E86 Front Triangulation Braces Retrofit

[George Hill]

I kind of took Bry5on thread off the rails as we were discussing other attachment methods for the cowl bracket. heinzboehmer offered some other solutions and I wanted to explore that more so I thought it would make the most sense to bring that conversation to the thread here.

Heinz, would you be able to upload that sheet metal design to the drive? I'm curious what it would cost from SCS.

I'll print that out as well and see what it looks like for access.

Miles of room from the interior side without the heater case installed.




Also, I have a swivel head rivet gun. Without the S54 plenum installed I wonder if you could access it and rivet from the engine bay?

[heinzboehmer]

Now I'm doubly glad I asked! would not have thought to use the step file for additive printing! Can confirm the step files come out at the right dimensions :-) Thanks!

I think my previous post might have sounded a bit too assertive regarding what I think of the .step vs .stl debate, especially when it comes to additive manufacturing.

In theory, sure .step will give you more precise paths, but there's a lot of approximations involved in additive, given the layered approach (any features in z, corners, etc. are all approximated).

In practice though? Willing to bet the physical parts would be identical, given a high enough resolution.stl (min triangle height <= max machine resolution). Might just be a carryover from the CNC world.

But, at the end of the day, I'm pretty sure the manufacturers don't care what I think and they still seem to prefer .step sooo

Anyway, rant over. Glad the .step files work

[karter16]

Hmmm, maybe I messed up the scaling when exporting. Project units are mm.

Can you try the .step files? They're what I gave to the manufacturer, as most seem to prefer that format.

The preference feels justified since .step is parametric(ish), as opposed to the jumble of triangles you get in an .stl (decent analogy is .svg vs .jpg).

Now I'm doubly glad I asked! would not have thought to use the step file for additive printing! Can confirm the step files come out at the right dimensions :-) Thanks!

[heinzboehmer]

Apologies in advance if I'm being super dumb, but everything is telling me the STL files you uploaded for the strut brackets have the model as being super-tiny. Do I need to apply a scaling factor to these (I'm guessing it should be about 100x bigger? (dm instead of mm?))

Hmmm, maybe I messed up the scaling when exporting. Project units are mm.

Can you try the .step files? They're what I gave to the manufacturer, as most seem to prefer that format.

The preference feels justified since .step is parametric(ish), as opposed to the jumble of triangles you get in an .stl (decent analogy is .svg vs .jpg).

[karter16]

Also, I hadn't linked the CAD anywhere earlier because the parts weren't final and I didn't want people to end up with stale copies of it. However, the design is now about as final as it's gonna get, so I've added the CAD link to the documentation.

Apologies in advance if I'm being super dumb, but everything is telling me the STL files you uploaded for the strut brackets have the model as being super-tiny. Do I need to apply a scaling factor to these (I'm guessing it should be about 100x bigger? (dm instead of mm?))

[bigjae46]

My carbon fiber brackets have seen 3 track days with Hoosiers and Goodyear Supercar 3Rs at COTA and Eagle's Canyon Raceway. Lots of G-loads and they haven't exploded! Finally got the center bracket bonded.

https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/main-forum/member-build-journals/6890-the-red-drift-machine-2026-nasa-tt4-adventures?p=350699#post350699

Heinz kindly sent a plastic version of the latest strut tower bracket so I will proceed with making a cast mold and then a CF copy.

[heinzboehmer]

Printed strut tower brackets have done 500 street miles + a track day and they still look perfect. Think I'm gonna sign off on them, as that's about as much testing as I can feasibly do in a reasonable timeframe. I'll update the design (and this thread) if they fail prematurely in the coming years.

Documentation has been updated and files have been uploaded to the drive.

Also, I hadn't linked the CAD anywhere earlier because the parts weren't final and I didn't want people to end up with stale copies of it. However, the design is now about as final as it's gonna get, so I've added the CAD link to the documentation.

[liam821]

Man, I want to come.

I'll just flip you off from the cork screw, from the one time I was there in a friend's car.
(saw him track side taking this picture)

haha! That is an amazing picture.

Only like a forty hour drive. Don't be lazy lol

Seriously, I bet if you bring a pee bag, you could probably get there in like 38 hours. Easy-peasy.

[oceansize]

Man, I want to come.

I'll just flip you off from the cork screw, the one time I was there in a friend's car.
(saw him track side taking this picture)

Only like a forty hour drive. Don't be lazy lol

[bigjae46]

Man, I want to come.

I'll just flip you off from the cork screw, the one time I was there in a friend's car.
(saw him track side taking this picture)

Two hands on the wheel there buddy! LMAO

[Obioban]

Man, I want to come.

I'll just flip you off from the cork screw, from the one time I was there in a friend's car.
(saw him track side taking this picture)

[heinzboehmer]

I'm only a 10 hour drive away...let's do it!

Always down for a Laguna day. Bunch of people on here that I'm sure would join in too!

[liam821]

Forum Laguna day when?

I'm only a 10 hour drive away...let's do it!

[heinzboehmer]

Laguna Seca is on my list of must do's. One day I am going to ship the car to LA and drive up the coast to Vancouver. On the way north will be a track day at Laguna Seca. One day.

It's an awesome track and it's in an area with basically perfect driving weather year round. It does get crowded cause everyone wants to drive it (especially on the high dB days), but it's still fun.

Forum Laguna day when?

[D-O]

Also, brackets are on the car for some validation:



They survived a 100mi drive today and the car feels exactly the same as it did with the sheet metal prototypes. Today's drive wasn't all that dynamic, lots of highway stuff, but I'll do some more interesting driving soon. Doing a track day at Laguna Seca (with the infamous bumpy kerbs) next weekend, so that should really torture these parts

Laguna Seca is on my list of must do's. One day I am going to ship the car to LA and drive up the coast to Vancouver. On the way north will be a track day at Laguna Seca. One day.