The Mustang Forum for Track & Racing Enthusiasts

Taking your Mustang to an open track/HPDE event for the first time? Do you race competitively? This forum is for you! Log in to remove most ads.

  • Welcome to the Ford Mustang forum built for owners of the Mustang GT350, BOSS 302, GT500, and all other S550, S197, SN95, Fox Body and older Mustangs set up for open track days, road racing, and/or autocross. Join our forum, interact with others, share your build, and help us strengthen this community!

Strut tower opening enlarging

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Die grinder. Mark it off with a sharpie and get busy.
 
I haven't done it myself but the jig they made for the s197 looks real nice. Using a hole saw seems like the way to go, the trick is just centering the bit. I've been pondering using a piece of wood to center the pilot bit (drill in the center of the hole saw).
 
Did you make the whole hole larger? Most of the race cars cut a slot so you can move the damper adjuster over further which is the cause for the limited adjustability. I’m traveling but do an internet search.

@blacksheep-1
The plan for me is to use the hole saw to increase the ability to adjust camber using Pedders camber plates which require a larger opening to adjust camber on the car or dropping the strut to adjust camber.6c19ef122ff91863ef79c1a69bc7a8ca.jpg

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
 

TMSBOSS

Spending my pension on car parts and track fees.
7,529
5,242
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
10-20 Years
Illinois
Curious if any of the “Engineer Types” (Grant) can chime in on strength concerns.
Does cutting the larger hole weaken the structure of the tower more so than the elongation process?

Try to keep the answer under 2500 words and use small works for us knuckle draggers, please.:rolleyes:
 

Grant 302

basic and well known psychic
Curious if any of the “Engineer Types” (Grant) can chime in on strength concerns.
Does cutting the larger hole weaken the structure of the tower more so than the elongation process?
It's a concern. Not a big one IMO in the two pics above.
Try to keep the answer under 2500 words and use small works for us knuckle draggers, please.:rolleyes:

I dunno what you mean. :D;)

In the S550 mount I don't see any problems opening up the hole with that saw and eliminating the two original notches.

This is about the limit of what I'd cut from the tower. Keeping the lip around the opening is a good thing. Could use some clean up.
6c19ef122ff91863ef79c1a69bc7a8ca.jpg

Some seam welding a bit around the top plate to the tower wouldn't be a bad idea, but not needed.

The main thing to avoid are slots and sharp interior corners for the hole.
 
There is no adjusting camber on the car using these plates without opening up the tower in this way. Doing it the other way will not work due to the way the adjustment is done using the Allen headed screws.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
 

TMO Supporting Vendors

Top