Anybody have aftermarket tunnel brace?

[BLACK10]

BARTON makes one now......

[JHart]

just how stiff does it make the ride???

[2010SSRSM6]

Some have said if you add a 3" exhaust the stock brace creates an annoying vibration. I don't if ths is the case or not, I still have the stock pipes.

[g-townmach]

Originally Posted by Bad Karma

Best one out in my opinion.

Still trying to get one but every week or so something "more important" pops up. lmao

Heard nothing but great from his products and he's a C5 guy....why wouldn't you want to give him the business first?!!

Good luck,
Ivan

Thanks dude!

[Duke]

Does the stock tunnel brace qualify as a driveshaft loop? My track requires a driveshaft loop for cars < 13 seconds in the 1/4.

[RamAir02]

Originally Posted by Duke

Does the stock tunnel brace qualify as a driveshaft loop? My track requires a driveshaft loop for cars < 13 seconds in the 1/4.

No. A driveshaft loop goes around the driveshaft like a bracelet for safety in the event the driveshaft input comes out of the tranny. It will prevent the driveshaft from falling to the ground and severely damaging the car or hurting the driver.

[Duke]

Originally Posted by RamAir02

No. A driveshaft loop goes around the driveshaft like a bracelet for safety in the event the driveshaft input comes out of the tranny. It will prevent the driveshaft from falling to the ground and severely damaging the car or hurting the driver.

Do you know who sells them...sorry for the thread jack.

[RamAir02]

http://bmrfabrication.com/F5.htm

http://www.mtiracing.com/purchase/20...-by-metco.html

[Hotchkis]

Originally Posted by Jeffro

Whats the difference between the BMR subframe connectors and the Hotchkis chassis brace?? The only difference I see is the price and with the Hotchkis brace you dont have to buy the tunnel brace seperately.

We like to assess each vehicle and platform through rigorous race track and street testing before coming up with an action plan on how to improve overall driving dynamics. With the 2010 Camaro, we found that it is a remarkably stiff platform. Through both drag race and road course testing we found that the problem with the 5th Gen Camaro is not subframe flex, it's the massive bushings in the rear cradle used by the factory to isolate NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) originally designed for some of the other Zeta platform cars. Those big bushings are great for creating a soft cushy ride, but terrible for performance since they allow the rear suspension cradle to move longitudinally & laterally, hurting both launch from a standstill and overall handling.

Here's a visual:




The Hotchkis Sport Suspension Chassis Max Brace reduces chassis flex and improves traction during hard launches and high-speed cornering by triangulating the rear sub frame to the chassis frame rails. The beauty of the brace is that it stiffens the platform but still allows the bushings to articulate in the vertical axis, so ride quality is not diminished. You get a stable footing and harder launches without the punishing ride of some of the other solutions. It took hundreds of R&D hours and several versions to come up with a brace we were happy with, which is why it works so well.

As for cost, look closely at materials and engineering. Our brace is manufactured from strong, lightweight, aerodynamic elliptical aluminum tubing that we have extruded to our custom spec by Alcoa and mated to laser cut, CNC machined aluminum brackets. We do this for minimal weight, maximum strength, ground clearance and corrosion resistance.

So, with our brace you improve chassis stiffness, launches and overall handling. Improve three things instead of just one, and maintain a decent ride. Plus it’s easy to bolt on, as you can see here:




Hopefully that helps!

[SGOS252382]

Originally Posted by 2010SSRSM6

Some have said if you add a 3" exhaust the stock brace creates an annoying vibration. I don't if ths is the case or not, I still have the stock pipes.

The annoying vibration is when the exhaust is making contact with the tunnel brace. If the exhaust is sitting right on the tunnel brace you'll get a very annoying vibration/drone. It the exhaust doesn't touch the brace but comes real close, then you'll get banging noises when you go over bumps.

I'm running Kook's headers with a Magnaflow catback. I've had to adjust my exhaust a couple times to keep it from making contact with the tunnel brace. Even after making adjustments the exhaust eventually settles back down again (a couple months later) and the exhaust starts hitting the tunnel brace when I go over certain bumps.

So I put several thick washers on each bolt between the stock brace and the car. That gave me about a 1/4'' clearance or so. That's been just enough to keep the exhaust from making contact with brace going over bumps.

But I just recently ordered BMR's tunner brace. I should have it on Monday. They told me it will give me an additional 1/4'' clearance over the stock brace. So I'm pretty confident using a couple washers with the BMR brace will prevent any issues in the future. Plus it will add some rigidity to my frame.

[mattderk]

Originally Posted by SGOS252382

The annoying vibration is when the exhaust is making contact with the tunnel brace. If the exhaust is sitting right on the tunnel brace you'll get a very annoying vibration/drone. It the exhaust doesn't touch the brace but comes real close, then you'll get banging noises when you go over bumps.

I'm running Kook's headers with a Magnaflow catback. I've had to adjust my exhaust a couple times to keep it from making contact with the tunnel brace. Even after making adjustments the exhaust eventually settles back down again (a couple months later) and the exhaust starts hitting the tunnel brace when I go over certain bumps.

So I put several thick washers on each bolt between the stock brace and the car. That gave me about a 1/4'' clearance or so. That's been just enough to keep the exhaust from making contact with brace going over bumps.

But I just recently ordered BMR's tunner brace. I should have it on Monday. They told me it will give me an additional 1/4'' clearance over the stock brace. So I'm pretty confident using a couple washers with the BMR brace will prevent any issues in the future. Plus it will add some rigidity to my frame.

How did you make out with the subframe/tunnel and spacing ? I have the 3" borla atak exhaust (w/ kooks headers and high flow cats). I have the rubbing issue on the stock tunnel brace and am curious if the BMR will clear.

[caverman]

Another thing you can do is just add some washers or small spacers to give you a 1/4" or 1/2" clearance. I has some small spacers on mine to clear my 3" Magnaflow until I got the Hotchkis chasis brace. Now I have no clearance issues at all.

[stso634]

I have the Elite Engineering tunnel brace. Got it from JDP Motorsports when I got my Magnaflow cat-back. The brace gives about another 1/4" to 1/2" of clearance for the exhaust. I haven't had any problems with vibration or banging. Another plus is that it's powder coated black and looks good.