dkf performance triple Brace... now were talking...

B

Beedub

Lifer
 Sutton Coldfield
check this out.... DKF bringing a triple brace to the market, this braces the strut and firewall braces in one sold unit, no hinges, no sliding units just a solid unit...... this will really add some beef up front.... no doubt this is ANOTHER piece that will be finding its way over to me shortly :-) take a look at the vid for the stress and force tests!! Now thats R & D :-)

http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=671650
 
srhutch said:
Not keen on the aesthetics, I want something that's look better than that under my bonnet.
Click to expand...

i guess this isnt for you :-) the asthetics look fine to me, this can be colored to anything you want during the ordering stage and more importantly, its super rigid......

i cant see how this looks worse or better than stock imo????

anyhow, the performance aspect is pretty sick.....

Even more excited that DKF are developing new pieces for the z4m!!! i WANT these guys to succeed ...
 
srhutch said:
I've no idea on the performance side, but just don't like the look of it, looks like a home made job.

I much prefer the look of these.

http://www.strutbrace.co.uk/bmw/z4.htm

But it only IMO.
Click to expand...

i think its down to person preterence i guess, the one you linked looks very heavy and incidently will do absolutely nothing at all for bracing purposes..... those hinges each side render it useless........ its basically an under bonnet ornament.. and a poor one at that..... i agree with you however, personal choice... performance performance performance imooo.....
the stock brace offers good performance and is actually a brace but to be able to brace all three points in one unit is ideal.
 
I did wonder about the hinges, being an engineer to me is seemed as though it would defeat the object, but the web and mag ones aren't hinged.

However if I were to fit a brace I would want a three part one to remove the OEM firewall braces.
 
Presumably the hinges lock once the brace is fitted to the car :idunno:
Unless the hinges are there because they know that roadster drivers prefer their handling a little softer :P
 
I would guess the point of the hinged brace to stop the tops of the shock towers getting closer together, it won't however stop them moving up and down in relation to each other which must be intentional.

I don't think I need a brace with my driving but I can't say the looks appeal either. :|
 
That video is just a comercial design package, it will stiffen up the tower to tower and tower to firewall but do very little to stop the towers moving up and down, it's quite possible it's not needed in that plane though, as I can see the only way to brace for that is a cross brace in front of the engine locking chassis leg to opposite tower top, I'm not even sure it would be possible as the engine fills the bay so full
 
Surely the point of any strutbrace is to prevent the towers from moving closer together or further apart, which would then affect the camber and toe geometry, making steering/handling less predictable/precise?
 
exdos said:
Surely the point of any strutbrace is to prevent the towers from moving closer together or further apart, which would then affect the camber and toe geometry, making steering/handling less predictable/precise?
Click to expand...

+1
 
Don't like that at all. Looks like a pre production prototype made out of 6 lengths of rebar and probably heavy compared to something in alloy.

Concept of a single piece triangular brace seems sound :thumbsup:
 
Reducing bump steer must be the main goal of the hinged version, as it doesn't stiffen the front in any other mode. I would prefer to stiffen everything in any mode as much as possible, so a single, solid, triangular brace has the most appeal. Adding more play into the system via extra bolts and hinge pins is counter productive. I would want a lighter, more elegant triangle though.

In general, I question how much stiffening we really get. We are relying on bolt clamping force to prevent slippage in the oversized holes. How much shear can this really resist? I know the three strut bolts are not that strong. OTOH, something is better than nothing. The system IS stiffer, but perhaps not as much as we may think.
 
The software package is Autodesk Inventer 2012 Professional, it's the one that I use for 3D modelling and stress analysis .

If you take a section through the side of your car between the two shock posts you end up with a wide u shape, when the car is cornering the body flexes away from the corner, outside edge moving upwards and the body twists. Adding a brace between the two posts reduces the twist action or bracing each posts separately back to the firewall creating a triangle also works but not as effectively, doing both is going to be very rigid indeed.

The question in my mind is why you would need that much rigidity, unless your building something to race with, though would it not be better to dump weight first. So yes, if your making a dedicated track car, maybe drive it only to a circuit then it makes sense. If your going to fit it for road use, then it's just bling.
 
good idea but way way too ugly scafolding. Would be nice to replace the black OEM cheap looking meatal bars. Incidentally just saw the exact same ugly ones in the F10 M Performance 550D :headbang:
 
sars said:
The software package is Autodesk Inventer 2012 Professional, it's the one that I use for 3D modelling and stress analysis .
Click to expand...
Yes, and the video is done using iMovie '11 using the "Newscast" project theme :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom