Hotchkis Chassis Max Brace installed - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

TornadoSS · 05-31-2011, 08:57 PM

Hi All! I installed the brace without any issues tonight. As promised, I have pictures of the clearances with the ARH headers and Borla 2.5 " ATAK w/X-pipe cat-back system. There has been some speculation on the forum that this brace would not fit cars with the ARH/ATAK cat-back system. I had no issues with clearances whatsoever. I can see no areas at all that would interfere or hit? Its hard to see in the pictures, but the pipes clear over the center brace with well over and inch of clearance. The only thing I ran into was the fitment of the brace center plate, the holes were not perfectly centered when drilled. No big deal though as I got it together anyways. Just thought I would pass this info along. Have not had time to run it through the paces yet. Hopefully this weekend on the drag strip!

bankrollb · 05-31-2011, 09:52 PM

I had the same issues with the center plate bolts not lining up. It looked to me like the interference was from the welds. I have not really had a chance to test it yet.

2010 SSRS · 05-31-2011, 09:55 PM

very nice, looks awesome.

TornadoSS · 05-31-2011, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bankrollb

I had the same issues with the center plate bolts not lining up. It looked to me like the interference was from the welds. I have not really had a chance to test it yet.

I agree, it did appear to be interference from the welds.

Ject · 05-31-2011, 10:53 PM

appears you may have 1/4 - 1/2 inch more clearance then I do with the Flowmaster American Thunder cat back system.

Good to know you didn't have any fitment issues.... Im sure you'll feel the difference with the brace on there

(tip: make sure.. make sure.. make sure.. those bolts are tight holding it on there. I put about 100 hard miles on mine and the back bolts loosened up on me a bit and made a creeking type of noise. I since went in there and put threat lock and used a breaker bar to get them on good and tight.. good as can be)

caverman · 05-31-2011, 10:56 PM

Thanks for posting. I've been curious as to the fitament issues that were mention before. Glad to see there really are none.

TornadoSS · 05-31-2011, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ject

appears you may have 1/4 - 1/2 inch more clearance then I do with the Flowmaster American Thunder cat back system.

Good to know you didn't have any fitment issues.... Im sure you'll feel the difference with the brace on there

(tip: make sure.. make sure.. make sure.. those bolts are tight holding it on there. I put about 100 hard miles on mine and the back bolts loosened up on me a bit and made a creeking type of noise. I since went in there and put threat lock and used a breaker bar to get them on good and tight.. good as can be)

Yeah, I used serviceable loc-tite on all the bolts. I don't know why they wouldn't include that in the kit or at least mention it. Better safe than sorry!!!

caverman · 05-31-2011, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ject

make sure.. make sure.. those bolts are tight holding it on there. I put about 100 hard miles on mine and the back bolts loosened up on me a bit and made a creeking type of noise. I since went in there and put threat lock and used a breaker bar to get them on good and tight.. good as can be)

Per the instructions you are supposed to torque the bolts done to 90 ft lbs. That was a bit more than I expected and I would be surprised to see them back off if you torqued them down to that. Although blue lock tight would be good as well.

Ject · 05-31-2011, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caverman

Per the instructions you are supposed to torque the bolts done to 90 ft lbs. That was a bit more than I expected and I would be surprised to see them back off if you torqued them down to that. Although blue lock tight would be good as well.

originally torqued mine down to ~95ish-lbs and 2 bolts backed off just enough to make it creek when I rolled around corners. Added some blue loctite to every bolt and hunkered them down

caverman · 05-31-2011, 11:07 PM

Wow....surprised to hear that. I haven't had any issue yet and didn't think to put any locktite on them. I should've though.

I'm about to get some sway bars. I might losen them up, put locktite, and re-torque while the car is on the lift.

Hotchkis · 06-01-2011, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TornadoSS

I agree, it did appear to be interference from the welds.

TornadoSS – thanks for posting pictures and the success of fitting with the ARH headers and ATAK system. The Chassis Max Brace should fit other Camaros with the same setup.

Can you show a picture of the weld in question? We depend on customer feedback for product improvement.

TornadoSS · 06-01-2011, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hotchkis

TornadoSS – thanks for posting pictures and the success of fitting with the ARH headers and ATAK system. The Chassis Max Brace should fit other Camaros with the same setup.

Can you show a picture of the weld in question? We depend on customer feedback for product improvement.

No problem, first off, I have no complaints here!!! Awesome product! I started with everything as loose as I could leave it without it falling off the car when assembling! LOL!
Here are the only two other pics that I can point out the welds on, circled the suspect areas in yellow - Hope this helps!

thespymaster · 06-01-2011, 10:46 PM

This is good to know, I know the HOTCHKIS brand is quality product and is why I purchased it.

So I will print this page and go back to the original installer.

However, I was present when they called Hotchkis and was told would not work and even got an PM through this website from Hotchkis saying not designed for my setup, which is same as setup above.

So did you need the additionsl SHIM kit to make this work, or straight out of the box?

bankrollb · 06-01-2011, 11:07 PM

Where TornadoSS circled in yellow is the exact same spot that I had fitment issues with as well.

05-31-2011, 08:57 PM	#1
TornadoSS WICKDSS Drives: 2011 1SS/RS IOM LS3 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Wichita, Kansas Posts: 1,111 View My Garage	Hotchkis Chassis Max Brace installed Hi All! I installed the brace without any issues tonight. As promised, I have pictures of the clearances with the ARH headers and Borla 2.5 " ATAK w/X-pipe cat-back system. There has been some speculation on the forum that this brace would not fit cars with the ARH/ATAK cat-back system. I had no issues with clearances whatsoever. I can see no areas at all that would interfere or hit? Its hard to see in the pictures, but the pipes clear over the center brace with well over and inch of clearance. The only thing I ran into was the fitment of the brace center plate, the holes were not perfectly centered when drilled. No big deal though as I got it together anyways. Just thought I would pass this info along. Have not had time to run it through the paces yet. Hopefully this weekend on the drag strip! __________________ 2011 IOM SS/RS, M6. Look up our all generation Camaro club website at Heartland Camaros Gforce Engineering Drivetrain, ECS 1500 Supercharger, TSP Cam, Alky Controls Meth single nozzle. 91 octane, 698 RWHP 625 rwtq. 4200#+, Tuned by Justin "Justune" Kalwei 11.57 @ 126.8 mph with a crappy 1.80 60'.....still learning to drive....M&H DR's and skinnies on 17" Welds.

05-31-2011, 09:52 PM	#2
bankrollb Drives: 2010 Camaro 2SS/RS Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: West Allis, WI Posts: 160 View My Garage	I had the same issues with the center plate bolts not lining up. It looked to me like the interference was from the welds. I have not really had a chance to test it yet. __________________ Vararam cold air intake, TSP longtube headers with cats, Magnaflow street catback exhaust, SLP short throw shifter and knob, BMR trailing arms, BMR outer trailing arm bushings, BMR toe rods, BMR subframe inserts, Hotchkis Max Chassis Brace, BMR pro differential bushings, Granatelli spark plug wires. TSP 225/230 cam

05-31-2011, 09:55 PM	#3
2010 SSRS Drives: 3 V8 Camaros Join Date: May 2009 Location: The Ocean State Posts: 111,186 View My Garage	very nice, looks awesome. __________________ Jannetty Racing JRE Street Package

05-31-2011, 10:53 PM	#5
Ject aka Patrick Drives: '10 Camaro 2SS '04 Silverado Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Derby Kansas Posts: 3,072	appears you may have 1/4 - 1/2 inch more clearance then I do with the Flowmaster American Thunder cat back system. Good to know you didn't have any fitment issues.... Im sure you'll feel the difference with the brace on there (tip: make sure.. make sure.. make sure.. those bolts are tight holding it on there. I put about 100 hard miles on mine and the back bolts loosened up on me a bit and made a creeking type of noise. I since went in there and put threat lock and used a breaker bar to get them on good and tight.. good as can be) __________________ Current Modifications: Your average Bolt-ons & Suspension Upgrades GForce Engineering: 9" Rear End, Strange Pro Iron Case w/Moser Nodular 3.70:1 Detroit locker, 3.5" Solid Drive Shaft

05-31-2011, 10:56 PM	#6
caverman Drives: '69 SS Convertible Join Date: May 2009 Location: DFW, TX Posts: 7,111	Thanks for posting. I've been curious as to the fitament issues that were mention before. Glad to see there really are none. __________________ *-2010 Camaro* 2SS \| M6 \| VR w/White Stripes \| 1 3/4" KOOKS - 3" Magnaflow \| LPE 3.91 gears \| ADM tuned \| Halltech w/ADM Scoop \| Spohn/BMR Trailing Arm/Toe Rod \| BC Coilovers\| Pedders FE4 ZL1 swaybars \| Cradle/Diff/Radius Rod bushings \| VMax TB \| Morimoto Projectors \| MGW shifter \| Red Calipers Build Journal

05-31-2011, 11:07 PM	#10
caverman Drives: '69 SS Convertible Join Date: May 2009 Location: DFW, TX Posts: 7,111	Wow....surprised to hear that. I haven't had any issue yet and didn't think to put any locktite on them. I should've though. I'm about to get some sway bars. I might losen them up, put locktite, and re-torque while the car is on the lift. __________________ *-2010 Camaro* 2SS \| M6 \| VR w/White Stripes \| 1 3/4" KOOKS - 3" Magnaflow \| LPE 3.91 gears \| ADM tuned \| Halltech w/ADM Scoop \| Spohn/BMR Trailing Arm/Toe Rod \| BC Coilovers\| Pedders FE4 ZL1 swaybars \| Cradle/Diff/Radius Rod bushings \| VMax TB \| Morimoto Projectors \| MGW shifter \| Red Calipers Build Journal

06-01-2011, 10:46 PM	#13
thespymaster Drives: C7 / ZL1 / SS / trucsk Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: G4 CLASSIFIED Posts: 4,528 View My Garage	This is good to know, I know the HOTCHKIS brand is quality product and is why I purchased it. So I will print this page and go back to the original installer. However, I was present when they called Hotchkis and was told would not work and even got an PM through this website from Hotchkis saying not designed for my setup, which is same as setup above. So did you need the additionsl SHIM kit to make this work, or straight out of the box? __________________ 2014 C7 Stingray 3LT/Z51 2013 Camaro SS 2012 Camaro ZL1 - 850 HP 2015 GMC Denali 3500HD 4x4 2012 GMC Sierra 3500HD 4x4

06-01-2011, 11:07 PM	#14
bankrollb Drives: 2010 Camaro 2SS/RS Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: West Allis, WI Posts: 160 View My Garage	Where TornadoSS circled in yellow is the exact same spot that I had fitment issues with as well. __________________ Vararam cold air intake, TSP longtube headers with cats, Magnaflow street catback exhaust, SLP short throw shifter and knob, BMR trailing arms, BMR outer trailing arm bushings, BMR toe rods, BMR subframe inserts, Hotchkis Max Chassis Brace, BMR pro differential bushings, Granatelli spark plug wires. TSP 225/230 cam

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