Strengthened & Stiffened LCA's
 

Well I'm crazy but here it goes. While doing all the ES bushings stuff I decided to take the opportunity to improve yet again. I spent some time cleaning off the little bits of rust and prepping up the LCA's. What did I prep them for? I prepped them for welding. The welds on the stock piece are certainly adequate for everyday use but this car is not intended for daily use. The LCA is comprised of two stamped 3/16th's pieces of steel which are MIG welded together at about 40% of the junction seams. The rest is held together by some big @ss spot welds. I laid a bead at every possible place I could. Now the pieces are welded at at least 80% of the seams. This will do a lot to stiffen and strengthen the front geometry and improve handling; no? I know it greatly increases the possible damage in the event of an accident but we'll just have to hope that doesn't happen.

Stock
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...1_345_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...1_346_full.jpg

vs. Stiffened
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...1_347_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...1_348_full.jpg

Just thought I'd post to see if anyone has done this or as an idea to others. Your opinion is welcome and I'd like to hear it. If only we could adapt the front suspension from the latest Maxima or Altima. Those light aluminum pieces would be really nice.

Wow.

Good Job. Post back once you have them put on the car and how it all feels. :doublethu

Son of a *****. What welder do you have? I wanna pick one up if it's reasonably priced. I've got so many ideas in my head but can't do most of them cause I don't have a welder. Oh man.

Sad part is that its going to be extremely difficult to feel the differences once I finally get driving again. I'm doing all these things at once. When I finally drive it will be the first time since, ES bushings, 5Spd swap, extreme weight reduction, and this stiffening.

Dave, I'm lucky on the welder. I use our school's brand new Miller. Its a beast. We got MIG's and TIG's and sh!t. They really aren't that bad though if you want one that much. Its basically the price of one average mod. $250 for a decent home use welder and $100? for tanks and gas. Toss another $50 in there for safe measure. So, $400 and you're welding away. Also, you could get one used. Go to an estate sale or something. That is what I plan on doing when I get my own.

Mine are welded aswell, didn't really notice much, nice to know its there though.

I did that about a year ago on mine.. noticed zero difference.
shawn kissed my *** until I felt sorry for him and welded up the set I did bushings on for him.

Oh... and don't expect to find a good MIG for under $400. Add another $200 for gas and needed accessories like tank of C25, good gloves, mask, various sizes of wire, etc etc etc

I was unaware gas was all that much. What is C25? I already have a mask and gloves but what are the reasons for using verious wire sizes? We only have one size here at school. I think its .32". I don't remember I just look at the chart whenever I'm welding.

It's not the gas instead it's the gas tanks, fittings, stand, etc that make up the $200 cost. It's easy to spend $1000 on a good welder, safety gear, auto dimming mask, gas tank related components, plus some materials to make a welding bench. I plan on buying a welder in the future and from what I've been told, get mid to high quality equipment if you want it to last.

Well, I'm never very good at estimating actual cost of these types of things. Its good to know though. I plan to be investing in a setup in the fall.

Good work! Wanna do mine too when I get them off or was it a lot of work? :D

It was about three hours of work. It would put your car down for several days though because I can only get an hour of work in a day at school.