I am curious if there is something magical about strut tower braces that would make them difficult to reproduce on my own. It is something I would like to add to our sedan, but don't have the cash flow to spend $200-$400 on one.

I still remember a few things from that old engineering degree, and I like to weld.... so am I missing something? or is there a valid reason NOT to make my own???

thnx guys!

 

if its worth your time and YOU can be happy with the results and the amount of money/time you put into it, then do it.

the only reason I can really think of for buying one is that someone already went through the trouble of making sure it fits and "works", but I have a coupe so I at least have a few more options than you.

 

Making it fit is not an issue in my mind... it is making it "work".

From reading other info on here about the braces, the goal is to remove/minimize the flex of the front of the car, between the strut towers. And with people saying things like "unload the front of the car (jack it up) to install", I am thinking that the brace needs to hold the towers OUT, more than try to pull them IN. Right?

And I have seen the newer brace that also ties in the LCA mounts, and I am not quite ready to jump that far yet...

 

Unless you have a lot of experience tracking and driving G's with and without strut bars, I highly doubt you can make one that WORKS. I've heard of some bars actually BENDING due to track use. That's pathetic IMO.

Get one that has some R&D in it and actually WORKS. AKA:

https://g35driver.com/forums/brakes-...r-not-vrt.html

 

^^^^ and this one has been extensively track tested and prove in the time attack RA 350z

 

break out of the norm and make your own.

there are a lot of resources online to determine what you need

Here are some the basics:



http://www.rogueengineering.com/Merc...uct_Code=RE_RB

"What to look for in a strut tower brace?
When looking at a strut tower brace to give you the most benefit, it should have the following features:

-Sufficient protection of the strut tower top (to prevent "mushrooming")
-No pivots or heim-style joints to allow the bar to flex or bend, but adjustable, to allow for intention suspension changes.



-Center bar with minimal bends or kinks (straighter is stiffer!)
-Provide adequate underhood clearance (so not to dimple the hood)
-Allow for suspension changes (for those that frequent the track)
-Made from the best materials available (for lightweight, coefficient of thermal expansion)
-Even BMW applied many of these traits to their own strut tower braces when they offered them. For the E36 and E46 models, both used cast aluminum strut tower plates and matched them to tubular steel center bars. "


One of these days i'll make my own...

 

Good informational link, thank you for that one....

I am going to keep this project in mind for the future. And who knows... a few tries at it, and I may really come up with something worthwhile!

 

as for the pre-load you were talking about, it wouldnt build the bar with any initial load in or out, certainly no outward load. what you can do is build an adjustable load bar like the stock 350Z strut bar or some other name brand versions.