Following the installation of the Digrappa brace I noticed a distinct sound when my S2000 rolled over a speedbump - even at several miles per hour - after removing the brace we noticed a spot where the oil pan had been scraping against the brace during the compression of a road bump --- installing four metal washers between the brace and the car elimainated the rub and thus the sound ..... it would be interesting to know how many S2000 owners have had this occur with the Digrappa brace. My mechanic was concerned that in time the oil pan would be damaged by this collision of the pan and the brace.

 

Just went and checked mine-

I have a good half inch of clearance........I can jack either front corner to the max and still no problem. If you are talking about the mark right next to the drain plug, this is part of the casting process of the oil pan and not a rub mark from the X-Brace.

Utah

 

speedyclip,

We are sorry that you may have had a problem with your DiGrappa brace.
However, I must state that I have installed at least 6 of these braces on
S2000s and haven't noticed a clearance problem on any vehicle so far, yours
is the first. Its unfortunate that you were unable to supply us with any photos of your clearance. These could have helped determine why your brace placement may have been a problem.

I would encourage you to contact us should you have any further problems.

Regards,
James

 

I second Jame's comment. We need to see photos before we can determine the problem. It sounds like an installation matter.

 

the mark was on the brace -- not the housing of the car --

how would it be possible to install this incorrectly? It fits only one way with four bolts!

 

It's tough to say, but about fifty have been sold and installed and this is the first time anybody had this problem. Have you checked to see if the engine is loose on its mounts? Something is really weird here.

 

we checked the engine mounts, etc. -- it is not loose in the mounts ... then we took the brace off and then on again ..a couple of times...
finally used a flat washer at each mounting point of the brace and that gave it enough clearance not to rub --- before the washers were added the brace was nearly flush with the oil pan ... possibly a sheet of paper's thickness between the brace and the pan. Does not seem to be a problem now since adding the washers. My S2000 was delivered to the dealer in March 2000. Has 17,000 miles on it and is in perfect condition ... the purpose of the original post is to get some feedback -- in time the brace on my S2000 could have caused problems with the pan ... the transmission was pulled during the first 6 months for a TSB .. but that's about it.

 

I just looked at mine, and I have over 1/2" (closer to 1") of clearance on mine. Need to do that more often...sure does look sweet

Looking at the setup, I do not see any way that the parts could be a paper's thickness in seperation. And, since I can't see any way that you could improperly install the brace, my first thought is a potential problem with your car. I say this because since the brace is non adjustable, the only way to get a variance in spacing is for the engine and mounting points to move in relation to one another, and that's not something that the brace could effect (that I can see anyway).

Maybe when the transmission was worked on, something changed? Can you post pictures? Where did the brace rub? (front, side, etc.) Was clearance evenly spaced across the brace or more/less in places? Where was the top of the brace when compared to the bottom of the metal fitting just in front of the brace (when installed)?

While I can't see any problem with using spacing washers, if it was my car I'd want to have it checked out (probably by a trusted shop other than the one that worked on it) to make sure that nothing is amiss to have one car with over 1/2" difference is engine spacing vs. all (most?) others.

 

thanks for the advice -- the rub point (enough that the power coat was rubbed off in a small area) was very near the center of the brace ... the car runs perfectly -- there are NO trusted Honda shops around here -- they all are remedial at best -- the selling dealer left the oil fill cap off and inverted on the engine, the differential fill bolt barely threaded on and all four valve stem covers simply frictioned on at the 14,000 mile service.

 

Yea, I'd say there is definately something off with your car; whether that is just a difference in manufaturing or because of work done I would have no idea. I'd also have no idea if anything is actually "wrong", so if it was me I'd probably leave well enough alone since the car is running fine and you don't have a shop you trust.

Still...very interesting; anyone with a x-brace living near you? Be interesting to compare and see what's different. Should be able to tell with any brace, since it's really the engine and mounting points you are looking at (the brace would just give a reference point).