Crumple Bar Blocking The Cooler

[fastfwd]

It's stage two rated at 800hp. Plasmaman. Big enough..

I still wanted to keep. Some safety aspect

And yes it's in my TT which has that perfect grill that can be cleanly cut out and have some after market mesh of some sort. All black along with the car so it's all hidden.

[arronm]

It will work. Except you just compromised the structural integrity of the front end. Hope you don't have an insurance claim

[fastfwd]

I have welded some thick plates on each side of it, taking it to an engineer next week to get certified so I don't have that problem.

[ratter]

hopefully they don't have to crash test it to pass

[Seaton]

I have worked in smash repairs for 15 years as a painter, I would have zero problems taking the plastic cross section out on an fg, and I have spoken to a lot of top panel beaters about this, but the problem with removing the whole reo on your car like you have, is that if you get a hit from the front side on, the rails will not be braced together, even removing it like you have, your weakining that side front on support, in a case of a decent hit, the rails won't move across together, you will probably just buckle the bar reo in the middle. Cars have that brace between the rails for a reason.

[ratter]

I think ford engineers are probably a little higher in knowing what that plastic brace does compared to the rest of us, I have a customer that is an engineer at ford, he was more than willing to sacrifice a little performance rather than remove that bracing.

[turbotrana]

You shouldn't have cut that bar. It does tie the front in together. Also there is really no issue with power on these cars, so whatever little you loose, you can pickup elsewhere in a well developed turbo setup : enough power to make the driveline the problem point.

[Pazzo]

Actually just cut the rest off... You have gone that far why not.... But like the rest have said... You should not have but it at all... If you ever sell and you do somehow get a RWC to sell it... I really feel sorry for the next person who buys it if you don't say anything.

[fastfwd]

I completely understand all of your concerns. Cutting the bar does sound stupid and maybe classed as car taboo. But I didn't just cut it willy nilly without prior knowledge. I opened this tread to get idea's because I didn't want to cut the bar if others had done something different with airflow by getting around it. But seeing as it seems like everyone just leaves the bar blocking 30-40% of the cooler, "buying a bigger one" seems like a slightly useless resolution. I know most people just do this but I don't really like that fix when I know other things can be done.

I have completed this exact edit on a previous car. I brought it to an authorized engineer certified by Department of transport WA. He told me to have 3mm steel plates welded across the bar horizontally on each sized of the cuts to reinforce the changes. He signed off on the changes and gave me a certification, this cost me $150 for certification. In this car I also was involved in a T bone crash which wasn't my fault. My car went directly into the side of another car what didnt give way. My car was a complete write off and the HBF claims investigator did ask about the changes made a week lster and I showed him the certification and he approved it. I was paid out for my write off without issues.

I will be taking my territory to the same engineer, I have already welded the steel plates across the modifications, the same as last time. If he feels that the modification isn't structurally sound even with the welded plates then I will weld the originals back into place as they came (this is why I don't want to cut the whole thing off as this is stupid plus it is unsafe). I do want to keep my car legal and safe. taking it to an engineer for approval will give me this piece of mind and will also give Department of Transport authorization if anything happens.

Edited 11/12/13 07:02 AM by fastfwd

[Jstplyn]

No performance gains to see here