Lightweight small diameter **CROSS BRACES**

[Erik D_lux]

Welcome to the future of cross braces!

I have known for a while that we have had chassis down to the bare bones and there is not much left to take. I have also known that if we want to work on getting our chassis weight down (which is the worst weight to have) we will have to work on our cross braces and our hardware.

Every chassis manufacturer will soon be moving from a Delrin cross brace to an Aluminum cross brace just like these.




What are the benefits of these cross braces over what youre already running?
• LIGHTER
• Stronger
• More rigid
• Better threads
• MORE reduced weight from using shorter hardware







I ordered a TRUCKLOAD of these cross braces so I could get everybody a decent price on these. The cost is $2per brace or somewhere around $12 for an entire car depending on how many braces you need to replace.

These could also be a great option for vendors. If you can buy in bulk (over 100pcs) I can do a great deal and possibly get these to you for less than your paying for your current delrin pieces. This is also another great opportunity for smaller vendors who cannot afford to have a large batch made thus allowing a cheap, effective route to complete a chassis design rather than cutting all your braces by hand.




These cross braces will be offered in 3/16 diameter, gun drilled and tapped with 3mm threads.

The cross braces come in the following sizes:
2.875"
2.75"
2.5"
2.25"
2"
1.75"
1.5"



Most chassis should allow the use of these braces. If you need something closer, you can always trim down the brace a touch to get exactly what you need. If there is a very popular size needed, I could possibly do them on the next run.

Here is a run down of how the cross braces and sizes work out:

Originally Posted by Colgout

Hi Eirc,

Trying to order 6 for my BJV4. Postage to Australia come to $38?! What can I do?

Also I want 4 for my ECD Ringer, they are 1.85" (or 47mm), if I order to 2" one and trim a bit from each side, will that still be enough thread to secure the chassis?

David/

Originally Posted by Erik D_lux

Hey David,

Shipping should be fixed now. Give it a shot and let me know if there are issues.

There is approx 9mm of thread per side. I estimate that you only need 4ish mm or so of thread for a strong hold. So, you should be able to cut up to 5mm or .196 inches off per side. Of course, you would never need to cut that much off as you would simply step down to the next length.

I have had a couple PM's asking questions about sizes. Here is something to think about:

Taking Davids example above, he has a brace that is 1.85". If possible, the best option would be to go to a smaller 1.75" brace as it is closer in size. If you think about it, the 1.75" brace is .1" different from what he needs OR, .050 per side. Not much at all, a touch less than 1/16 or for metric about 1.5mm per side. Even if you needed to go larger to the 2" brace, thats only .150" or .75 (1.9mm) per side.

From all the chassis I have converted over so far, the braces I put in were a touch different but it didnt end up making a difference at all. Wheter the chassis is carbon fiber or Delrin, it will bend .060. Again, there is no situation where it will need to go more than .060 per side or you bought the wrong cross brace. The only time I can see it making a difference is if you are trying to reach your 3" width. In that case you dont want to go under.

I will put this information up to the top too.

[Erik D_lux]

Using my chassis as an example, by just replacing 7 of the cross braces with this style I lost approx 3g.

Old delrin cross braces 11g


New smaller lighter aluminum cross braces 8g

[Erik D_lux]

BUT!!!! Here is where you really benefit.... not only does the aluminum hold the hardware MUCH, MUCH better, you can also move to the correct length and shorter hardware which will also allow you to remove more weight.

I dont know how anybody else has their car setup but I was having to run super long screws in most places such as the upper links, lower links and shocks since they would come loose or strip from all the forces.

Here is what weight differences I now have that I run the proper hardware.

Old Delrin Cross braces and longer hardware 18g


New improved cross braces and shorter hardware 14g



So, not only do you benefit from a lighter setup, you also get to run shorter hardware that wont strip and wont take as long to thread and un thread when you make changes. If you have never driven with aluminum braces you will also be in for a treat as these will really stiffen up the chassis, making the shocks do the work, and also strengthening the chassis by not letting it fatigue.

[oneeye]

These are a nice addition to any chassis. Im running them and they do stiffen up my chassis alot. Great product!

[Colgout]

Hi Eirc,

Trying to order 6 for my BJV4. Postage to Australia come to $38?! What can I do?

Also I want 4 for my ECD Ringer, they are 1.85" (or 47mm), if I order to 2" one and trim a bit from each side, will that still be enough thread to secure the chassis?

David/

[Erik D_lux]

Originally Posted by Colgout

Hi Eirc,

Trying to order 6 for my BJV4. Postage to Australia come to $38?! What can I do?

Also I want 4 for my ECD Ringer, they are 1.85" (or 47mm), if I order to 2" one and trim a bit from each side, will that still be enough thread to secure the chassis?

David/

Hey David,

Shipping should be fixed now. Give it a shot and let me know if there are issues.

There is approx 9mm of thread per side. I estimate that you only need 4ish mm or so of thread for a strong hold. So, you should be able to cut up to 5mm or .196 inches off per side. Of course, you would never need to cut that much off as you would simply step down to the next length.

I have had a couple PM's asking questions about sizes. Here is something to think about:

Taking Davids example above, he has a brace that is 1.85". If possible, the best option would be to go to a smaller 1.75" brace as it is closer in size. If you think about it, the 1.75" brace is .1" different from what he needs OR, .050 per side. Not much at all, a touch less than 1/16 or for metric about 1.5mm per side. Even if you needed to go larger to the 2" brace, thats only .150" or .75 (1.9mm) per side.

From all the chassis I have converted over so far, the braces I put in were a touch different but it didnt end up making a difference at all. Wheter the chassis is carbon fiber or Delrin, it will bend .060. Again, there is no situation where it will need to go more than .060 per side or you bought the wrong cross brace. The only time I can see it making a difference is if you are trying to reach your 3" width. In that case you dont want to go under.

I will put this information up to the top too.

[Colgout]

Cool, will order tonight. I guess I will order the 1.75" and put some washer or spacer to take up the space, this way I do not need to trim the brace and it has a bit more surface area pressing on the chassis plate.

Thanks.

[Colgout]

Ordered! Thanks for offering this product, I know it not a hard part to make, but sometime it is worth it to get the good product at such affordable price.

Well done.

[95geo]

How does the significantly reduced surface area effect the chassis where it is being clamped? To get the full effect without any downsides, the ends of the spacers need to flare up to 1/4" so they aren't likely to dig into the CF and cause premature wear or fracturing.

That is currently why I run delrin and not aluminum spacers, no time to turn 1/4" down. However, for those interested, fastener-express.com sells aluminum .5mm thick 3mm id washers that will fit this application perfectly. I'll probably give that a try for starters.

Cool product! And thanks for making things like this available!

[Colgout]

i guess the ultimate cross brace will be 1/4" lathed down in the middle to 3/16". like one of the built thread in the xr10 section (sorry can't remember the name). but i guess it wont be $2 each.

[Erik D_lux]

Originally Posted by Colgout

Ordered! Thanks for offering this product, I know it not a hard part to make, but sometime it is worth it to get the good product at such affordable price.

Well done.

Thanks! I dont think the true value of these will be realized until people have bought them, installed them and see what a difference they make.

Originally Posted by 95geo

How does the significantly reduced surface area effect the chassis where it is being clamped? To get the full effect without any downsides, the ends of the spacers need to flare up to 1/4" so they aren't likely to dig into the CF and cause premature wear or fracturing.

That is currently why I run delrin and not aluminum spacers, no time to turn 1/4" down. However, for those interested, fastener-express.com sells aluminum .5mm thick 3mm id washers that will fit this application perfectly. I'll probably give that a try for starters.

Cool product! And thanks for making things like this available!

The reduced surface area does not seem to make any difference at all.

The Hall Style chassis has been running these braces for over 2yrs now with no issue.

I ran my shocks with the rod balls clamped against the chassis like the picture below for 100's of hours with very little wear. I wore the top of the chassis down before it was an issue. The balls are practically the same diameter as the cross braces I am selling.



If you look, you probably have rod balls clamping on your car too. Shocks, upper links etc,. You probably have never been concerned with those surfaces even though they have the same clamping area as these cross braces.

To put it another way, it has not been a problem and I doubt it will be.

Originally Posted by Colgout

i guess the ultimate cross brace will be 1/4" lathed down in the middle to 3/16". like one of the built thread in the xr10 section (sorry can't remember the name). but i guess it wont be $2 each.

Yeah, I thought about turning these down in the centers for even more weight loss. It is something that I may do in the future but I need to see how these go first and the amount I have to order to get good pricing is crazy.

[95geo]

Cool, that's good to hear that they have been proven out for a while now.

I'll order some for my stock since a couple bucks each is a lot better than the time it takes to drill and tap any more than a couple of these!

[Erik D_lux]

By popular demand, I have some 2.75" braces being made and also some 2.89" braces. I think that should pretty much cover it? I cant see needing any wider, does anybody think there is a need for narrower than 1.5"?

If you have a size request, now would be the time to make it.

[EverettY]

Sweet! I'll be ordering some of the 2.75" and some of the 1.75" soon. When should we expect to see them in the store?

[95geo]

1.3" (ish? whatever is common for most 1.5" main plate width chassis') & 1.5" 1/4" hex for lower chassis side spreaders.

[binaryterror]

I just got these in my HallStyle chassis kit, they are no joke. Super nice products and way lighter than that old school delrin approach.

[Erik D_lux]

Which cars use 1.3" between the uppers (I think thats what you were saying)? All the cars I have checked can use 1.5" between the uppers. With 1.5" spreader, double sheer carbon and a wide aluminum rod ball youre only looking at approx 2.6 wide at the cab. If it really would help to have a slightly smaller size we could do it though.

For the hex, I think most can get away with what is available from mcmaster and I cant compete with those prices.

[Erik D_lux]

Originally Posted by binaryterror

I just got these in my HallStyle chassis kit, they are no joke. Super nice products and way lighter than that old school delrin approach.

The only downside is that youre not running them after switching out the Delrin so you cannot tell how big of a difference they make. Straight to the good stuff for you!

[Colgout]

I received mine yesterday. They look dull in appearance, any tip to polish them to give a bit of blink? Brasso?

[Colgout]

never mind, I saw it from another thread. The aluminum polish from auto shop will do the trick.