It is 12 ga material so about twice as thick as the factory sheet metal. Very heavy duty kit.
Sounds like a gauge thickness upgrade for those with 39lb rotors, and there is only one member here who likely understands that comment, and he has me blocked.
I've been thinking about your comments and am wondering what is driving them.
It appears that you have the opinion that some people are adding things to their cars that do not make much of a difference except to add weight. If that is your take on it, I can see your point. Maybe there are some people that are buying into a story.
I do not have a chassis jig to test any of this stuff. I rely on trusted professionals to do the testing and display their observations. It is obvious to me that the OEM factory stuff was a compromise of cost and durability. Cast iron rotors and calipers were part of that.
These cars were built in a different time too. The factories were trying to comply with crash standards, emission standards, fuel economy demands, etc. Handling was not a huge priority yet then.
Rick Ehrenberg has written for years about how to make our classics handle better than stock. He is a proponent of frame connectors. XV Motorsports did extensive testing in chassis stiffness. Now maybe they spoke about their findings to establish a false belief that their products were necessary....OR Maybe they were right. US Cartool offers some things that look similar to some stuff XV had. The stuff they offer don't seem to be very heavy. I don't know if you have ever cut apart one of these cars but I have. The frame rails are pretty flimsy on their own. So is the core support. Sure, welded together they are a lot stiffer but they do still flex a bit. The brace inside the front wheelhouse that fits between the cowl and upper control arm mount area ...To me, that seems to make sense. The one that runs under the radiator does too. I have a pair of A body front frame rails out back with the torsion bar crossmember and core support, all welded together as original. It will twist torsionally and you can see it in the core support area. This is just with two men twisting it. No engine or trans weight, no suspension, just 2 guys of average strength. The bracing there in the form of square tubing would probably be impressive.
For me personally, I have a few of these chassis stiffening items in my own car and I can attest that they did make a difference.
I welded the K member and added gussets around the steering box mounts. There is no flex there like before. I made my own torque boxes, essentially copies of factory versions. I added them after welding in 3x3" frame connectors. I may have been able to get similar results with smaller or lighter 2x2" units but the car felt much more solid after the installation.
My car, a 1970 Charger weighs 3940 lbs with a 440/727/8.75 axle with HD torsion bars, front and rear sway bars and a full interior. Whats a few extra lbs if it actually helps?
