Hi there,

looking to find out a couple of things about the Croxx plate:

- how heavy is it, both vs. stock bars and the Cusco upgraded bars
- I have a Vishnu Signature exhaust ... will the Croxx plate fit?

thanks.

 

As far as I know:

1. Croxx plate is roughly 3 pounds. I have the Cusco lower tie bar type 2 and it is much heavier, though I've yet to quantify the exact amount.
2. I don't believe the exhaust would be an issue, but certain downpipes may have issues with the Croxx plate.

Anyhow, the weight of the Croxx plate is perfect since the Evo is so front weight biased. Lightening up the front is a great thing to do and knowing the Croxx plate won't make things worse when compared with the stock lower tie bars weight wise makes it a worthy upgrade.

 

The OEM lower control arm braces in the front of the EVO are only a couple pounds so as far as weight savings goes it’s about the same. The big difference is in the rigidity that the plate adds to the area between the front lower control arms.

The Croxx Plate ties all five mounting points together with one piece and does it with an almost zero tolerance, this piece just doesn’t throw on, and it fits those bolts like a glove. If you’ve ever framed a house or covered roof trusses with plywood sheeting you’ll understand how it works.

Braces like the one made by RMR do nothing but add clearance for an oversized DP. The fit at the mounting points is sloppy and the braces are running the wrong direction. It’s also made from flat stock which does nothing in the rigidity area. The one we tried also started coming loose, you could even see wear marks on its spacers from load transferring through the mount points.

The other big thing is ground clearance, if anything the plate gives you more. Braces like the RMR with the dip down for the DP are a hazard to the car. Ours grounded out twice crossing railroad tracks (and our car is not lowered). Hit something substantial in the road and you’re going to damage the brace. With the spacers pushing it away from the frame so far (read leverage) these mount points on the car can also be damaged.

The plate bolts right up to the bottom of the frame, flat, no spacers. Lastly, it provides a bulletproof (so to speak) skid pan under the engine bay. For pavement a safety plus, for Rallyx guys a must. I’ve not had to remove the plate for servicing or working on the car either, so it’s not in the way.

As far as the Vishnu DP goes (or any DP for that matter) if it follows the path of the stock DP it should work. If the aftermarket DP hangs lower or takes a straighter path to the cat it may not. There is a small opening that the lowest portion of the DP passes through and that area could be opened up with very little effort. However, if the modification was major for a DP, I wouldn't cut the plate up.

Suspension is certainly subjective, every driver is a little different, for us this plate does the job better than bent tubes or flat stock and has proven its worth at the track as well.

 

I am also intrerested but I have the Tein springs and last week I HAD to go over a speed bump. Well, I bent the stupid mounting brackets on the front cross bar back about 2 inchs. How can I fix them? Could I just gently pound the mounting bracets into place or can I heat up the bracket a push it back into place. I really want the CROXX plate.

 

Ouch! If those mount locations have been damaged heavily and moved that far from the original locations I’d take it to a frame shop for an idea of what it might cost to make it right again. I believe the proper dimensions for those five points are in the factory shop manual.

Otherwise you’ll forever have trouble trying to put anything new back on the car. Actually, the fit on a Croxx Plate is so tight you could use the holes on the plate as a template to relocate the damaged points.

 

IS the bracket made out of aluminium or steel? Could the shop heat it up and carefully pound it back into place? How would this be fixed?

 

If the brackets you’re referring to are the ones that were at each end of the OEM lower braces then the next bracket over is the forward and rear mount and pivot points for the lower control arms.

That said I don’t think you want to apply heat with a torch because only an inch away is a control arm bushing. I don’t think you want to apply force either given the close proximity of the control arm pivots.

It might be that the best way would be remove the old ones, fabricate new brackets and then have a good welder (someone with the right equipment that won’t heat up the whole frame) help re-attach the new ones.

Is the odd ball front mounting point that’s offset to one side (on the front OEM control arm brace) still O.K.? If so a template could be made using that as the prime locating point to help center the new pieces.

As for the brackets, 10 gauge u-shaped brackets with a nut welded to the inside are all they are. I think with a little fabrication, a good welder and a little black paint it could look like new again.

 

If my exhaust is too low for the Croxx plate to fit ... what would be a suggested way to modify the plate to fit? It looks like my downpipe is probably 1-2 inches lower than stock...

l8r)

 

I’ve attached an image looking from front to back at the Croxx Plate along the OEM DP. If a DP is hanging one to two inches lower than the OEM DP I think you’ll have problems. But if a DP is designed to work with stock lower control arm braces I think you’ll have a better chance.

 

sweet! thanks, for the pic ... I will compare it to my Evo later.

l8r)

 

You would need the spacers supplied with the vishnu signature dp for the croxxplate to work, otherwise, it will not fit.

 

I took the low cross bar off. I guess I made the mistake of buying the Tein springs as they are way to damn low. Dallas has ****ty roads and lot od spped bumps. How much would it effect handling?

Thanks

 

I'm not 100% sure of that, my signature exhaust is actually clearing the lowered braces by more than an inch, but it is slightly lower than stock. However I would have to make the cutout a little larger to accomodate the resonator ...all-in-all it's gonna be a very close call. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but if I use spacers with the Croxx plate, will that not counteract some of it's rigidity?

Part of the reason I'm really interested in the Croxx plate is to protect the wideband O2 sensor I've got mounted on my downpipe from stray rocks and debris.

l8r)

 

i wonder if this would work with my 2.5 ultimate racing dp

 

…mounted flush to the frame is going to work best, plus as you space further out you run the risk of damage to the mount brackets once again from a heavy accidental impact with something in the road.