backbone

[Flash's Owner]

I think they are technically 15 Nm.

[snaponbob]

Originally Posted by Flash's Owner I think they are technically 15 Nm.

Only 11 ft/lbs. Not much, but it is true. Check Mitchell On Demand. Glad I have an "/lbs torque wrench!!

[AdamVIP]

Im not sure if this has been said in the last 5 pages but this is what I put on kp forum. Please correct me if Im wrong.

"The only time where the brace will be noticable will be when the frame is subjected to a vertical force that is not equal across the car. This is nicely showcased with the DDM jack test. Essentially they are putting a vertical point load on one side of the car. It creates a moment which a thicker plate will handle better.

In most driving conditions you will not encounter this scenario. In 99.9% of driving cases the forces exerted on this piece are going parallel with the brace plane. On paper the thicker plate will handle this force better as well but youll be spinning well before you you max out the stock piece and notice a significant difference in feel.

All that being said I bought a brace from DDM and haveit installed. On the .1% chance I get a road irregularity that wil cause the torsion effect Ill be ready."

[carlintexas]

Carl - I had to take of the cross strut brace as well, my supercharger was hitting it. I believe they are re-designing the supports.

Yup - when they installed the cross brace on 1KULSOL'S car at my place during the Mod Meet the brace hit the S/C casing & needed a little grinding to get clearance. The boys tried to put one on mine but the turbo pipe was way too high to allow the install.

[solli4me]

I'm no engineer and I'm not able to speak the language of the techs here on the forum, but I am at one with my car and recently had the backbone installed. Upon dodging a nasty pothole, I felt the car flex and roll. That being said, the roll is not as intense (when it felt like a boat rocking on the ocean) as it was before the installation, so for me that's a good thing.

Originally Posted by Flash's Owner In fact, regarding a blind ride, I will volunteer my personal time some weekend in August to run a blind ride for the DDM backbone, if someone wants to sponsor it. We could run a couple of them, depending on the results of the first one, I would suggest a comparison of the thickest one to the stock panel. If that is successful, we could run a second one on the thinnest backbone vs. the thickest one, or even vs. the middle one. If it passes both rides, I would consider it very conclusive that there is a detectable effect. It would be fun for me, I always love interesting puzzles. LOL

hmm, detecting and solving puzzling things... that's a scorpio trait.

[Critterman]

Alan, my car was hitting that one percent everytime I punched the gas. The car really flexed hard, In fact someone with a DDM II cracked his windshield. I think it was Seal'

so for me it is worth every penny.

[King-Oka]

Originally Posted by Flash's Owner This is strange, as the descriptions of how your cars acted before the backbone installation is exactly how a kappa starts to feel if you undertorque or remove some of the middle bolts in then tunnel belly pan. Are you sure that the bolts were all tight before you changed to your backbone?

Mine does that too when I push it, and the pan is on tight. Backbone coming very soon.
I can show you my cracked windsheild as well. Right at the top, horizontal and no stone impact marks.

[Flash's Owner]

Originally Posted by solli4me I'm no engineer and I'm not able to speak the language of the techs here on the forum, but I am at one with my car and recently had the backbone installed. Upon dodging a nasty pothole, I felt the car flex and roll. That being said, the roll is not as intense (when it felt like a boat rocking on the ocean) as it was before the installation, so for me that's a good thing. hmm, detecting and solving puzzling things... that's a scorpio trait.

So too is it an Aquarian trait, a Tauran trait, a Gemini trait.

It is even noted for Leos, and Virgos.

Funny, it does seem to be a consistent agreement that Libra people are NOT so good at solving puzzles.

Strange. Another puzzle to be solved.

[Speedhawg]

Originally Posted by AdamVIP Im not sure if this has been said in the last 5 pages but this is what I put on kp forum. Please correct me if Im wrong. "The only time where the brace will be noticable will be when the frame is subjected to a vertical force that is not equal across the car. This is nicely showcased with the DDM jack test. Essentially they are putting a vertical point load on one side of the car. It creates a moment which a thicker plate will handle better. In most driving conditions you will not encounter this scenario. In 99.9% of driving cases the forces exerted on this piece are going parallel with the brace plane. On paper the thicker plate will handle this force better as well but youll be spinning well before you you max out the stock piece and notice a significant difference in feel. All that being said I bought a brace from DDM and haveit installed. On the .1% chance I get a road irregularity that wil cause the torsion effect Ill be ready."

I would have to say I absolutely disagree with this, not sure about where you drive but where I drive the car is subject to physics, centrifugal and torsional forces as the the faster I go around a corner the more my car wants to roll over on it's back. Does the front of your car not dip when you turn? I wish mine didn't but it does this causes torsional flex as the back does not dip, it can't because of the front you know. I do not see a lot of parallel forces when I drive the car does try to bend in the middle but that is a whole different issue.

[King-Oka]

Got my backbone in the mail today - finally. Just wanted to add one thing to this string. The Race version - which is 3/8" plate weighs right around (maybe just under) 10lbs. Someone mentioned weight earlier and the comment is valid. A street version would be 33% lighter (6 1/2 lbs), and an extreme version 25% heavier (12 1/2 lbs).

Just in case that matters to anyone. To me, I feel like I can now justify replacing my windshield.

[Speedhawg]

The Extreme is the same weight as the Race, it is slotted to reduce weight where the Race is a solid piece so is the Street.

[jeffs]

Many thanks to the DDM crew at the NASSM event. I had a Backbone installed this afternoon and was treated like an old friend instead of an anonymous customer.

While I didn't get to stress the car on the way home, I could tell the body had been tightened up. Can't wait to take a mountain drive.

[King-Oka]

Well, my race backbone is installed and I've got about 20 miles on it. So far, I can say this;
- The road noise associated with these little cars is greatly diminished. Almost like I'm riding on better tires. Previously every road defect seemed to get amplified to the driver cab. This is instantly better than before.

- The car corners differently. Not necessarily better or more confidently, but different. It seems to load up somwhere back of the front wheels, where previously it seemed to load up at the driver seat area. Stands to reason I guess as the mid section of the car is stiffer now. This will take a bit more driving to get used to.

[LatinVenom]

King-Oka,
I have to agree quite a bit with the 1st part of your statement.

[Sol-Mates]

Originally Posted by King-Oka Well, my race backbone is installed and I've got about 20 miles on it. So far, I can say this; - The road noise associated with these little cars is greatly diminished. Almost like I'm riding on better tires. Previously every road defect seemed to get amplified to the driver cab. This is instantly better than before. - The car corners differently. Not necessarily better or more confidently, but different. It seems to load up somwhere back of the front wheels, where previously it seemed to load up at the driver seat area. Stands to reason I guess as the mid section of the car is stiffer now. This will take a bit more driving to get used to.

I'm with you on both points.

It does seem quieter and has a somewhat stiffer feeling when going over bumps with the backbone installed (street version).

As far as cornering... I haven't had it out a bunch yet, but the "test" I did had the car acting differently. When going around a very sharp corner at speed the car actually started to slide a bit where it didn't before. Not breaking loose, but I could hear the tires scrubbing a bit. Of course I'll get out and throw 'er through some twisties as soon as I am able to verify that this wasn't just an anomaly.