Are door bars a replacement for frame rail brace?
 

This is what I've gathered from what I've read. Is this correct?

I probably should have said, do they make frame rail braces less noticeable?

yes and supposedly better but I have no first hand experience with braces, only my door bars.

could you run door bars mounted behind inside the wheel well, then wrap them back along the frame rail and bolt up front somewhere and get both?

If I ever get door bars I plan to run both. Sure it's extra weight, but what is maybe 30-40lbs on a street car. I would imagine the door bars do just about everything with both installed, leaving the braces mostly as dead weight. They are so close to one another, and follow basically the same path and share similar mounting mounts around the length of the car. If I didn't already have the braces, I would do just the door bars alone.

you know my idea is genius and you're rethinking everything...

I'm planning on running both. Not sure which order I'll install them, but I do plan to drive for a few days with just the first install complete, so that I can at least have a reference point for the improvement in the second install.

Well if you want to feel both, I suggest the frame rails first, since if you do the door bars first, I doubt you will notice anything change with the frame rails coming later.

I have both.

Frame rails: hardly a difference
Door bars: Huge difference

Did the frame rails first.

FWIW I also seam welded the chassis and welded and gusseted the backing plates and attachemet areas for the roll bar and door bars.

Bob

I did frame rails. Could hardly tell a difference. I say hardly only because there might have been a difference, I couldn't be sure.

Do the door bars.

I want door bars. I have frame rails. They seemed drastic at first, but don't change handling too much, just backing out of your driveway. They give me piece of mind since I've drilled holes in the tub to mount bucket seats that aren't there anymore, but on the same note I can't really uninstall the heavy bastards without leaving 32 more empty holes.

From an engineering analysis standpoint the door bars should be more effective...they are adding strength to a second plane, further out from the PPF, meaning it takes less force applied to them to have the same reduction in bending.