I used the mod suggested by Granatelli Motorsports for fitting their strut brace with the factory plenum cover - I removed the 2 8mm bolts from the plenum and bolted them on top of the factory cover...hence giving it a lower profile.

FRPP Strut Tower Brace and Factory Plenum Cover




Note: The rear on the strut brace easily clears the factory cover, but the front bar just touches the cover. It doesn't crush it or anything, but just rests right on top of it.

Will this be an issue when the engine "moves"? Put some washers as spacers?

The front bar resting on top of the cover, gap between the rear bar:

 

Looks pretty tight, watch for the motor twisting and hitting the bar. It does look good!

 

What bolts are you talking about that need to be moved? (I don't have a cover to reference)

I assume your pics are without any washers to raise the bar up. How much room is there to raise it before it starts hitting the hood & hood blanket?

If this works with the FRPP brace, I wonder if it'll work with the Steeda brace.

 

The two 8mm bolts in question are best shown with Granatelli's instructions here: http://www.granatellimotorsports.com/pdf/manual74.pdf

Hard to say exactly how much room there is between the top of the brace and the hood blanket/hood. When I just had the FRPP strut brace alone, I did notice some very slight indentations in the hood blanket from the rear horizontal bar. Not enough to even push the blanket in.

 

Got it. Thanks!

 

It will rub the paint away as the motor moves. I had the granatelli bar originally resting on the cover before I did the fuel rail mod and only after 4 days there was substantial rub. If I would have left it where it touched I would have never seen it though.

 

Well I bet with the lowering engine mounts granatelli sells, all would be great.

 

I agree. But I also don't really agree with the title of this thread, as while you got it close, you didn't really get it to work, since it still touches. That will eventually wear into the cover as the motor flexes on acceleration. Not something I would be happy with, and some people might not read all your thread to see that is still does touch. But good effort, and like sodaman said, it you put in the lower engine mounts, it would clear easily. I just went with the Granatelli Single STB and have not problems.

 

I still say it works for me, I haven't seen any paint rub off yet...though, I'm thinking of getting some plates fabricated that match the ends of the FRPP brace to act as a spacer. Not sure it's worth all the trouble, but if I do it, I'll post pics of course.

 

Get some clay,place it on the brace and close the hood. Open it back up and you`ll have an idea of your clearance.

 

I was wondering if you could slot the front holes on the engine cover just a little to get it to drop down a fraction of an inch. I don't have that cover, so I don't know how tight it fits. I have the Mid-west Auto Gear cover, and the Strange STB, and even though I've got 3/16 inch clearance or so, there's been some rubbing on the passenger side. Just a little mark where the paint is rubbed off. My bar is rubbing the hood liner too, but nothing major. There is a pic of the setup I have in the thread about my mods (see signature).