Whipple and Strut Tower Brace (pics inside)

[DAVECS1]

So there are a bunch of posts asking the question, hopefully this one answers it.

I was not aiming to keep my strut tower brace, I just wanted to lower my engine a bit and shore it up with the BMR motor mount products. Well as I got to moving things around, it started to look possible to maintain my strut tower brace. So after hours of shimming things around and some choice words! I believe I got it. I am using one spacer on the BMR motor mount and that give me a 1/4 inch clearance on the oil pan to steering rack. With some thick washers under the strut tower brace I have enough room to slide a quarter under the brace. I put my phone under the hood and took a video and there is space between the hood and brace when it latches. So depending on how much it all moves. I may get to keep my brace.

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[Schu]

This is great news... but I bet it moves and makes contact.

 

[DAVECS1]

Yea maybe. I think I have a bit of room left to shim it up, and I was thinking about modifying the brace itself.

 

[HISSMAN]

You are fine. There is slightly less space between my STB and my BOSS manifold and I have yet to make contact.

 

[DAVECS1]

That is encouraging! What engine mounts are you running Hissman?

 

[HISSMAN]

I have the Steeda adjustable mounts. 1/2" drop. And that is exactly what I did. I used spacers under the STB and raised it just enough so that it wouldn't make contact with the hood or manifold.

 

[KRGT]

BMR motor mounts .5 in drop.
4 large nuts for the strut bar bolts about 1 in in height.
Still have plenty of room for the supercharger and the hood.

20190504_123737

• KRGT
• May 4, 2019

 

[Andy13186]

Pretty cool. I have ordered a whipple gen 5 and I wonder if this could be done on the 2018's with a gen 5?

 

[Inthehighdesert]

I’m waiting on my setup. I’m game to give it a shot. I would really like to keep the brace.

Pretty cool. I have ordered a whipple gen 5 and I wonder if this could be done on the 2018's with a gen 5?

 

[Kobi Addiction]

Pretty cool. I have ordered a whipple gen 5 and I wonder if this could be done on the 2018's with a gen 5?

I feel like it's going to be a tighter fit due to the width compared to the previous gen Whipples. I installed the factory strut bar on my Whipple Gen4 setup that came with the BMR motor brackets. I added heavy duty spacers to raise the bar high enough so I can still close my hood. I figured this should be enough as I had about 1/4" of space but I ended up touching the brace with some aggressive driving.

This time I installed Steeda Adjustable motor mounts and lowered her by one spacer. This is supposed to be an additional 1/4" drop of the motor. This paired with the high durometer black bushings that are provided with the mounts for high HP applications, I'm once again hoping this is enough. I have nearly a 1/2" of wiggle room from the brace now, and a long spirited driving run this weekend. I'll let you guys know the outcome.

 

[Wolvee]

Very Nice!! I've been stuck on stupid over keeping that dumb brace. When I was going with the Gen5 whipple, I emailed Dustin Whipple and he told me the Gen5 was an 5/8" shorter than the previous gens. ..So it should fit although I haven't seen anyone do it yet.

I'm going to be running the Boss intake with my procharger. I also have that LMNOP Bracket, the Steeda 3/4" drop motor mounts and just over 1/4" spacer on the brace to get it to fit. There's going to be some adjusting before I get it on the road but I have to wait until I install the new gT350 Oil pan and Steeda K-member to see my clearance needs. It doesn't hit the Hood but I'm only playing with milimeters below the oil pan and between the brace.

I would have taken better pics but I'm ashamed of how dirty my engine bay is because it's been sitting in the garage with the hood up since the KungFlu hit.

 

[Wolvee]

As a side note, for fiting spacers and nuts on the short shock tower studs. To get minimum clamping force, you need as many threads on the stud as the stud is wide. So if you have a 5/8" Fastener, you'll need at least 5/8" of threads for the nut to grip torque down onto. Anything less and you won't get enough clamping force to be safe.

 

[Kobi Addiction]

Very Nice!! I've been stuck on stupid over keeping that dumb brace. When I was going with the Gen5 whipple, I emailed Dustin Whipple and he told me the Gen5 was an 5/8" shorter than the previous gens. ..So it should fit although I haven't seen anyone do it yet.

I'm going to be running the Boss intake with my procharger. I also have that LMNOP Bracket, the Steeda 3/4" drop and just over 1/4" spacer on the brace to get it to fit. There's going to be some adjusting before I get it on the road but I have to wait until I install the new gT350 Oil pan and Steeda K-member to see my clearance needs. It doesn't hit the Hood but I'm only playing with milimeters below the oil pan and between the brace.

I would have taken better pics but I'm ashamed of how dirty my engine bay is because it's been sitting in the garage with the hood up since the KungFlu hit.

Yeah, I am maxed out on lowering this motor. I am 2mm away from the oil pan touching the steering rack. I believe the stiffer motor mounts will ultimately be the saving grace.

 

[Wolvee]

I'm not quite there yet but if I can't get this to work flawlessly then the next step will be to add back a 1/4" (6mm) with the bracket or motor mount and add in a K-member to Body spacer. That'll give more oil pan to k-member clearance and intake to brace clearance.

That'll widen the tire/fender gap but I'm already too low for my liking.

All this work because I'm stuck on Stupid for an idea.


For anyone new reading this and wanting to know how the BMR bracket works, since the thickness of the BMR bracket is shorter at the motor mount, in order to keep the stock ride height, the spacers need to go under the bracket on top of the motor mount. With the Steeda motor mounts to lower the engine 3/4" you need to take outthe 3 spacers. (and usually put them on top of the sandwich.) There's not enough room between the oil pan and the k-member to lower the engine any more than the 3/4" from whatever combination you choose to go with.

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