Does anyone know of any engine torque braces that use a damper, instead of a simple solid piece? I don't really like the idea of the chassis absorbing the vibration, that would otherwise cause the other components of the drivetrain to wear. I was doing some reading, and stumbled upon a design that was pretty interesting.





They are motorcycle steering dampers, and I've read that they have been modified for use in cars. If there are no dampers on the market, I plan on buying one, and making a custom torque brace with them.

 

Try looking in the catalog of MSC. They sell dampners simililar to motorcycles but have more varieties and is much cheaper.

www.mscdirect.com


I made my own torque brace from a rubber dampner purchased from MSC.


-Jeff

 

HEy ShinobiX...The feed torq brace has a dampener.

 

The feed one does have a little give to it but it is pretty solid. It looks like a shock but it isn't. It works excellent though. There is a little vibration when you first start the car in the morning but it goes away after 30s or so.

R.K.

 

Whats the point of a torque brace with a damper on it?

Jason

 

Garfinkles brace has rubber bushings at each end of the link. and work very well . A damper or shock will not stop the motor from moving the same distance that the motor mounts will let it but will slow down the move ment . Garfinkles design lets the motor move as it must be able to move a small amount, or things will break .

 

Less vibration transmitted to the chassis, than a solid piece mounted in a similar fashion.

duboisr,
I was also looking at rubber bushings, but a dampner would still allow some movement that you say the engine requires. I'm not sure if I'm thinking of the same units as you, but do you have a link to the set you are talking about?

crazyrx7/apneablue,
I was aware of the Feed unit, as it looks like a dampner, but wasn't sure for the reason crazyrx7 stated. Was the brief vibration you spoke of with the engine, or chassis?

I was on ebay a while ago, and noticed that someone was selling some units that were very similar to the Feed one, but I can't find them anymore. I was wondering what the going price on those amounted to?

My only other concern with the feed brace, was the rather small amount of support on the mounting bracket closest to the chassis, that the brace attaches to. If anyone has been using it for a good duration of time, and it's held up (which sounds like the case), then I will most likely go with the Feed unit.

 

Obviously Fujita Engineering Evolutional Development felt there was a reason to have one. I'm not an engineer (are you?) but To me it also seems like a good idea to have a buffer between the chasis and engine...if I ever bought one it would have to be the FEED unit.

 

Shinobi-x -PM Jeff 48 for info and picts. How much does the feed unit buffer or move ?

 

The FEED damper unit uses polyurethane bumpers inside, which provide much more resistance to movement than the oil-damped steering dampers on the sportbikes shown in the photos. Also, the polyurethane won't be affected by heat as much as an oil-damped unit (the high heat of the FD's engine compartment will thin out the oil in a motorcycle-specific damper, reducing its performance). If an oil-damped unit were specifically designed for use as a buffer in a torque brace, then it might work.

 

The engine vibrates when first started in the morning. Its hardly noticable. The brace works excellent. Ever since I installed it I have never missed a shift. The car feels brand new. Also I bought one of the braces off of ebay and someone confirmed that they were identical to the feed one.

R.K.

 

I just got the garfinkle brace off eaby and let me tell you, it's one solidly built piece made to last a life time. It has no dampner other than the rubber bushings...I really can't wait to install it.

 

Probably not a bad idea to dampen the vibration with a very stiff shock designed in on an ETB. Using a solid ETB can transmit the vibration directly to the driver's side motor mount. This vibration can be great enough to possibly loosen the the driver's side motor mount bolts from the oil pan, which could lead to a premature oil pan leak. Well @ least this is my theory on the possible downsides of the solid ETBs versus the dampened ETBs LOL

 

I sure hope Garfinkle has donated to this forum for all the braces he has sold and the amount of advertising you do for him.

Jason

 

how about the FEED brace?

i know they sell it at Jt-imports.com but i got mine off ebay for 2/3 price.





works great!

i do get some minor-vibration at start up, but i narrowed it down to the part that bolts on to the chasis. it is just metal on metal right now, so i am going to put some padding between them. that should get rid of the vibration at startup.

 

APNEABLUE, so your the bastard that outbid me!!! JK, hope your transitions into third are much smoother, cause mine wont.

 

Good question. That is why I asked crazyrx7 if the 30s vibration he spoke of, was at the chassis, or engine. I assume it was the engine though.

Kento,
Thanks for the input. I wasn't too familiar with the design of the dampners on sportsbikes, but it has been done, and from what I hear, has been effecitive. As you say, oil and heat would place greater wear on them, so I was wondering what the life would be if used. The Feed unit designed for our cars sounds better, but I still find the steering damper interesting. I'm going to do some reading up on them, what others did, and their function for personal reasons a bit later.


Do you remember how much they went for, and who the seller was?

apnea,

I've seen some people (or possibly units), put (or come with) a rubber piece at this point to help with vibration. The garfinkle brace does look more sturdy at the mounts, but I'm not sure if the rubber piece would help as much as a dampner would.

SleepR1,
I've seen a GREAT deal of vibration at idle (not sure about driving) with some of my friends FDs, and I honestly wouldn't want that transfered to the chassis in a corner, during an upshift, or otherwise. That is among the reasons I want a dampened ETB. I wouldn't dismiss your theory after what I've seen.

 

Yeah, I got it from CP Racing....Chris something another...if you do get one from him expect to wait a while for it...I didn't get it till like 3 weeks after the auction was over...

Shinobi, What you are saying about a piece of rubber would be a nice addition to help with vibration....However, I can't really talk much about it since I haven't installed it yet...the rubber that's on garfinkles braces are like rubber bushings and probably have about 1cm of rubber on each side of the bolts that hold the bar inplace...So total you have approximately 4cm or 1.5" of rubber bushing to absorb vibration...

Plus, what's the big deal with a little vibration...I think it would make me feel like I am driving a huge muscle car with gobbs of power....That and you guys know how much chicks like vibration

 

haha, very funny Apneablue! Anyways, it looks like the best thing to do is combine the Garfinkle mounts with the FEED shock. Or put some rubber in the FEED mounts as Apneablue said he'd do.

**Keep us updated on the progress!**

 

I bought mine for $150 us shipped to Canada. His name on ebay is huybiz. I think he is selling those aluminum intake pipes as well on ebay. I bought a set of those off of him and they look way better than the M2 ones that my buddy has and he paid almost $300 us for them and I paid 1/3 of that price.

R.K.

 

That is exactly what I was thinking, and is most likely what I will go with.

I see, but my experiences with bushings, heat, and absorbing vibration hasn't been exactly fun. I see what you are saying though. If you remember, let me (us) know how it works out for you.

Well, I'm sure it feels cool, but missing shifts won't impress the ladies...neither will wheel hop and broken power plant frames

crazyrx7,
Thanks for the info. I got some intake hardpipes for the same cheap price as well. I'm going to try and find that seller you spoke of.

Looks like a custom rubber piece on the mounting position, along with the Feed dampner brace is the best option.

 

MC dampners are way too soft and are built for a longer stroke than you want. For this application rubber or urethane would probably be better than hydraulic.
I will build a few up if we can get some interest.

 

Which type of ETB do you make? If it resembles the feed type with a dampner, I'd be interested.

 

You should also note the mounting method on the sportbike steering dampers (not to nitpick, but the correct term is "damper"; "dampening" is wetting a sponge, "damping" is canceling out unwanted oscillations with something...sorry, it was buggin' me ). The FEED damper unit is solidly mounted on both ends; a MC unit uses a clamp on the damper unit side to provide adjustment. I'm skeptical that such a clamp would be able to grip the damper unit solidly enough under ETB pressures.

 

My sponge is damper than your sponge !!!
from: http://www.yourdictionary.com/ahd/d/d0018000.html

damp·en
(click to hear the word) (dmpn)
v. damp·ened, damp·en·ing, damp·ens
v. tr.
To deaden, restrain, or depress: "trade moves . . . aimed at dampening protectionist pressures in Congress"
To soundproof.
To make damp.

damped, damp·ing, damps
To make damp or moist; moisten.
To extinguish (a fire, for example) by cutting off air.
To restrain or check; discourage.
Music To slow or stop the vibrations of (the strings of a keyboard instrument) with a damper.
Physics To decrease the amplitude of (an oscillating system).

Looks like there both write !