Stiffen Your ‘Stang: Mishimoto Strut Brace R&D

Hey guys,

A new project is in the works here at Mishimoto! Check out the R&D progress on our blog or posted within this thread!

http://engineering.mishimoto.com/category/ford-mustang-strut-tower-brace-2015/

Stiffen Your ‘Stang! 2015 Mustang Strut Tower Brace R&D, Part 1: Initial Fabrication



Nothing beats taking a tight, responsive vehicle over some curvy roads on a beautiful fall day. The S550 is a nice chassis, track-applicable right out of the box, especially if “Performance Package” is on the build sheet. We’ve been pleased with our shop car, but we are always seeking improvements. We’ve completed our product development of cooling components and performance products, and now we are turning our attention to the suspension on this fantastic chassis. To further enhance the stiffness of the suspension and improve response, we decided that an appropriate front strut brace would be a wise addition.

Stock Bracing and Strut Tower

Under the hood of your Mustang you might find (or not) a stock strut brace. For GT and PP EcoBoost owners, a K-shaped brace links both strut towers to the cowl of the vehicle. Below is a look at this stock piece equipped on our shop EcoBoost Mustang.


Stock K-brace

As you can see, this piece links the strut towers to the cowl. The brackets attach to two points on each tower.


Stock K-brace


Stock K-brace

We like the stock brace, but many (including our team) are finding that an additional bar triangulating the strut towers to the cowl enhances stiffness and response significantly. Our goal is to develop a strut bar that will work both with and without this stock brace. This way, base-model EcoBoost owners and V6 owners can take advantage of the benefits of this component as well.

Mishimoto Prototype

Before we tackle the actual link between the strut towers, we need to create mounting plates that will bolt to the strut towers. We pulled dimensions from the strut towers and created a model in Solidworks. We then printed a template for the mounting plates so we could begin fabrication.


Bracket templates for 2015 Mustang strut tower brace

A little grinder work made this large sheet a bit more manageable for our small bracket cutout.


2015 Mustang strut tower brace fabrication

We cut the rest of the templates on our band saw and drilled the necessary holes for the strut bolts.


2015 Mustang strut tower brace fabrication

A bit of light sanding removed burrs from the edges and bolt holes.


Fabricating 2015 Mustang parts

Our mounting brackets were complete.


Fabricating 2015 Mustang parts

We then bolted our brackets onto each strut tower and laid out our bent tubing to mock up its location.


Fabricating 2015 Mustang parts

Prototype Plans

Our engineers have some interesting ideas rattling around in their brains. After numerous discussions, our team determined that two different prototypes should be constructed and both should be evaluated.

Prototype 1
The first prototype is intended to be a simple design. The bar linking both strut towers will be permanently attached to the brackets by a perfect weld. We expect this to be both rigid and effective as a bracing solution.

After lining up the location of the bar, we tack-welded our prototype.


Fabricating 2015 Mustang parts

Prototype 2
Our second prototype is more involved. For this one, we decided to design a strut bar that could be disassembled. This would help make installation a bit easier and will also provide for a more refined and aesthetic look.

This prototype would be designed as a CNC-machined component to be welded to the bar running across the engine bay. The CNC piece would then bolt onto the mounting bracket. With this design, the brackets could be installed on the strut towers first, and then the bar could be mounted to the brackets.

This prototype started in the 3D-modeling phase to map out a basic design. We then printed our model using our 3D printer and grabbed dimensions for a mock-up prototype.


3D-printed prototype of 2015 Mustang strut tower brace


3D-printed prototype 2015 Mustang strut tower brace

The image above shows a close-up of the female end CNC-machined to accept the bracing tube. The two vertical bolt holes would be used to mate the bracket to the bracing tube.

To determine the length and angle needed for the brace, we made a second mock-up prototype to ensure that our dimensions were on point.


2015 Mustang parts mock-up


2015 Mustang parts mock-up

It might be hard to visualize at this stage what we have intended for this bracket. Below is a look at our 3D-printed components next to our mock-up prototype.


Strut bar bracket: mock-up prototype (right) and 3D-printed bracket (left)

After some precise measuring, tweaking, and welding, our second prototype was complete.


2015 Mustang strut tower brace prototype

What’s Next?

Our next plan is to construct functional prototypes for each design. By doing so we can evaluate the features of both and determine which one will best fit our intentions for these projects.
Stay tuned for more updates!

Thanks
-John

Project update! Check it out below. :cheers:

Stiffen Your ‘Stang! 2015 Mustang Strut Tower Brace R&D, Part 2: Initial Prototype Evaluation

Last time we covered the basic fabrication process needed to design our first mock-up prototype. This provided the basic dimensions of the brace so we could transplant our measurements into SolidWorks.

After some computer modeling work, we were able to construct an initial prototype of both design ideas presented in our first segment.

Prototype 1


Mishimoto prototype 2015 Mustang parts

Our first prototype is a simple yet effective way to stiffen the front end of the S550. The material is thick wall steel, used for optimal rigidity. The bar is simply welded to the brackets, which attach to each strut tower. The brace is finished in a black powder coat with a small Mishimoto logo on the passenger side of the part.

Check out a closer look at the attachment point.


Mishimoto prototype 2015 Mustang parts

Prototype 1 Installed

Let’s take a look at this first prototype after installation.


Mishimoto 2015 Mustang strut tower brace installed

The powdercoated black finish makes this brace appear as though it was factory installed. If not for the logo, one would be inclined to believe this.

Check out the fitment on the towers.


Mishimoto 2015 Mustang strut tower brace installed

Mishimoto 2015 Mustang strut tower brace installed

This is a great design and fit perfectly. We expect it to perform well and really tighten up the front end of this Mustang. Overall, we are very pleased with how this prototype turned out.

Prototype 2


Mishimoto 2015 Mustang strut tower brace prototype

We designed this piece for additional convenience and aesthetics, which you may remember from our explanation of the prototype in part 1. The brackets attach to a CNC-machined component via mounting bolts. Below is a breakdown of the components.


Mishimoto prototype 2015 Mustang parts

This design is neat and slightly more complex, offering a level of intricacy that should please those looking for a unique strut bar.

Prototype 2 Installed

Once installed, the look is rather similar in terms of the brace route, with the only difference being the connection point around the strut tower.


Mishimoto prototype 2015 Mustang parts

Decision Making

Now we need to decide which design to offer our customers. We want to hear what you guys have to say. Do you prefer the welded one-piece design or the bolt-on setup?

Shoot us a message/comment and let us know what you think.

Coming Up – Testing!

Yes, we do have some awesome plans to test this component. We are assembling equipment to evaluate the impact this piece has on overall stiffness and handling. Check back for a look at our plans and results!

Thanks for reading!
-John

First one looks good at a $129 price range...

ronv95 said:

First one looks good at a $129 price range...

Click to expand...

Thanks for the input Ron! :cheers:

-John

Just a thought, Mishimoto, but I would find a larger tube in the shape of an oval (flat on top and Bottom) more aesthetically appealing. You could the put you logo on the flat surface facing up.

Not bad. Would the P1 model be alittle stronger than P2?

Glenn G said:

Just a thought, Mishimoto, but I would find a larger tube in the shape of an oval (flat on top and Bottom) more aesthetically appealing. You could the put you logo on the flat surface facing up.

Click to expand...

Gotcha! Thanks for the input Glenn. We are using a similar material for our Fiesta trunk brace. I will pass this on to our engineering team.

Anthony@HTM said:

Not bad. Would the P1 model be alittle stronger than P2?

Click to expand...

Certainly possible. We will be testing both designs to see what impact they make on rigidity and front end flex. Our engineers are working on the test rig as I type this.

-John

P1 makes more sense IMO. If it works for the v6 I'll be happy. I've been waiting for someone to make one for the v6. Ive already got the upper k strut brace that come stock with the 20s.
This plus the Mishimoto coolant tank, yes please.

Definitely the 1st one as it is welded. I wouldn't feel comfortable putting those kinds of shear stresses on those little bolts. Concept of less is more, is normally better Also on P1 one thing to consider, maybe it doesn't matter, but it seems like most of the force will be on the first attachment bolt. Maybe there is something that can be done to distribute the energy better between both bolts.

jburgess1379 said:

P1 makes more sense IMO. If it works for the v6 I'll be happy. I've been waiting for someone to make one for the v6. Ive already got the upper k strut brace that come stock with the 20s.
This plus the Mishimoto coolant tank, yes please.

Click to expand...

Got it! This will certainly fit with V6 models as well.

DivineStrike said:

Definitely the 1st one as it is welded. I wouldn't feel comfortable putting those kinds of shear stresses on those little bolts. Concept of less is more, is normally better Also on P1 one thing to consider, maybe it doesn't matter, but it seems like most of the force will be on the first attachment bolt. Maybe there is something that can be done to distribute the energy better between both bolts.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the input! Simplicity can certainly be the way to go sometimes. Once we test both brace systems we should have a better idea of which we should either produce or how we can modify our design to enhance stiffness.

-John

Fit on non PP?

Hey would these be intended to fit on both non pp and pp mustangs? I remember reading somewhere there is a difference but I'm not sure if thats true. Designs look great and I can't wait to see what you all go with!

Pabs said:

Hey would these be intended to fit on both non pp and pp mustangs? I remember reading somewhere there is a difference but I'm not sure if thats true. Designs look great and I can't wait to see what you all go with!

Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind words Pabs. The difference between the PP and non is the addition of the K-brace on the strut tower. This component links the firewall to the towers. Our brace is designed to work either in conjunction with the brace or as an independent brace.

-John

Any way I could get a custom one with a reversed bar to fit under my cobra jet intake.

pinero61 said:

Any way I could get a custom one with a reversed bar to fit under my cobra jet intake.

Click to expand...

The CJ intake is quite large, although I am not sure routing the bar under the intake is wise. That being said, we should definitely attempt to verify fitment of this bar with that particular intake. Thanks for the input Pinero!

-John

Mishimoto said:

The CJ intake is quite large, although I am not sure routing the bar under the intake is wise. That being said, we should definitely attempt to verify fitment of this bar with that particular intake. Thanks for the input Pinero!

-John

Click to expand...

That's the only route I can really see taking to retain a STB with this intake setup. My only concerns are how much the bar/engine moves and that the bar would have to be modular for easy removal/installation. I realize it's a very niche need, but it would be nice to have.