HOW MUCH CLEARANCE SHOULD AN INTAKE PLENUM HAVE WITH A STRUT TOWER BAR?

[Satter66]

I just got a strut tower bar. Installed it in my G35 Coupe. I have a 5/8 BLOX plenum spacer installed and the tower brace sits practically right on top. Maybe a 1/4 inch clearance at the most. Think this will damage my intake plenum?

[rn79870]

Good question. In a previous Mustang I had the tower brace and a spacer. Over a period of about 2 months, the torque of the engine as it revved caused plenum to hit the strut bar. Eventually, the plenum cracked and had to be welded. The fact that there was a vacuum leak was apparent, the problem was finding the crack.

I'm going to say that a quarter inch is probably not enough. Open the hood and rev the engine and see how much it moves as it twists. If it hits the strut bar you have a problem.