Custom Engine Torque Brace!
 

I have a 87 N/A. would it be safe to mount a torque brace on the bolt hole that is found on the very top of the front rotor housing that is next to the ground wire (only accessable when emmissions equipment is removed) and the other end to one of the strut tower bolts?

I have taken a Strut brace from a civic and found that the mounts fit perfectly and line up, all I have to do is get a steel rod to connect them.

I just dont want any mount points breaking. eventhough the car has no power..

I would take a picture, but my camera is dead :(

That tapped hole isnt very deep, I think you could put too much stress on it and damage the housing some way. I am planning on fabricating a torque brace also and was planning on attaching it to the front plate. I dont have any AC or PS so I was going to attach the brace to those mounting holes and machine the brace that would attach to the strut points

I would not attach a torque brace to a rotor housing. They're made of soft metal. Attaching one to an Iron/plate is a much better idea.

What they said.

I've seen several that attach to the 3 airpump mounting holes, but I have also seen that area crack just through the stress of the airpump mount. So that does't seem like a good idea either.

If you have removed (or never had) your power steering and A/C you already have three large studs on the front iron that would be perfect.

ok, well I have seen a few that mount to the bolt that is on the upper intake manifold, right behind the alternator, it fits perfect and both the mounts line up perfectly.. I'm going to grab some good quality pipe and weld in the bolts on the ends of the pipe tomorrow so the stiffness can be adjusted.. and then it's done! pics to come later..

here are some pics, I attached the mounts to the front Iron, because it's way more secure than the intake manifold. I just need to get the pipe cut to length and the bolts welded on the end of the pipe so it can be threaded onto the bolt that attches to these mounts.

You don't need a torque brace for a car that has less than 150ftlbs. Do yourself a favor and get some suspension upgrades starting with a strut bar.

yes, I'm fully aware I dont need it.
you see, I'm bored and feel like taking on a simple project that I can do for free. my engine mounts are worn out and they will also be replaced, I'm hoping this helps a bit with drivetrain slack when starting from a stop.
actoually this whole car might be replaced soon anyways with a S5 TII, and then this piece can be transferred over, if it works.

I enjoy making stuff that you can buy, but easilly do it yourself.

next up, all drivetrain mounts made from UHMW plastic from front to back.

I like torque braces. They make the car much easier to launch. Takes out some of the drivetrain slop, which reduces wheel hop and wasted power...

Good job so far. I'm building a brace that comes down from my strut bar to the same point on the iron.

CompuBob; I cnat tell through those pictures. Do those mounting points square up to eachother or are they offset by a small angle?

The S5 turbo has a solid UIM bolted down on both sides of the engine, so I connected to the right front IC mount bolt.
That is a long enough radius from the roll axis to keek the compression force low.
The IC mount grommet has a steel tube liner that fits in the hole in the brace.
The rear inboard pillow block stud is the chassis connect.
A short piece of fuel hose on the stud acts as a vibration isolator.
The isolator wears out about every 6 months.
The brace tube is bent to relieve excess stress on the bolts.

yep, they do line up perfectly, I know it does not look like it. I may have to rotate them by a few degrees when installing the bar.