Woohoo, we finally have some decent weather coming. No more rain and snow! :)
So, the current plan is to test out the clamps this weekend! I will post more info when I have it. I'm excited to finally get to try these parts out.
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Woohoo, we finally have some decent weather coming. No more rain and snow! :)
So, the current plan is to test out the clamps this weekend! I will post more info when I have it. I'm excited to finally get to try these parts out.
Yeah, clearance to the muffler and the spare tire well will definitely be looked at when we install the clamps.
Yes, the clamps are designed to not quite come all the way together. So, when you bolt them together, they will be tight and under tension. Can't have them loose and clattering around. That wouldn't do much good. :)
I have a rear bar installed and would still put a set of these on :P
P.S. Maybe you can fit some Delrin sleeves inside to prevent metal on metal contact.
The stock torsion beam looks like an upside down U, If I were to box that off into a 4 sided box like beam, would that make it more rigid? Also, would taking a solid pipe or bar and putting it inside the beams U and welding it, would that too have an effect on stiffing?
Yep. Basically anything that would help that beam resist twisting will reduce your body roll.
You do have to keep in mind whatever you do will have to undergo millions of cycles of bending on it as go over bumps. Its not rocket science for sure, but when you stiffen up the bar something else has to handle the added stress, and it has to handle it for quite a few cycles.
Any updates?
Yes, I do have an update. The testing went well over the weekend. To keep it short and simple, the clamps work. However, they are not effective enough that I'd actually charge any money for them. You called it Cyclopathic! ;)
For those who enjoy a more through explanation, keep reading.
Attachment 5953
Here is the rear torsion beam as it is stock. The first thing we did was take the (2015 for reference) Mirage for a spin like this to try to get a feel for how it felt with the stock setup. We went down some lower speed roads and swerved back and forth to get the body rolling a bit. We also went in parking lots and went in circles to see how much the car would lean. We did this for each test setup.
Attachment 5954
After the first test drive, a single clamp was installed. The clamp simply goes around the torsion beam and you tighten the bolts. It does pinch the beam a bit to hold tight.
With the single clamp installed we went for another drive. The single clamp was virtually no different than stock. Since we were trying to feel a difference, there might have been a tiny bit less roll, but certainly not a good noticeable difference. So, we went back to try with two clamps.
Attachment 5955
Thus, an additional clamp was added. As I mentioned earlier, we keep the space between the clamps and the sides all equal in distance to evenly distribute stresses. The first clamp was moved to one side and the other was added.
Out for another drive, we seemed to be able to tell that there was a little less body roll, but it still was not nearly a night and day difference that you'd want to see when you buy a product.
Once we got back from that test drive, we removed all the clamps and went for one more drive again with a stock setup. It seemed like there was a tiny bit more body roll again, but really not a ton more.
So, in the end I took a bunch of pictures of the rear torsion beam and suspension setup. I have a couple ideas already for what I'd like to try out for the next setup. I'll keep you all posted as I get more info.
Last, but not least I got this cool pic which looks like a mini Metro/Mirage meet. :cool:
Attachment 5956
Just a thought: here is a sway bar calculator. (There are others online as well)
http://www.gtsparkplugs.com/Sway-Bar-Calculator.html
Calculate the rate of UR bar and compare it to what AutoCAD says on clamps. Perhaps the clamps need to be wider, or you need extra 2 in the middle?