What Strut Tower Brace Will Work With Factory Plenum Cover????
#41
I have the GMS single bar and the Ford factory plenum cover and it works fine, there was clearence but I did move the nut to the top of the plenum to gain a little more and I think it looks better that way too. It lowers the plenum cover about an 1/8 " or so. No issues at all, been on about a year.
Nice part for the price.
Nice part for the price.
#42
Legacy TMS Member
I don't understand? Are you saying the studs would move around in the holes while driving? How could that be? The brace is not designed to support the studs - it is designed to hold the towers. If you tighten the nuts down nothing can move. If I am missing something please help me help everyone fix it
#44
The STB is bolted to the studs which have a tight fit to the strut tower. As the strut tower/studs move (by a small amount), they're going to shift around in the wide holes of the STB. I looked at some of your competitor's STB's and the mounting holes were not elongated/widened like the GMS single STB. You can see the elongated holes in the pics you've posted of the single STB. Blkstang06 also posted pics of his GMS single STB. I am not sure why the holes were elongated in the first place. Strange Dev, Edelbrock, FRPP, BMR, Agent 47, and other manufacturers don't seem to use elongated holes for the STB mounts.
#45
I just measured the Edlebrock bar and the holes are .505 in diameter. the stud is .380 - that may be the reason they do not elongate the slots -t hey make the hole so darn big it makes up for the difference
#46
SUPERCHARGED RED ROCKET ------------------Master-Moderator
If you engine is moving up or down / side to side 1 to 1.75 inches something is wrong. At that point I would reccomend new motor mounts. There are several companies that offer solid motor mounts for that car and that are very nice - they still have a urathane bushing so it is not rough on vibration. here is a link
http://www.granatellimotorsports.com...lay.php?gid=28
http://www.granatellimotorsports.com...lay.php?gid=28
So once again, I was just assuming
#47
SUPERCHARGED RED ROCKET ------------------Master-Moderator
#48
Legacy TMS Member
Interesting find. I looked at Steeda's bar and saw the elongated holes. I guess none of the STBs are really made for a tight fit and depend on the friction between the bar and painted shock tower for load bearing.
#49
#51
If you guys look closely at the towers you will not they face each other. That means you either need to drop the struts out to get the bolts flush or do it the same way Steeda, Edelbrock and GMS do it.
#52
SUPERCHARGED RED ROCKET ------------------Master-Moderator
#53
SUPERCHARGED RED ROCKET ------------------Master-Moderator
If you engine is moving up or down / side to side 1 to 1.75 inches something is wrong. At that point I would reccomend new motor mounts. There are several companies that offer solid motor mounts for that car and that are very nice - they still have a urathane bushing so it is not rough on vibration. here is a link
http://www.granatellimotorsports.com...lay.php?gid=28
http://www.granatellimotorsports.com...lay.php?gid=28
Approx how far does the engine move up or down / side to side ?
#54
I've had the single Granatelli stut bar brace and it clears perfectly. The aount of clearnace between the plenum cover and and the brade was tight so just to be on the safe die, I lowered the plenum cover by removing the two grommets in the rear of the cover and removed the studs on the rear of the plenum, then I installed the cover and re-installed the two studs. Now the clearance between the strutbar and the plenum cover is over 1/2" . There are no problems at all between the hood and the brace.
#55
Legacy TMS Member
odiaz: How much clearance is there between the rear of the plenum cover and the intake manifold when you lowered it? Are there any rubbing marks on the intake manifold from the lowered plenum cover?
#56
SUPERCHARGED RED ROCKET ------------------Master-Moderator
Needless to say, that was all it took, in convincing me to uninstall it..
That being said ! I strongly recommend, you take a good look at both sides of your hood for bulges..
#57
There is about a half inch of clearance between the strut bar and the manifold cover. There are no marks on the manifold cover at all. I don't know if there are any marks on the manifold as a result of the lowered cover. I've never removed it since I installed it over a year ago. When I installed the manifold cover, it did not appear to make contact with the manifold at all. There are no marks on the hood blanket from the strut bar so the hood clearance is also good.
#59
Engine should not move side to side
#60
SUPERCHARGED RED ROCKET ------------------Master-Moderator
So it's pretty safe to assume, that once the plenum cover is lowered..We should have approx, a half inch of clearance between the STB, and plenum cover