftermarket ones?

[GTSBoy]

Lightness. The big dollar ones are aluminium &/or CF.

[XGTRX]

How much lighter. Stock ones aren't that heavy. I would think if anything the adjustability of the stockies is a reason to keep them.

[GTSBoy]

Given that they do jack all, I would say that the smallest weigth penalty probably outweighs the "benefit" of being adjustable.

[Torques]

I'd say that a more rigid 'looking' bar has less torsion in itself so adding to stiffness