Not really a suspension question.....but deals with ride quality none the less

[aris_unlimited]

I looked at a guys challenger up here not long ago and he told me I should get a set of torque boxes for my cuda. Mine is an original small block car so it doesn't have them.

I was wondering if they would be worth the extra money, or if I shouldn't bother. I already have the sub frame connectors from XV motorsports to put in, along with the radiator support brace, and I will order the inner fender braces when they are back in stock.

So basically should I even bother putting them in with all the stuff I am already putting in.

Also, I am not overly clear on how torque boxes work... I believe that they have something to do with chassis stiffening but not really overly clear on exactly what they do, so any info on that would be great.

[Supercuda]

The torque box gives more support to the frame members where they attach to each other, and thus impart more stiffness to the entire structure. Their major benefit is increased torsional rigidity, so they will be of some benefit to you. With the subframe connectors, this is the only possible "weak point" left. If you have a cage installed, the torque boxes become less of an issue.

[HP2]

The unit body on a mopar is the same as the foundation on a house, the more solid you make it, the better everything else performs around it. This inlcudes ride quality, suspension performance, putting engine power to the ground, eliminating squeaks and rattles, and almost ever other aspect of driving the car.

What the torque boxes due is tie the sub-frame structural components into the substantially sized lower rocker assembly on the car, which creates a perimeter frame, in a sense. An analogy I've seen before is that the car body is like a shoe box without a lid. Put the lid on and it twists less. Tape the lid down and it twists even less than before. Each of these stages is like adding structural reinforcement to the unibody structure.

[djwhog]

How do the boxes get installed? are they welded bolted etc?

good info thanks

[Chryco Psycho]

they are welded & worth adding
 Dave @ Roseville can get them for you

[OxfordMotorSports]

Go with the boxes.

Todd

[aris_unlimited]

Thanks for the info guys. Guess that's one more part I have to get before sending it to the body shop lol.

[73Chally]

Don't feel like you have to get them.  Will they help?  Yes.  Will it be anything you will really notice beyond the subframe connectors you already have?  No, not unless you plan on drag racing with slicks or autocrossing.  To me it's one of those luxury items (I do not have them, but do have the subframe connectors) that would be nice to have if money was no object, but do not ever plan on adding them.

[aris_unlimited]

Well I can get a complete set for about $300. I would rather not spend the $300, but on the other hand I want to do this build right the first time and finish it off the way it should be done........so I won't feel like I have to do anything later.

[dodj]

I want to do this build right the first time and finish it off the way it should be done........so I won't feel like I have to do anything later.

Then you should buy them.
But if you think you won't feel like you have to buy anything later.......

[aris_unlimited]

Then you should buy them.
But if you think you won't feel like you have to buy anything later.......

Aww don't be like that lol. I just started on my project, it's way too early to try and start freaking me out 

[_Russ_]

But if you think you won't feel like you have to buy anything later.......

 

I agree with most of the others. I'd say go for it.

A 440 has a lot of power, and whilst you may not currently plan on pushing it to its limits, once you get behind the wheel of your completed car and start driving it, your eyes will open wide, and all your ideas about what you would and wouldn't do can disappear in a flash, and new ideas start to fester.

As stated, in most cases, the change in feel can be minimal to nothing - especially for daily drivers, so a lot of people don't bother with them; but that works both ways. If they're in, then they're apart of your car and worse case scenario is you've spent an extra few hundred bucks. Best case scenario, if how you want to use the car changes in the future, then you've already got them there and it's less of this  and more of this .

[aris_unlimited]

Well when I am finished with it I am planning on running between 500-600 hp and it will be a 512 stroker, so plenty of tq too. After I'm done with it, I ain't touching it other than routine maintenance and plenty of driving lol. My overall goal is to have something I can drive a lot, have it be reliable and still fun. If ever I nned more than the power I will have with it when I am done, then I will get a different car lol.

Besides, I've always felt that the 500-600 hp range is about as high as you can go and still have it be a streetable car.

[Road_Runner]

Maybe this is why I'm considering a 'mildly' hopped up small block for my 73 Barracuda.  When I drive it now it has 'no' squeaks or rattles, unreal for a 37 year old car.  #1 it really was a little old lady's car, (at least she was when she sold it in 2009 to the guy I bought it from earlier this year.  Its a 318 two barrel car thats never been hot rodded so I think its lived a fairly easy life.  So if I don't beat on it too much myself I'm thinking it could live another easy 30+ years without a lot of extra bracing, etc.

Later, Jim

[HP2]

A good test to see if you will benfit from under body bracing is to take your bumper jack to the driver's side front bumper, crank it until the wheel is off the ground, then open the driver's door, then close it. You'll get a grpahic example of how much a body moves around then, if you can get the door open or shut.

If you already have subframe connectors, you get less benefit from torques boxes than someone with nothing under there.