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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

"Tubing" the front part of the chassis - Questions


ManwithSupra

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I have seen this a lot on the drifting world but now i am seeing more and more on Time attack and converted road/race cars.

Its not new by any means but its got me thinking.. If you are chopping off the wing support after the suspension tower is this not going to compromise the integrity of the tower (despite it still being attached to the chassis legs)?

I know people weld or bolt in a tubular front section for the bumper support structure as this is benefical if you have an accident at the track, you can either replace one section or remove the entire front end and bolt a new one on (depending how you do it) however I wondered how much difference it would make in terms of the support.

 

I was thinking about doing this on the Supra over winter, having a metal tube front but with all the wing/light/rad etc support parts made of carbon as this would again lower weight, but before I take an angle grinder to it I wanted to explore the pro's and cons first.

Picture to let you know what I mean and well to get people talking.

 

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210.jpg

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Lol :D

 

Why are you doing it? I doubt a lattice of steel tubes will weigh less than the chassis section it replaces.

 

There are a couple of reasons, firstly it will make working on the front of the engine MUCH easier then it is at the moment (as the engine is much further back from the stock location), Secondly having a removable front section will mean it will be easier to repair if I come off and hit something hard.

 

There "may" be a slight weight saving over stock, depending on how much tube is used, I was thinking of having the main support sections made out of T45 tube and the rest, carbon fibre to keep the weight down. Weight saving isnt the main thing.

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I'm cutting mine back to just in front of the roll bar pickup points and tubing it from there. The alloy front brace will then attach there just in front of the engine and provide a support point for the alloy tube frame. The idea is to create as much space bellow the headlight line as possible for the bespoke rad pack.

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Come on admit it you just love working on the car and are looking for more jobs to do on it, instead get some trackdays booked with us and get some driving done;)

 

LOL I do love working on it true but I love driving it more - Its now just epic with the sequential gearbox - the sound is simply amazing :)

I will be out on loads of track days very soon now I have sorted a couple of private matters..

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Speaking of which, we have Silverstone next Wednesday, 28th :D

 

Ah mate, I would have loved to. I am just a little snowed with work at the moment (which is not all bad).

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

I'm cutting mine back to just in front of the roll bar pickup points and tubing it from there. The alloy front brace will then attach there just in front of the engine and provide a support point for the alloy tube frame. The idea is to create as much space bellow the headlight line as possible for the bespoke rad pack.

 

Nice work, please document this :)

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If you don't go crazy cutting too much of the profile around the tower away, I would be very surprised if you compromised the rigidity of the strut towers doing this.

 

At the same time I would be surprised if you got a lot of structural benefit from the spaceframe front, however if done correctly you could gain some rigidity...

 

I would say don't get too eager cutting weight around the strut towers and you shouldnt suffer much in the way of structural rigidity.

 

 

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