• Protip: Profile posts are public! Use Conversations to message other members privately. Everyone can see the content of a profile post.

What is this?

That is Andie's car. He is very innovative, when it comes to modifying the NSX.
smile.gif


He is a regular here as well.

Andie?
 
Originally posted by nsx1164:
that strut brace is on a black 95 NSX-T (replaces the OE triangle brace)

From the picture, it appears that this brace design relies solely on the bending stiffness of the two bars. Bending stiffness usually isnt nearly as good as strong as the tensile or compressive properties of most metals. (Try bending a toothpick as opposed to stretching it).

Normal practice in space frames is to divide up all the open rectangles into triangles -- which the OE brace tries to do. The pictured brace design merely divides the engine bay into 2 smaller rectangles. Both of these will still lozenge when the rear of the chassis is twisted.


BUT, I'd like to know the motivation and benefits of this design (ie, perhaps there is something not shown in the picture).
 
I concede, the center piece is all show and no go. I know about triangles when it comes to structural integrity - took high school geometry. :) That "thing" is there to hold up a 3-filter intake tube that is currently in the back of the garage collecting dust. The only other purpose it may serve is if I get rear-ended by a semi and it shoots through the firewall and impales the person sitting illegally on my center tunnel.

Anyhow, take your OEM strut bar off some time, whether you have a targa or a coupe, and tell me if you think over-bored holes and bolts with washers is going to provide you with any structural rigidity. I drove my NSX for 250 miles without any kind of rear strut bar whatsoever...as an experiment. The distance between the shock towers decreased by 1/32", telling me that it does require bracing from side to side, which I don't think the OEM strut bar does a good job of. The distance from a predetermined point on the firewall to the place of the strut bar did not change. As for flexing...I've driving several NSX's before...including other targas, and my NSX does not flex any more than even a newer 1997 NSX-T (mine is a 1995), and my car has been beaten on the track and has a significantly firmer/sticker suspension setup than OEM.

So the strut bar (not the center piece) I have is all go...it's a compression fit to get the bolts through that thing into the strut tower extensions. And that's another thing that makes me wonder. The strut bar on the NSX is not bolted to the chassis at all...it's bolted to these thingies (scientific term) that are held on top of the shock tower recesses with 3 bolts that are torqued down at 37ft-lb. Further, I can bend these things with my bare HANDS when the strut bar is OFF. Even if you HAVE a strut bar, it's gonna flex, but worse-so with a poorly designed strut bar.

Anyhow...I have exams tomorrow...ciao...

Andie

[This message has been edited by HomeDepotNSX (edited 04 June 2001).]

[This message has been edited by HomeDepotNSX (edited 04 June 2001).]
 
Somehow, that picture reminds me of a shiny barbeque Grill I saw at a homedepot.
 
Originally posted by ak:
Somehow, that picture reminds me of a shiny barbeque Grill I saw at a homedepot.

Sshh! Quiet! I don't want people finding the true sources of my inspiration to "molest" the NSX...

But I'll reveal the demented reasoning behind my exhaust system...was strolling down aisle 6 (plumbing fixtures) and saw all the beautiful PVC tubing on the shelf...so I pulled a bunch down and started putting together an exhaust layout right there on the floor...took about an hour with the 2 1/2" PVC...

-A
 
The strut bar on the NSX is not bolted to the chassis at all...it's bolted to these thingies (scientific term) that are held on top of the shock tower recesses with 3 bolts that are torqued down at 37ft-lb. Further, I can bend these things with my bare HANDS when the strut bar is OFF. Even if you HAVE a strut bar, it's gonna flex, but worse-so with a poorly designed strut bar.[/B]


Sounds like this is your next project?
 
No, Andie's next project is adding a 270-hp V-6 engine to that shiny barbecue grill he saw at Home Depot.
biggrin.gif
 
Originally posted by nsxtasy:
No, Andie's next project is adding a 270-hp V-6 engine to that shiny barbecue grill he saw at Home Depot.
biggrin.gif


I was thinking of sealing the bbq clam shell with hi-temp/pressure copper gaskets actually, so that it becomes a pressure bbq...cooks faster and more evenly. I'd have to hook up a leaf blower to feed the oxygen to the flame somehow, but with the expected high-pressure build-up inside my new shiny bbq grill, I was thinking of bolting on an A'pex Integration double blow off valve, just in case...you never know, right?

Andie
 
Originally posted by JoeSchmoe:

Sounds like this is your next project?


Actually, my next project is to bash out the divider glass and put in a lexan replacement, so I can cut holes in it and build a custom back-half "roll-cage"...not for the roll protection, but to stiffer the entire back end...made of carbon fiber tubes with stainless steel clamps, which will then be welded together at the contact points (I'll have to use a hi-temp epoxy for the carbon fiber tubes...). It will consist of a rear strut bar, and then three fore-aft carbon fiber tubes that attach to the also-custom carbon fiber harness bar I want to make...should be neat to look at at least. :)

The golden-egg idea I had last year was to weed the A/C vents to the intake, thus reducing the intake charge temp. But, I figured that even at max A/C, the air would heat up a bit on the way there, so I'd have an intake charge of, say, 65degF at best, and on a hot summer day, it would be 85degF out. Even lower the intake charge temp by 20degF (optimistic), on the NSX, you'd gain only about 5-6hp...and this is not enough to overcome the parasitic loss of running the A/C, which on our cars is about 10hp. So that golden-egg turned into a golden-turd really fast.

And then there was the leaf blower idea into the throttle body. Well, a 3.0l motor at 8000rpm sucks about 425cfm of air...and I'd be damned if I could get a leaf blower running reliably that could sustain that kind of flow. I also figured that at the current necessary to run this contraption, I'd need to put no less than 6 car batteries in the trunk and find some way to keep them charged...perhap add 4 more alternators to the engine and rob it of 20hp? Yet another golden-turd...

Right now, in terms of realistic projects, it's just getting the air intake set up and done with, and then onto building my 7lb titanium exhaust. :) That should be fun.

Andie


[This message has been edited by HomeDepotNSX (edited 04 June 2001).]
 
Back
Top