marthastewart

iTrader: (1)

I just installed my lt's and every so often the exhaust pipe just behind the Y will bang against that brace to the rear of the tranny. Its not the trans. mount/brace and im not sure what purpose it surves other than possably to stiffen up the frame. I would not even think of taking this out but after looking at 4-5 pics of exhaust installs by different people, I notice that no one has them on their cars. So whats the deal is it needed or not?

TIA

Fulton 1

iTrader: (9)

Its pretty apparent that the brace adds support to the trans tunnel by locally "boxing" the open section. How much of a difference it makes is debatable. Based on how flimsy the stock piece appears to be in compression, I doubt it does a lot. Many folks (including myself) do or have run with it removed and suffered no ill results, but your best bet is to pick up a nice driveshaft safety loop that bolts in its place and provides more clearance. This way you retain the support that the OEM part provides in addition to gaining a driveshaft loop and (depending on the design) more exhaust clearance. I like the Lakewood loop myself because it sacrifices no ground clearance yet in most cases provides much more clearance for exhaust. Its also pretty cheap at ~ $50.

marthastewart

iTrader: (1)

thanks man, i think thats the route i will go.