Here is one Chassis stiffening peice i have never seen. It says it will benefit wether you have a coupe/convertible.

http://www.stangnet.com/2009/09/04/d...-ford-mustang/

Can anybody offer any insight on this company, whether they are reliable?
any similar peices out there from different manufacturers?

 

While I didn't see more than the one pic, I would be skeptical as to how stiff this design is. The front mounting points appear to be relatively flat plates with two 90 bends in them. The bends won't be very stiff when loaded along the axis of the tube. If the two points where the K-member is attached are themselves attached to the frame, then it may be ok. Don't know anything about the company.

 

looks like a nice piece I would make my own. Looks easy enough

 

According to several different aftermarket companies the s197 doesn't need any stiffining unless your are going all out racing then a full rollcage does the trick.

 

hey guys i appreciate the opinion, i think i will pass this one up until its been properly tested. money best spent elsewhere right now.

 

Considering how stiff a stock S197 chassis already is, I can tell you that the center of it is probably the least needed area for stiffening. I am addressing the suspension areas first.

I've looked at the FR500C chassis as they were being built and they do get plenty of seam welds, but the majority of the welds seem to be around the suspension mounting areas. However, remember that Multimatic and Ford Racing do this because of the constant forces applied to the car during a race. Plus, the FR500 gets a full cage which is plenty for strengthening that area.

Take a look at the picture and notice the nice factory cross braces on the floor and how many bends are in the floor as well (metal with bends in it is stronger than flat metal).

 

hmm interesting, i thank ya for that bit of info that was definitly helpful! do you think that maybe this will be somewhat better for a convertible?

 

Probably couldn't hurt. The most flexible part of the chassis is between the front and rear door posts. In that area, the rocker panels and the drive shaft tunnel provide all of the stiffness, so adding a bar parallel to the opening helps. The question is how efficient the bar would be given its location and geometry. I still have reservations about the bar's mounting brackets.

 

that picture always made me sad because it showed how good the S197 could look in gold... sigh

 

I would like to see where its mounted on the other end of that thing. Mounting brackets look heavy enough if you go with what others have posted in this thread. That the car is stiff enough already for what most of us are going to be doing to it.

 

Here ya go I don't know anything about it or the mfg though
http://www.dhrfabrication.com/index.htm

 

It looks very similar to subframe connectors, but X shaped instead of K shaped.

 

Thanks for posting that CAD image. Now that I've seen how the unibody structure is made, I can see why a strut tower brace could help out even in a small amount, the same goes for the A-arm brace.

The X-brace and any other brace intended for convertibles wouldn't necessarily hurt the coupes, it would just stiffen it a bit more.

 

agreed I've never heard anyone complain about a little more stiffness.