Spyder chassis stiffener

A

alfazagato

New Member
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Some time ago there was a conversation concerning a Canadian company's re-engineering a Miata cross brace for under the Spyder chassis to give additional stiffening. Is there any further news on this?
I was reminded of this at a Maserati lunch today when I was told that the GranSport 90 Aniversary Spyder had such a stiffening frame as standard....is this true?
 
BennyD

BennyD

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15,006
Quite probably. My 04my spyder has a cross brace stiffener whereas Conaeros 02my spyder doesn't.
 
conaero

conaero

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That is correct and I can't find the part number either. Its sort of a X brace and I want one.

I hate strut braces but if it helped I would fit one.
 
BennyD

BennyD

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That's the fella I have on mine. Not sure it does much good to be honest as the bolt holes are bigger than the bolts. This must allow the plate to slide a bit thereby reducing its effectiveness. I might have to do a mod to match them up a bit better.
 
A

alfazagato

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36
Thanks for highlighting the cross brace. Compared with the Miata unit it appears to be very short and thus possiby less effective. The Miata one is easily the length of the transmission tunnel, has very many bolted attachements to the chassis rails and I would think it has a fair chance of effective stiffening. I have tried talking to the Canadian garage who made the conversion but dead silence from them! Any further thoughts?
 
safrane

safrane

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16,828
Way to small to stop any scuttle shake...I think that part is only there to stop the body flexing too much over that section. Given where is positioned in the centre of the car it is all but useless for anything else given the leverage forces that are applied from the chassis
 
BennyD

BennyD

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Easiest option; just drive through the scuttle shake and accept the fact the spyder is only nearly perfect.
 
Max Swell

Max Swell

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Agree with Benny .... drive through it and accept its part of open air motoring.

You have a tin top and no scuttle shake or enjoy the smell of cows and scuttle shake .... You makes your choice.....
 
conaero

conaero

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OK, I have one on order from Dick Lovetts, £33.39 inc vat delivered.

If anyone wants one, the factory have loads in stock and he will be placing the order today.

Contact Alan: 01793 458912 alan.clark@dicklovett.co.uk

Part number: 67497800
 
mjheathcote

mjheathcote

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Max Swell said:
Agree with Benny .... drive through it and accept its part of open air motoring.

You have a tin top and no scuttle shake or enjoy the smell of cows and scuttle shake .... You makes your choice.....
Click to expand...

A friend had a new 997 Turbo convertible for a few weeks while his coupe was in for an insurance repair. That suffered from bad scuttle shake too.
My Triumph Stag has no scuttle shake, but that's because of the T bar Triumph fitted to comply (that never materialised) for the US roll over test.
So, that's the answer, fit a T bar!
 
2b1ask1

2b1ask1

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At that price Matt it is a no brainer... Is it at this point though yo tell us the gearbox and diff have to come out to fit it?
 
conaero

conaero

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2b1ask1 said:
At that price Matt it is a no brainer... Is it at this point though yo tell us the gearbox and diff have to come out to fit it?
Click to expand...

Exactly. No, its just screws to the floor pan across the tunnel legs, mid way down the car (under your bums on a Spyder)

Cant see it making any difference, but at that price its worth a go. I have ordered the fixings too. The place I find the most scuttle come through is the steering, if we could dampen that in some way the whole experience would be so much better. I have found that holding the wheel at the very bottom greatly reduces it.
 
conaero

conaero

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Ok, it arrived this morning, due to its weight it had to be couriered so cost me £15 but you can always pick it up

067497800 Reinforcement £32.73
016287224 Screws £0.43 each, (4 required £1.29)

Plus VAT and postage.

Will it make a significant difference, Ill let you know but I suspect not but its worth a try for £40 and especially seeing as the bolts rattle around in the holes in the X brace, I cant see it working.

I have not checked that the bolt holes are there, so I suspect not and I will have to drill and riv nut the chassis.

IMG_1682.jpg

IMG_1683.jpg
 
Grinzzz

Grinzzz

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925
Looks a chunky bit of kit...odd that the bolts are so small. What does it screw into, Matt?
 
conaero

conaero

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It screws accross the transmission tunnel chassis legs under the front seats on a Spyder. As in my post above, I suspect this was a later addition to try and stiffen the chassis so I think I will have to fit riv nuts to take it.

I might fit bigger screws that fill the holes in the X brace but suspect its there purely a visual effort to show they were trying.
 
Grinzzz

Grinzzz

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I wouldnt write it off until you've tried it. As a bit of an experiment we once beefed up the stiffening on a race prepared 3 series (tin top). Cross bracing over the tunnel did have an effect despite it already having a full welded in cage. Effect wasnt dramatic but it was noticeable.

I doubt it will cure everything but it might well help. Wonder if the same part would fit the GS?

Good idea with the rivnuts..Might want them welded in though if it works.
 
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