Pettit Racing

We've gotten a couple people asking this question.  Did we overlook it?  Were we lazy?  Is it even needed?

Aside from the obvious benefits of not having a third attachment point for the brake line like: Less weight, ease of maintenance, added line longevity and improved safety,  there are still those forum skeptic types that believe if the factory put it there, removing it breaks some unwritten law.  Even asking someone who should know will usually get a similar textbook reply.  Using a little common sense should help answer these questions ,  but these days it seems common sense is not so common.

Nevertheless most folk's that give some thought while reading these facts will gain the understanding needed to know without a doubt  there are several benefits from "not" having a third attachment point for the brake line.  First  it helps to understand a little about the dynamics of the suspension & brake system interaction.  The RX7's  suspension is a double wishbone design,  the shock body and the spindle /caliper where the brake  line terminates have two different ranges of motion, with the line connected at the body & caliper only there is one range of motion & 2 stress points,  connecting the brake line to the shock creates 2 ranges of motion & 4  stress points instead of 2.  By NOT attaching the brake line to the shock, you alleviate 2 points of stress.  Also in the event a foreign object makes contact with the line it will deflect  further (more movement) allowing an object to pass by whereas a restricted movement (shock attachment point) can cause an object to damage the line.  Properly installed lines are fixed and will maintain their position, if they change something is wrong, this should be corrected  immediately and before driving again.

So why dose the RX7 have a bracket that's not needed,  nearly everything that is mass produced has a host of  items not needed & absolutely unnecessary, all one time use items that hold & guide pre-assemblies to improve quality & speed on the automated assembly lines.  In the RX 7's case,  as the body is mated with sub frames & suspension a worker actually connects the flex line to the body's hard line & threads them together by hand, installs the lock clip & tightens the line.  In this case the shock tube bracket holds the line up & away from any chance of being caught or snagged as it moves along the assembly line and the worker finds it in the exact same place on each car.