Evilla Motorsports Tech Info on Chassis Braces AKA: Suspensions Braces
Evilla Motorsports Tech Info on Chassis Braces AKA: Suspensions Braces
Over the years there has been growing awareness about the benefits and purpose of a chassis braces. Since we manufacture our own braces for the Kia and Hyundai aftermarket we decided on discussing the topic about chassis braces and hopefully dispel some belief from fiction. We will talk about the types of braces available, materials, and benefits.
Purpose of Chassis Brace Suspensions
A chassis brace’s purpose is to reinforce a certain area with additional structure to prevent flexing, in short to reduce chassis flex of the vehicle. Chassis flex is a natural occurring action that all vehicles live with throughout the course of their lives. Depending on the age, design, and weight of a vehicle among other factors, some vehicles will flex more than others. Speaking specifically to our Kia and Hyundai vehicles, flex is a prominent factor primarily because of the economical design of the vehicle. Although there are several ways in increasing rigidity of the chassis like welding a roll cage, seam welding the chassis, fabricating and replacing structural areas which are practiced in professional motorsports racing. The most common form for general enthusiasts is bolting on chassis braces which follow the same concept.
Common Materials and Designs Found in Chassis Braces
If you were to Google “Chassis Braces”, you would encounter an infinite number of pictures, videos, and articles regarding Chassis Braces. What you would also see is that many companies have their own design and version of a chassis making it difficult to find which one is better than the other. We hope to add some clarity regarding this as we also make our own style of braces. We first begin with the materials braces are made off, commonly braces will be made of steel, aluminum, or carbon fiber. Each has its one pros and cons for example, steel is stronger but will weight ten times more compared to a aluminum brace while on the other hand, Aluminum Braces are lighter but will flex ultimately defeating the purpose of the brace. Carbon Fiber although meets both performance values, is too expensive for most enthusiasts out there. We however, found another solution by going with 4130 Chromoly for our braces which is more rigid than steel and is almost as light as aluminum.
Benefits of Chassis Suspension Braces
Adding chassis braces to your vehicle benefits you in several ways. Starting with the performance end, braces increase rigidity in your chassis offering crisper handling. For example, on our 6-point under body braces there are additional connections made between the subframe and unibody which reduces the reaction time and delay between the tire and body of the car. Furthermore, other chassis braces like a strut tower bar or lower two-point tie bar reinforce the body/subframe to better transfer energy from sudden steering maneuvers like carving through a windy road, or hitting the race track. Other benefits come in the form of longer chassis life and little to no compromise in comfort because chassis braces do not negatively affect ride quality like suspension springs or coil-over kits can.
We continue to build products, and test them on the street and race track. We hope this was helpful for you. Please feel free to share this article to anyone curious about chassis brace suspension. 😉
