Spyder "X" brace

[renovatdkitchen]

Does anyone know if the X brace at the rear of the spyder can be cut out and left out?

I don't care about its handling performance, but my fuel cell will barely fit there wit it in place, and I'm getting a cage done for it come spring time.

 

[dgdsm]

I don't know if this answers your question, but it might be an important part of the unibody construction. From what I could find it's parts 76020l and 76020r, "RR seat back support pipe". I guess if you don't care about the rear seats it might not make a difference, otherwise they look to me like they hold up something.

 

[greengoblin]

If you are going to cage the car then it will not be needed. Assuming the cage is correctly built . You should just do it all at once. Cut it out and put the cell and cage in at the same time to make sure it all works together and properly braces the car. If your not going to cage your car I would leave it.

 

[renovatdkitchen]

Thanks guys!

I'm taking the angle grinder to it in the next couple days. One of my uncles is good friends with a very nice cage builder local to me. The track I race at was already upset that I didn't have a half cage last year and with the new turbo setup surely won't like me, so pretty much once I dial in the new injectors, the car is being driven to the shop to have the cage made and welded in. IF for some reason things go wrong, I've got a welder handy and will just weld in some temporary supports.

 

[lasthope05]

You cut it after you put the cage in not before. You need the bracing there to keep the car square.

 

[renovatdkitchen]

Are you 100% sure? How will it make a difference if in just driving to the fabricator? I don't be turning hard or anything that can bend the chassis.

In fact, I got my mid 11 second pass without rewelding the bottom of the X brace that connects to the chassis as my local drag strip would have closed before I had a chance to weld it in properly.

 

[greengoblin]

You can do what you want but it's really ideal to just do it all at once. The brace is there to reduce/keep the chassis from flexing/twisting. your car is lacking a roof and that makes the car a floppy mess as is. It just makes sense to leave it be and let the cage guy do the cutting while the cage is being done. It may make more of a mess for the fabricator doing the cage. What is the hurry for chopping your car up for? Does the fuel cell need to be installed before the cage?

 

[renovatdkitchen]

It's no real rush, just it's an extremely tight fit with the fuel cell. I wanted a size smaller, but came across a deal I couldn't refuse. Unfortunately, it comes very close to the X brace. I'll do my best to fit it and leave the X brace. It should fit, in theory, just squeezing it in will be the tough part.

 

[greengoblin]

Why not just wait to install the cell after the cage is installed? That would be the logical choice if the fit is uber tight.

 

[renovatdkitchen]

Catch is the spyder is also my daily driver at the moment as I lack a third vehicle for daily use.

Think there would be a risk of the chassis flexing if I got it towed over to the fabricator?

 

[greengoblin]

If it is a DD then all the more reason to leave it alone until you have the time to put the cage in. I'm not sure I'm following your logic here.

You want to put your shiny new fuel cell in. Got that.
To do that you want to cut out the x brace. Got that
You are going to to cage the car. Got that. ( crazy since it's a dd but ok)
You need your car to not be down for long since it is pretty much a dd. Got That. (that is kinda a conflict with caging but ok.)

Why do you need the fuel cell installed now before the cage? That is what I do not get.

Doing it later really has little impact on how long the car is going to be down total.

However doing it before the cage is put in could result in:
chassis problems ( though not likely if your smart)
A fuel cell that may be in way of the guy trying to weld in your cage.
A cell that may not even fit with the cage depending on the design and what not.
all above could =more down to the dd you need to drive
I can think of other but I'll stop there.

This is by no means meant to piss you off or anything. Just trying to understand what you want to do and the why behind the steps.

If it was me here what I would do.

Sit tight.
install cage
install fuel cell
race race race.

 

[renovatdkitchen]

It's not a real daily, just a street driven drag car. I find once I start a project, I focus on it until it's done.

You got a point though. I'll wait for the fabricator to do his work with the cage, then I'll finish it. A fuel tank with fuel right beside welding being done doesn't seem like a good idea.

No offence taken. Just looking at getting opinions. Im gonna get it towed there/back, then I'll toss the cell in.

 

[bjones18]

Sorry for the late reply. I agree with GG's response. That said here is the physics....

A sedan gains tremendous torsional & bending stiffness from the roof and glued-in windshield. Roofs with glued windshields are a very efficient method for providing torsional and bending stiffness. The best convertible structure I have seen is the GM Solstice and/or aluminum space frame Corvette. Look at the rockers and tunnel of these vehicles.

Convertibles have horrible vibration modes... including the windshield twisting/flopping. OEMs put X-braces and chunks of cast-iron in certain locations (corner of rear bumper is common) to calm the vibrations. A properly taped cardboard box is very stiff... until you cut the top and sides (doors) out - there is not much left for structure. Driving your car is probably not going to permanently deform without the x-brace in place.... but it will have more crazy vibrations (rear-view mirror included) and feel more floppy over bumps without it. Towing to fabricator? pay $10 more and flat-bed it.

You might want to take measurements to see if your car is "straight" before welding in a cage.

Again, GG has it right. Cutting the x-brace is part of your structural modifications, do it with the cage.

Talked to a guy once, his best performance modification he ever made was buying a different DD.

Haste makes waste.

 

[renovatdkitchen]

No worries,
I did see GG's point and am actually getting it towed on a flatbed sometime next week to the fabricator and getting him to do the cage, then cut out the x brace once it's ready to come out.

Keeps the fabricator and car happy, which makes me happy.