As of this week I am starting to put into production newly designed front lower brace bars for mk1/2/3 Polos.

They mount the same as Geds bars to the existing redundant sump guard holes on the end of the chassis rails. I got frustrated by the relative pikey-ness of a basic bit of bar with angle welded on the end. These are of a much higher quality.

They will be adjustable to enable easy fitment to accomodate for every Polo being slightly different on measurement between mounting holes.

Will come complete with all parts required to mount to the car along with support from myself should you encounter any problems.

Price will be between £45-60 delivered dependant on demand. The more I sell, the cheaper I can buy materials which leads to cheaper final cost.

Finish will be either polished aluminium or satin black.

I have CAD drawings of the bar design but hopefully by the end of this week should have a prototype made and will (unless there are any unforeseen issues) be identical to the one you will receive.

Updates as as when. Andy.

Good idea, i'm toying with adapting a simular design subframe from the mk2 variation.

Will allow for a bit of pre-load on the chassis rails etc

Will allow for a bit of pre-load on the chassis rails etc

Cheers buddy. My thinking exactly

Only issue I have with the subframes are in the event of head on, the chassis rails are supposed to concertina in. Adding a bit of tube that runs front to back means the engine cradle will just be pushed back into the bulkhead and footwell. Being 6' 5, I don't like the idea of my legs being in that space...

Tbh, i think the subframe would bend too, its only CDS tubing.

The way it's been designed it does look as though it'd crease on the bends where it meets the left to right tubes. But saying that, I wouldn't like to bet on it.

There was an interesting thread (can't remember where) on the design of George Plasa's hillclimb BMW 135 and the things that may of contributed to the fatal accident. One of them being the way the engine cradle had been designed. End of the day, I wouldn't really like to crash a early Polo

EDIT: Typo

Edited 1 October, 201213 yr by ska_wars

Will allow for a bit of pre-load on the chassis rails etc

Cheers buddy. My thinking exactly

Only issue I have with the subframes are in the event of head on, the chassis rails are supposed to concertina in. Adding a bit of tube that runs front to back means the engine cradle will just be pushed back into the bulkhead and footwell. Being 6' 5, I don't like the idea of my legs being in that space...

The TCA mounts snap off if you stove in the front end really hard with a subframe fitted. Anything other than a parking speed accident in an old Polo isn't going to end well!

Aye, irrelative of wether you have a frame fitted of not, a front end smash is gonna bend it.

Sounds interesting. I had been thinking about fitting something to tighten up the front end. Cant afford a subby, and the Ged bars, as you've said, arent guarenteed to fit properly. So this sounds like a good idea, especially being adjustable :-)

The TCA mounts snap off if you stove in the front end really hard with a subframe fitted. Anything other than a parking speed accident in an old Polo isn't going to end well!

Good point! It'd easily pull out/shear the bolts holding the ARB in...

One of my friends biffed into the back of someone in his 2f doing about 7mph and that royally stoved the front in :(

Why rose jointed?

Because racecar.

But no. Rod ends so one can be a left hand thread enabling it to be bolted to the car and tightened.

Edited 1 October, 201213 yr by ska_wars

Be good with rose joints at each end, and like you say you can make it LH and RH threads, with lock nuts etc so it can be adjustable.

But surely they'll add movement to the bar where it's bolted, allowing them to twist?

Edited 1 October, 201213 yr by prankstar2003

and the Ged bars, as you've said, arent guarenteed to fit properly

If you slacken the bolts on your front bumper iron, radiator support bracket and engine mounts (the A and B mounts) then there's loads of movement in the chassis legs to bolt up a Ged bar.

When I tried fitting mine it was around 3mn out. I wouldn't like to move the rest round to make that difference fit.

It's aimed at being easy to fit, doing all the above can be daunting to someone with limited experience.

It's also designed as a tie bar to stop the change in distance between the chassis legs. Not to stop the twisting movement, something that can't really be achieved using this method. For that, you'd fit a stage 2 subframe.

This isn't something that's just been made up. I've modelled a few designs using FEA and CAD, this being the end result.

Rose joints have been delivered as has the material but annoyingly, they sent me the wrong wall thickness.

Once I get the right size work can begin :)

Any chance of some CAD shots?

has the prototype been made yet dude?

i would like picks of 1 before i decided

would also like to see pic too PLEEEEEAASSSEEE

Tbh something bolted rigid will have a greater effect than something that can flex at both ends. You could still make something adjustable length but solid bolt up like many other strut/suspension braces are.

All it's going to do it restrict the chassis legs moving in/out surely? When they try and twist when cornering the rose joints will just allow that to happen still

I dont know how many of you have removed the radiator brace bar but put it this way you can flex it on it self in your hands (was probably a contributing factor to me radiator jumping ship on the track a few years ago) so there is a considerable amount of flex in the front end, I cant see what use the GED bars and similar are anyway as regardless of how tight you make them the body is still going to pivot around the bolts holding it.

The subframes sit on the flat to the face of the mount so it doesnt become a pivot like the GED bars.

Fitting the uprated radiator brace is more likely to make more difference than the bars....

I am not wanting to stir up a load of shit but if you are going to go to the effort of making a new brace then you might as well pick something thats a more useful shape than some u-section. That probably weighs a metric fuck-tonne and does little to resist torsion.

If you send me some numbers I will happily prove it out for you as I am massive looser.

That rad bar is rigid as fuck compared to the standard one, and improved my front end a lot more than a brace bar i made which was as strong if not stronger than a ged bar.

might be a stupid question but rad bar where what and y?? and is it a part off club polo or not and dose it have anything to do with the sub frames of ppp?

Without sounding arsey, if you want a discussion, make a discussion thread please. This is a for sells thread

As previously said, no matter how tight you do up a bolt, it'll always pivot under resonable load. Also, the way it this bolts up its perpendicular to the load, so won't 'pivot' the rose joints.

I could post up CAD screen shots, but it doesn't and won't look like it, as the main purpose was to FEA different ideas.

I'm still waiting on the right aluminuim to be delivered, so until that's here, I'm stuffed :(