Traction Brackets DIY and Wheel Spacers

Having FWD offset, my Axis OG Oldskools wheels need some spacers for them to fit snugly on The Dog. I've already got the front spacers at 20mm thickness. Now i only need a pair of rear ones. My guess is that i need about 30-35mm spacers to get the outer rim lips sit just outside my fender.

I got an offer for two pairs of 25mm spacers yesterday. Hoping that my 30-35mm guess is wrong, i took the risk and bought the 25mm just today. Here they are..

I have 3 pairs of spacers now: a pair of 20mm and two pairs of 24mm. Who knows one day i'm crazy enough and put 44mm of stacked spacers?

Anyhow.. the seller just happens to be an owner of a machine shop. I was looking for a machine shop to make me RX7 caliper adapters and asked them whether they're up to the job. I showed them pics of how the adapters would be and, just like that, i can now make the adapters locally! Lucky me. Hmm.. business opportunity? How many of you still need these adapters really? One thing left to worry about then is the delivery of those Ebay calipers from Aussie.

Once installed, my rear RS*R springs should lower the car significantly and i learned that i will need traction brackets to avoid axle wrap. I won't talk about the reasons behind traction brackets just yet. I'll only talk about having the machine shop make me those traction brackets. Not really a DIY process, i know. It's more a DIT or Do It Together. LOL. The machinist did all the dirty work and i showed him the design and kept him on track mostly because he had no idea what exactly was he working on.

What's a traction bracket? Here's some samples, courtesy of grey_nomad of Toymods forum.

As shown above, traction brackets are attached to the rear lower control arm mounting brackets on the axle. The control arms then will mount to these traction brackets, returning the lower control arm angle to the original position on a lowered 4-link suspension vehicle similar to Charmants and AE86s.

Each traction brackets comprised of two side plates and one bridge plate. Side plates are the ones attached to the original mounting brackets while bridge plate are welded to the side plates and keeps them on a fixed width. Also i just made up those names myself.

Have you clicked that grey_nomad link above? If not, you were just about to lose a valuable information. Go ahead, click it and read the posts. The wonderful grey_nomad was kind enough to go through the hassle of drawing us the measurements of his traction brackets. Still haven't clicked the link? I'll save you from your laziness and present the measurements below.

Not really rocket science eh? Hole A and B will be bolted to the original brackets and no, you don't have to drill any holes on the original. Hole C and D are your two options for the new mounting positions. Notice how C and D are of slightly different heights? This is designed to retain your pinion angle.

This is how it goes using a 4mm steel plate..

This is the result.

I haven't welded the bridge plate just yet. I don't have the axle to get the actual width so i can't weld it yet. On workdays, i'm 200km away from The Dog, remember? grey_nomad did gave us the measurement on his drawings above which is 57.6mm but i'm playing safe.

I will also need a pair 3mm washers on the inner side where the control arms will be mounted. This is to maintain the original bracket width. Remember, you're bolting the side plates outside of the original brackets so the washers should be placed inside.

As part of my appreciation to the machine shop for letting me tour their work area and watch the whole process, i'd be happy to inform you their contact details. Though i doubt it would be useful for those of you in Jakarta, at least this gives you more alternative to great machine shops. This machine shop is called Radja Basa and located at Jalan Raya Hajimena No 168, Natar, Lampung Selatan. You can contact the owner Awie on +62-721-703-576. Here's their sign.