Auto Racing: Strengthening the Suspension, datsun 510, torsional stiffness

Question
I own a '90 240sx se and have begun the process of preparing my car for the RB25DET which I will be installing in May.
First:
I have been researching all sorts of suspension modifications and supports. . . Strut tower bars upper and lower, replacement sway bars, steering brackets, bushings.  Where should one start.  Are all of these products integral, or are any of them just cheap fixes or substatutes for something else.
Second:
I have heard that after stiffening a unibody like mine that chassis warp/twisting can occur if it's strenthened.  Is this true, to what extent of hard corner would it take to do this and how might I prevent it from happening.  Thank You in advance.  P.S. I love Z cars too :)

Answer
Hi David.

Last things first. The best way to avoid flexion of your unibody is to build a welded in roll cage into the car before all the fancy suspension mods.  A bolt in cage will do very little.

As far as the various suspension bolt on stuff goes. All of it produces results.  The sway bars, and the strut tower brace are probably the most noticable, but the replacement bushings and other minor mods will also help. Your best results will show up on stopwatches at the track. Most suspension kits, components and such are real benefits. It all DOES work in concert.

You can't corner a car hard enough to cause flexion in the body once the roll cage is a done deal. Before that, nearly anything can happen. However, I have (accidentally) driven one of my Datsun 510's into a steel Aarmco fence at Daytona at about 80 MPH head on. In a street car it would have been both fatal,and a total loss.  I survived with a BAD stiff neck, and we straightened the frame and I'm still racing the car. Since that time It has won two championships.

Seriously, the cage is the first thing you should do, it will make a world of difference. The important thing is that the cage have enough torsional stiffness to strengthen the car and prevent the twisting you mention. It doesn't have to be a complete racing cage with high door bars and all, so long as it creates some diagonal stiffness, and also in the front-to-back planes.

Good luck with the project.

Dan Liddy
Sarasota Florida