Srut tower brace (truss)

[d-Mag]

Would a strut tower brace have any benefit on a 412 . Has any one out there done this ? ( I have a '74 wagon )

[raygreenwood]

Yes...it would be an excellent benefit...especially once you get the front end uprated. The body on this car is pretty flexible.

You could incorporate one made for a super-beetle quite easily as long as you have the right bolt pattern from teh strut mounts ...but beware how high it comes up. There is very little room when teh hood closes. A lower brace would also be quite handy...to tie the two sides together. A side to side bar mounted at the rear edge of the subframe.....tied to the inner fender walls right about where the steering box and idler bolt on....would be great. Ray

[d-Mag]

Thanks Ray, I'll do the top first ( I was thinking super beetle also ), see how it goes and do the bottoms when I get the time to do your strut upgrade. I only have 600 miles behind the wheel of this car so far but it's a cool ride. Your rear stabilizer bar recommendation (I only have the one right now) for the wagon has been really nice. Rear shocks should be next. Then maybe tires. (got to do this in stages as "funding" is slow... ). By the way, I'm one who isn't greatly concerned about "lowering" the front end for looks. I want performance, I've always felt form follows funtion, so what is.. is . I agree with you this car is pretty low as it is. ( I think the "high look is accentuated by the way the front nose curves up from the bottom. I'm planning to fit a Golf/Jetta spoiler on this car and there aint much room to play with ). So with that in mind is there a shock available with the right valveing that woud'nt need a modification to lower or is the audi 4000 the only game in town. By the way I picked up a pair of NOS Sachs strut cartridges (red) for five bucks at a bugorama a year ago but have been hesitant to install because your posts indicate after market struts for the 412 tend to be lame at best. So what's the word on these ? Are they O.K. Also is shelf life a factor ? What kind of mileage use could I expect from these before their worn out and I have to use the Audi cartridges. Thanks Don

[raygreenwood]

I am sure there are more shocks that have useful valveing. I came to teh conclusion that teh audi 4000 cartridge could be used....because I cut an awful lot of strut cartridges open and did careful measureing of all associated valving shims, piston diameter compensating orifices etc.
The main criteria...was that I knew I would never find a strut cartridge as long as teh 411/412 caretridge....but that I must have a cartridge that was valved similar but had better rebound control by about 25%....and have at least as much stroke length available in it as the 411/412. Lastly...if it satisfied those criteria....and was at least marginally smaller.....I knew it could be modified to fit.

What I mean by that....is that the 411/412....just has long cartridges because of the geometry of the car. The maximum stroke that the suspension uses is actually short.
The audi cartridge....and only really in the KYB low pressure gas....is excellent. I have not tried one in oil based (havn't found any). The Gas-just high pressure version will flat out break things. Its just too stiff.

The modifications are very simple for using these cartridges. Machine work can be expensive...b ut most shops will make the stubs out of tool steel for about $30-60 each. Ray

[vwbill]

Sorry to jump in your post but have you seen the one on Neil Anderson's car I think?? It is the one pictured at the race track... bill

[raygreenwood]

Is that the gold car in the videos? The audi 4000 mod is PLENTY stiff enough for track work. It is just superb. Since it also compresses the stock coils about 1" more (pre-loads)....the control is excellent.
I noticed his gold 412 tends to "hike" the inside rear wheel through that left hand sweeper. He needs better sway control in the rear. It may also be that he is notciably lower in the front. This tends to load the momentum point of the rear of the 412....artifically towards the front. This is part of the inertial moment change thrugh that sweeper. If you had some way to check....you would also see that it would simultaneously be compressing the diagonally opposite front strut on the right hand side. Nice car though! Looks like fun. I did not see anywhere in there if he had a strut brace. Ray

[vwbill]

Hey, I thought it was Neil's car that had a picture of the trunk and a strut brace he had made and I thought he responded to a post about his car and his setup??? It either was made outta aircraft allumi or paint to look that way? It looked like a rod with horseshoe ends and was a staight rod not curved or arched I think... Would a box rod be better or do you want some flex? Have to do a search and find his link of pics. Hope they are still available. I think it is a great idea in our cars!! Good luck with the beetle try can't wait to hear if it can be used! bill
p.s.Here he says it has a strut brace? http://www.tunacan.net/t4corner/custom/ ... ndex.shtml
p.s.s Talk about bad memory! I posted a post about neal's car in a mag and he sent me a pic of the strut brace! His 412 name is Specky VW Freak. wonder if he we could email him about it again. I'll try to check my other laptop but i think that stuff was on a crasher drive!!

[raygreenwood]

The main thing a strut tower brace does is keep the towers from flexing outward or inward.....which they actually do a lot. But...in recent years...having looked at other cars with similar construction....I an obliged to believe that just a side to side brace may be good...but one that also triangulates to the center of teh firewall right behind teh towers would be even better. Ray