E86 Front Triangulation Braces Retrofit

[karter16]

Why not just insert the helicoil and cut a threaded rod. On my carbon part, I molded threaded inserts and then used an M8 class 8.8 threaded rod cut to length. Loctite on the end that goes into the bracket.

With the caveat that I'm not really the appropriate sort of engineer and didn't FEA it, this was my original plan, but I got a little sketched out about the thread depth available given the size of the part (bearing in mind in my case the part is aluminium) and thought that Heinz's approach of having an insert that couldn't pull through seemed better to me.

[karter16]

Are these the studs in question? M10x1.5x20 and M10x1.5x30 from MRO?

https://mrohardware.com/product/m10-x-1-50-high-torque-studs-sfhh00m1020d/

https://mrohardware.com/product/m10-...-sfhh00m1030d/

Yep those are the ones

[heinzboehmer]

Added the weight of the stock cabin air filter housing to the documentation (thanks OldRanger for weighing yours!).

Here's a screenshot of the data:



Looks like with the 3D printed strut tower brackets, this mod results in a net 909g (2lbs) weight reduction over the stock parts.

I haven't done the math, but just by eyeballing, it looks like the car's center of gravity will drop by a little bit (most of the weight savings come from the replacement HVAC plastics) and likely not move very much front to back (E86 braces are out front and windshield mount is out back)

[bigjae46]

Finally done with the carbon fiber version!

The strut tower brackets were a challenge. The issue is the 3rd mounting point. I can't find a moldable threaded insert that is shallow enough to clear the left side (wiring harness). I bonded a bolt and then ground down the bolt head.

The mold didn't go so well. I made the first half then I remove the base plate for the 2nd half. Like an idiot I removed the base plate and the part. So I had Heinzboehmer print another part. And then I made the mold into a wonky shape trying to be cheap and reduce the amount of urethane casting resin. Then I decided to be a cheap ass and try something cheaper which eh...worked.

The final part has some voids what are a bit of a concern. The cheap urethane won't allow for as much clamping pressure. I plan to shake down the car on labor day so we'll see if it falls apart!

Either way, I'll have to "invest" another $500 in casting urethane to redo this 😓

[siamkazi]

Finally done with the carbon fiber version!

The strut tower brackets were a challenge. The issue is the 3rd mounting point. I can't find a moldable threaded insert that is shallow enough to clear the left side (wiring harness). I bonded a bolt and then ground down the bolt head.

The mold didn't go so well. I made the first half then I remove the base plate for the 2nd half. Like an idiot I removed the base plate and the part. So I had Heinzboehmer print another part. And then I made the mold into a wonky shape trying to be cheap and reduce the amount of urethane casting resin. Then I decided to be a cheap ass and try something cheaper which eh...worked.

The final part has some voids what are a bit of a concern. The cheap urethane won't allow for as much clamping pressure. I plan to shake down the car on labor day so we'll see if it falls apart!

Either way, I'll have to "invest" another $500 in casting urethane to redo this 😓

This is so cool!

[heinzboehmer]

Finally done with the carbon fiber version!

The strut tower brackets were a challenge. The issue is the 3rd mounting point. I can't find a moldable threaded insert that is shallow enough to clear the left side (wiring harness). I bonded a bolt and then ground down the bolt head.

The mold didn't go so well. I made the first half then I remove the base plate for the 2nd half. Like an idiot I removed the base plate and the part. So I had Heinzboehmer print another part. And then I made the mold into a wonky shape trying to be cheap and reduce the amount of urethane casting resin. Then I decided to be a cheap ass and try something cheaper which eh...worked.

The final part has some voids what are a bit of a concern. The cheap urethane won't allow for as much clamping pressure. I plan to shake down the car on labor day so we'll see if it falls apart!

Either way, I'll have to "invest" another $500 in casting urethane to redo this 😓

Awesome! No spin around the paddock to get some driving impressions?

[bigjae46]

Awesome! No spin around the paddock to get some driving impressions?

Not yet. I keep the car at the track and had too many other things to get done. I'm old and it's hot outside so progress has been slow.

[Sajk]

I have not followed the entire journey but is the plan to market these?

[heinzboehmer]

I have not followed the entire journey but is the plan to market these?

Nope, not really interested in making money off of this. Doesn't feel aligned with the spirit of this community.

It's all open source, though, so anyone can recreate/tweak/improve for their own car. Info and links in the first post.