Damn Johnny, I wish I still had access to CNC equipment to support your project.

 

Yeah, that would have been awesome. I could crank out ETDs and high flow cats with some CNC brackets.

 

I'd rather give my money to JTso

 

^

i 2nd that...

 

^ me 3rd....

And what about a brake cylinder stopper bracket too! That would be awesome.

 

vote + 1 for something compatable with the cusco strut bar... I'm another Australian who would by this thing for sure

 

Way to go Jtso! It looks great! i hope to see you run at SIR meet in Aug. Any plans for mods before the meet?

 

Great handy work, those welds are awsome work.

Keep the updates flowing.

 

Some welders are overly critical of their own work--but honestly those are very pretty welds. Great work!

 

Welders are truly artists. I knew one who had to get certified for welding the hull of a ship. it's not just getting the metal to stay in place. The welds have to form part of the seal as well and has to be airtight.

 

Thanks guys. I took a welding course 3 times, a total of 180 hours to learn how to do the basic techniques with gas (obsolete now) and arc welding (I have a TIG). My instructor is very critical as he is also one of those certification inspectors. The school has programs to refresh seasoned welders prior to the examine as well as new people trying to get into the business. I was the only one in class that did it as a hobby and my goal is to create things that are not available or to improve an existing design. Therefore, I'm actually open to ideas of what people would like to see for the TSX.

 

^^ Now for the bigger question, are you willing to sell these things?

 

Sure, of course. But I need to find a place that can duplicate the brackets as it's the most time consuming process. I might be able to hand make a few while searching for the right shop. I also need to test the strength of the design to make sure it will hold up over time. We all know how critical TSXers are.

 

I hope you manage to find a place that can do it... I for one will be buying one set if you manage to get production going.

 

Very awesome work man! If this thing eliminates more wheel hop and cabin vibration, I'm all for it.

Jtso = modder for the CL9

 

We should like rally up some kind of support jtso fund haha, really does a great job for us tsxers!

 

Here are some clips of the engine movement with and without the ETD. The ETD is set to a softer setting at 14mm (15mm = softest, 10mm = firmest). The engine is reved to 4500 rpm.

Please right-click the links and select "save target as..."

With ETD

Without ETD (ETD disconnected at engine mount bracket)

 

WOW nice welds, the quality looks like something you would see on American Chopper. Hmmmm, maybe you should have your own show.

 

I just got done looking at the video and was thinking if you were to make another
bracket and damper for the left side of the engine you would have even less movement and even pressure on both sides. It would also relieve a lot of the stress on the brackets. Just a thought...

 

nice videos JT! Looks worth it.

 

I'll do a little snooping around the Port of Tacoma to see what we can find around there for ya. I just tinted a van for a guy that runs a hydraulics and cnc shop. I'll ask him if he can do it or knows a good place for it.

I would like to go ahead and volunteer my car for the Cusco ETD as well That is if you can't find someone closer to you for it.

 

Nice cause if we get one for that works with the cusco then I will buy one too.

 

mmmmm time to find a machine shop with a cnc mill

cough cough

 

The "somehow" is that it's a gas shock, not a piece of rubber -- most of the energy from the engine vibration therefore is lost on compressing and expanding the gas in the shock absorber rather than being transferred to your chassis like with a firm engine mount insert.

 

Gotcha, thanks!

And the other similarity/benefit of the gas shock over the ES bushings, in terms of wheel hop, is that the gas shock can't be compressed quickly at all to any large degree, thus keeping the engine stabilized. Kinda like the best of both worlds -- enough "play" to keep vibrations from being transferred to the cabin, but not compressable "quick" enough to allow engine torque to make the wheels hop.

JTso - Stock strut bar compatibility with the current version?

 

I'm not sure if the ETD is actually a shock or a high tension spring inside the unit. The softest adjustment doesn't cause any noticeable vibration during idle. However, if the adjustment is firmed up a few mm, you will notice a very slight vibration on the passenger side if the AC compressor is energized. But idle without AC is still very stable. I didn't try the firmest setting.

The v2 bracket should fit the stock strut bar as it fits the same way as the Comptech bar.

Some quick feedback...
1. The v2 shock tower bracket is still holding up fine. However, I did notice the very end of the bracket lifted up approx. 1mm. It's not twisted like v1, just lifted up evenly. I think the extra brace did help. This 4 cylinder engine does have some torque.

2. The steel brackets seem to transmit slightly more vibrations than the aluminum brackets. I had to back off the setting slightly to the softer side to have a nice balance between vibration with AC on and wheel hops.

3. The softer setting still works very nicely to control wheel hops during launches, but it didn't eliminate it like the firmer setting. I can feel it's trying to hop but never really able to. The tires then chirps instead of hops.

4. I have reinstalled my Cusco type 2 bottom brace. No more banging problem from the flex pipe.

 

Nice job! I have seen it on Ebay and thought it wasn't worth to purchase it. But I am glad to see that you bought and installed it. It seems to me is worth to buy one, Thanks JTso.

 

i wonder if this mod would reduce vibrations from comptech header install, BTW nice job JTSO!!!

 

what vibration are you talking about as I am looking to buy one as soon as tomorrow afternoon.

 

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31796

 

thanks I will read up

 

Great job Jtso, I got my money down on this if it works with the Cusco Strut brace.

KC

 

^^^ x2...

 

Wow. I skip out reading around this place for a few days and look what happens, brand new innovation! Amazing!


One of the things I have noticed in my car is the distinct increase in cabin vibration I've noticed over the 6 months I've owned it. I don't know if its a function of summer and the A/C all the time but it seems to be getting worse, so bad that I've considered taking it to get looked at.

If this really does what it sounds like (eliminate cabin vibration, pedal / wheel vibration especially) I'd be glad to help bankroll a few of these into production.

Anyone know where ingalls is on their product?

 

 

why dont our cars have one of these from the factory?

 

I'm now brainstorming another design to address the infamous issue of "vibration". If you look at the existing mounting design and all other designs out there, they all use a metal-to-metal solid mount which can potentially cause unwanted vibration. So, I'm thinking about changing the mounting design with a poly bushing with a metal sleeve in the center where the mounting bolt would go through. This effectively becomes a real shock absorber mounting design that further reduces vibration and still provides effective ETD function. I'm thinking some small end-link donut bushings might work...

 

That's exactly what I've been feeling, actually from the beginning when I got my car, the steering wheel vibrates a bit now it's vibrating a lot, especially when the car is warming up. I've thought this is normal, but correct me if I'm wrong.

KC

 

You go JTso!