Here is the before...


and the after is much improved. I can hear the turbo spinning after shutdown now and car is more responsive (according to butt dyno).

Much cleaner looking than the black dryer hose stuff.

What is the turnbuckle deal coming off the turbo, mounting to a plate by the valve cover?

Vash-

Thats a quickie/cheapie engine stiffener .

I used angle bracket stuff from HD and a bigger size turnbuckle to reduce engine movement. I've been trying to locate a vibration I have and was hopeing it would eliminate it and give me some clues. It didn't though... so I continue to search for the cause.

It stiffened up nicely and hasn't broken yet which is nice. I think the only reason it hasn't ripped apart is because the angle bracket stuff has some flex with how I rigged it up. So its stiffening... without being solid.

I think i might leave it

So you mean engine dampener...

The new piece looks excellent!
Change in sound can definitely be attributed to the fact that it's smooth metal and that lets the sound and air travel through it easier.

I've got to do something for a good air source. Seriously considering an air box with some source holes drilled through the metal under the head light assembly. Just doesn't make sense to use the hot engine bay air when it's easy enough to get outside air. I wonder if you don't see it worked on so much because cars are always dyno'd with the hoods up - I bet the number would be different with the hood shut.

How long until it's a cnc, tig welded, masterpiece to match the intake?

Heh too much work... when the cheap crap works .

For the air stuff... I have removed turn signals... so I'd hope airflow is coming in through there and directly to the filter. It gets dirty just on that front facing section... so I assume it works

I'm going to making something similar within the next week. I made a child's drawing in paint of what I plan to make. My only worry is actually welding in the engine bay after I cleaned everything up. (I might actually go with rivets)


Vash-

Just design it in a way that you can have tabs reaching to areas with useable welded in nuts/bolts.

i doubt a solid metal rod damps much of anything. maybe we should call it an "engine brace"


the pipes look good dave. i've always hated corrugated stuff for flow.

Yah, the corrugated stuff was literally so we could get a filter on it and stop fabricating. That was after doing the entire build basically... and we were getting burnt out

It only took just under a year to replace it

And I'd say my turnbuckle deal is a mix between a stiffener and a dampener. The turnbuckle it it's solidness stiffens the setup... where as the angle iron its attached with has flex it in by virtue of how its all bolted together. So yah... a mix. No vibration added from it that I noticed, but I noticed less movement in the shifter during all shifting and such.

I've been thinking about using a sway bar end link (from a larger car) as an engine damper.

Intake looks great, helluva improvement!

I too once had a turnbuckle as an engine brace, worked light-years better than I thought it would. No longer fit when I went turbo so I ditched it, but man I miss the lack of engine movement!

pics:

That is the Rspeed MC brace right?

I dunno, I bought it second hand.

You guys heared of MMR, right? lol

Splitime, looking good, I like how used the biggest radius possible insead of just hacking it up to make it work.
Get some stiff motor mounts and get rid of that extra weight...

I've got the mazdaspeed motorsports mounts. So it doesn't move much. I was really just trying to isolate a noise.

Its an AL turnbuckle and a few ounces in bolts/nuts/angle iron. Not much weight at all honestly. Until it breaks... I think its going to stay also.