I can get on board the train where the manufacturers are charging a bunch for shiny CNC parts and advertising may have got the better of us, but to suggest that stiffening a spaghetti Gbody Frame is useless or a waste of time is, quite frankly, idiotic.
Many people fail to see that the engineers actually designed flex into the frame, and that flex is responsible for many benefits and downfalls. There is so much flex in the chassis that a lot of stuff will give before it outright fails. This might explain why you dont hear about outright failures. But i'd consider a twisted frame a failure. I bet if you start looking at those figures, they are much more common.
It was acceptable to remove much material and bracing in the late 70's and 80's where the anemic V8's made a whopping 140ish hp and 240ish torque, but just about every Gbody out there now, especially performance versions are pushing many multiples of that.
If you feel comfortable having the rear end propell your car with a little C-Channel shaped sheet metal hook, thats cool, it will probably survive a while. But i also drove around with a separated motor mount for a couple years out in a 300ish hp V8. Doesnt mean its safe/ effective.
People are trying to achieve different things when they stiffen the chassis. For me its taking the flex out of the chassis, so the suspension can do its job. Other people may choose to avoid reinforcement to keep comfort.
Many people fail to see that the engineers actually designed flex into the frame, and that flex is responsible for many benefits and downfalls. There is so much flex in the chassis that a lot of stuff will give before it outright fails. This might explain why you dont hear about outright failures. But i'd consider a twisted frame a failure. I bet if you start looking at those figures, they are much more common.
It was acceptable to remove much material and bracing in the late 70's and 80's where the anemic V8's made a whopping 140ish hp and 240ish torque, but just about every Gbody out there now, especially performance versions are pushing many multiples of that.
If you feel comfortable having the rear end propell your car with a little C-Channel shaped sheet metal hook, thats cool, it will probably survive a while. But i also drove around with a separated motor mount for a couple years out in a 300ish hp V8. Doesnt mean its safe/ effective.
People are trying to achieve different things when they stiffen the chassis. For me its taking the flex out of the chassis, so the suspension can do its job. Other people may choose to avoid reinforcement to keep comfort.
