Does anyone know how or where i can read up on the tC C-Pillar Strut Install?

 

bump thats a pretty good question

 

its really start forward...

jus pull and pop out the panels where the top of the seat belt bolts are... screw the C-pillar bar into where the seat belt is bolted into.

done.

bad thing abotu thsi bar is it lineds right on the rear headrest

 

i believe it comes with instructions, mine did ( i think)
its really not hard, if you can drive a car you can install this

 

^^ That actually counts a lot of people out.

 

 

Pretty funny, lol!

I do hope you realize this is stricktly a cosmetic enhancement, not an actual performance improving mod. In fact, it will have a slight negative impact on performance because it weighs something;)

Rick

 

ahh not relaly...

it helps stiffen the chasis increasing better weight transfer and response.

althought is very minimal. most people are not able to tell the difference. unless your a suspension freak

 

Minimal would be an understatement in this case. If anyone would be considered a suspension freak I think I would qualify;) It was a worthy mod I would have made my own months ago.

Just an idea of what we have done, over 200 hours into it that area so far and alot more to go.

Entire chassis is filled with structural eurathane foam.
Coilovers with pillow ball mounts, soon to be upgraded to mono tube with seperate ride height adjustability.
Full Hotkiss compliment(except springs of course) fully sponsored by them.
Welded in one off crome molly roll bar, will be extended to 6 point cage soon.
Fully plotted suspension geometry, work in progress on roll center and bump steer as well as antidive and squat corrections as well as front to rear bias of roll centers.
Very lite and wide tires and wheels.
46 lbs removed from roof with the installation of the CF unit.
14.6 lb race seats
Airbags and all stock seatbelts removed
over 200 lbs removed from entire car, so far
Battery relocated to above rear axle and passenger side via cutout of floor and welded in battery box.
ABS removed
On and on and on, ultimate goal is best handling street driven tC, period;)

So, if I felt a C pillar brace was a good thing, We would have one

And, I have consulted with two race car fab shops on numerous aspects of this whole project, they would recommend it if a need was present.

Granted, a car with far less mods than ours could probably get a tiny bit of improvement in rigidity.

But, if they spend the money instead on other more important aspects, most that would not be eye candy, they would gain more real performance, by a long shot;)

Sincerely,
Rick

 

Bam, straight to the heart.

 

I am not at all trying to me a smart ****, know it all, etc, it is just that I have looked into this quite indepth and just do not like to see false hopes of performance when in reality there is little gain. Sadly most of the mods I see on tC's are ineffective, ill advised, hurt more than help real performance. I just hope I can instill a bit of reality into what we are doing here;)

Everyone should mod their cars the way they see fit, I truely mean that, it is just a good idea to know that which is style, that which is real performance, that which is both, and that which is not the best way to spend your money if you are truely after performance.

Rick

 

so are you saying the moral of the story is stiffenin the already pretty loose chasis is a bad thing...

i have coilovers, i know there is that foam stuff in our cars, ive been trying to remove/design a CF sunroof, trying to see wat i can move to my trunk, got the CF hood, CF hatch, got ligther wheels, sticker tires, upgraded sway, etc

blah blah blah

i understand wat your trying to say. saying that this c-pillar isnt going to give results of some thing lik a turbo kit.

but its true that a more rigid chasis improves over stock and OVERLY rigid = bad but this single bar isnt gonna make it OVERLY rigid nor will it make it change drastically but... every step counts.

but if yo udo say that strut bars such as this one are worthless... then why do race cars have them?
why do they weld roll cages in ideal suspension spots?

 

careful.. you don't want to mess with the "Guru of tc suspensions"!

 

I do not believe there is such a thing as to ridgid a chassis Stiffer is better, just like in some other things in life;)

The chassis of the tC is fairly stiff as it is but deffinately can be made better, like ours, it is exceptionally stiff now and the stiffer we make it ,the better the car handles.

If you look at the structural design of the rear struts, the actual mounting points, you will see they are below the level of a major chassis cross brace There is just not alot more you can do in that area with a simple bar placed well above them, really negligable effect, just like a rear strut brace, it comes built in from the factory!

A C pillar brace would be mounted way above the struts, if you want stiller you really need a cross brace anyway, a cross bar does not do nearly as much good.

If you look at race cars, depending on what car, etc, most have the tops of the struts alot higher than the TC and thus can benifit from such a device.


If you truely want to stiffen the car and not add much weight, do what we did, fill the chassis with structural eurathane foam, now you are talking stiff! Going up a driveway at certain angles will pick a wheel right up off the ground!

Problem is, that is one big messy job to accmplish over a few days time at least. We filled our entire car and all alot of the area behind the skin of the car in the rear suspension area as well, over 360 liquid OZ, before expansion.

I am envious of your CF hatch though, cannot run one in our autocross class

A bolt in roll bar does little for stiffening and weighs alot, it's main claim to fame is safety for racing purposes, not really needed on the street.

A CF roof bolted in like ours will stiffen that part of the car alot more than it would seem possible, we know from doing ours. Another big job, it was rather tedious but fun at the same time.

I will have to measure it and verifiy this but I believe the Odyssey 925 battery, which is 24lbs, will fit under the rear floor, on the passenger side, without any cutting or welding. If you want to make a very big improvement in handling for not alot of money, do that mod

It has enough capability to run a decent audio system off of even. If you have a stock audio system you can even use the 680 but it will not let you play for long with the engine off.

The trick is to remove every once of weight possible and what you much keep, have it centered and mounted as low as you can, between the axles.

All cars come with excess wiring harnesses, studs with nothing attached to them, mounting brackets with unused tabs. Though time consuming and tedious at times, the more you clean up this excess, the faster the car becomes, in all respects. We have three bins full of junk so far, really, yet we have a well deadened and comfortable car

Rick

 

cool thanks

 

Most welcome.

If I could pay myself for all the time it has taken to get our TC the way it is, no where near done either, I could buy a VERY expensive car.

But doing it is alot of the fun part, do not get to drive it at potential much so enjoy making it while doing so as much as I can

Rick

 

would you buy the ingalls rear shock tower brace?

 

No, I would not. There really is not "shock tower" on a tC anyway.

Just the term "tower" suggests something sticking out above the surrounding area, etc. The tC coilover rear damper/spring upper mounting location is below a factory lateral "frame rail" that is quite strong.

You may gain a little stiffening with one but it would be pretty marginal in effect.

If you want to gain much of anything I would to a C pillar from the top off one side to the bottom(strut upper mounting point) and the opposite on the other side, a big X.

 

where do you purchase structural eurathane foam, what company and how do you apply it if you were going to do sound deadning anyway.

 

I really need to see if I can come up with a proper name to call the foam, it is not structural as described by the manf but it't properties match that of others I have checked out but this one is easier to apply.

BUT, this is a big messy job, everything possible needs to be removed from the car and everything else needs to be masked off very carefully. This will ruin anything it gets on.

My son and I spent many hours a day for a week straight dong our whole car.

I do not know where it is sold except for a major distributor I get it from. There are two versions, one in a 16oz can with applicator tips and the other in 24oz cans and you have to use a gun that comes with cleaner to clear it out with when done.

I would have to check on the current pricing but I can say for certain, it is alot more costly than the local hardware store brands, it is also dramatically better as well;)

I used it for dual purposes, stiffening the chassis and sound deadening, it does both very well. We used approx 360 liquid oz in our car, filled everything possible then treated other areas as well.

The really cool thing is that it does not add much weight when cured.

We removed all the interior and glass roof as well as all factory deadening and the side skirts. Then we removed all the access covers into the chassis from inside and underneath the car.

It has to be filled in sections and let cure, plus you mist some water into the areas as it helps the foam expand and cure more throughly. Once an area sets up, then go back and fill the next space over, some areas took four applicatioins to get filled, which was four days.

Then we parked the car in the sun for a few days to get it all fully cured and expanded.

There is more if youi want to know it, just saying this much for now so you know what a big job it is.

Rick