del sol targa top

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B16

B16

Super Moderator
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does anyone know if having the top on or off adds or reduces ridgity in the chassis?
 
I will add some, but not much. It will stop the the windshield from moving towards the rear (so it will help keep it from collapsing) but it cannot provide any support the other way nor can it provide significant stiffening against twisting.
 
What I have wanted to make for a while (however I can not weld) is a support for racing when the top is off (23 lbs vs 1-2 lbs) It would be a I shaped thing that would have touch the front and rear then have one or 2 support beams linking the two. It would latch in the same holes too.
 
i have thought of the same thing ...
i think this design would work best

front of car
|><|
rear of car

any way ... yes having the top on does add rigidity to the car
however i have read if you know how to use the cowl sway to your advantage you can actually corner harder with it off.... something about the car absorbing more of the cornering force :blah: :shrug2: i dunno ... i havent had the balls to try cornering like i do with the top on with it off yet so i cant verify it as being true or not
 
Originally posted by odnet@Jul 18 2003, 12:43 AM
what about a roll cage? if welded correctly?
Click to expand...

well, thats a given :)

thanks for the info guys, E, do you remember where you read that about using the cowl sway to your advantage.
 
So E. you good at Welding? Using some brushed aluminum would be light, look nice, plus then you got a stiff one...stiff budy. :lol: I think that this way would work better...

front[X]rear or a boxed design with the X in the middle [X] (cant display the top support)
 
Took 2 seconds to do this in paint shop super low detail but here would be my design

s3f181de52626e.jpg
 
asmallsol thats pretty much exactly what i was trying to describe (poorly) :)


odnet a roll cage would definatly be best .... but a full cage is not the most practicle thing for a street driven car


B16 cant remember where i read it .... it was a while ago ... ill look around and see if i can find it
 
taking the top off definitely increases drag though. try passing a semi goin 70, your car will want to pull a fn'f
 
what i always wanted to do was to buy another roof...

and cut out the entire center piece.

cut like 2" wide "rails" out of the roof on each side, discard the middle... lock those in place instead of the whole roof.
 
I can acutally get a samba green roof for pretty cheap. There is one at a junkyard near me but the only problem is the passengers side latch is broken off so I would have to use needle nose pliers to get them on and off.
 
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