In reading a few other posts about people making their own Strut Tower Braces, it got me thinking. Has anybody tried making one out of Aluminum Tubing or would it flex to much? I was kind of thinking about giving it a shot with some 1" aluminum tubing.

 

Haven't tried it myself but I've been told aluminum tubing is the best common material to use. The stregnth depends on the thickness of the tubing wall not just the diameter. Differnt grades of aluminum also. Let us know how it works out.

Ben

 

as you dont have to bend it. aluminum is a pretty stiff metal so it should do the job though. if you make it make sure you put pics of it up!

 

I toyed with the idea a couple years ago after I learnd how to tig weld aluminum. Aluminum tube is very rigid and light, would probably work great. I think the only issues you might run into will be the welds. Aluminum gets weaker when you subject it to welding. You would want to have someone weld it up who has a lot of experience doing structual aluminum welds.

 

You would probably be better off welding the tubing to some kind of eyehole with a round base so you could bolt it to the car.
Maybe even some kind of rod end. I'll try to find a pic of what I'm talking about.

Ben

 

Thanks, for the ideas. I was thinking of using something like a rod end and bolting it up to a steel bracket. I also thought about drilling the tubing so it would bolt directly to a bracket or using a bracket similar to those on the front swaybar with a bushing and an endplate to keep it from moving. I am still working out the design but I will post some pics if it works out.

 

Sure aluminum is fun. What about Chrome Moly. You can get some thin wall stuff and it will still be lightwieght but still super strong. An issue with Chrome moly which is why its not used for roll cages in racing is that it doesn't have much give. But that would be perfect for a strut tower brace. That and you can make some plates that you can weld right to it and bolt them directly to the camber plates. Then have your bar between the two towers then have a pair going to the firewall and a pair going to the core support. The ultimate in triangulation.

 

I would use aircraft aluminum. Alot stronger. Maybe a 2024-T3, or higher(6065-T3511?). And you can heat treat it, for a stronger overall bar. The only problem I see, is if you do add a heim joint, it is steel, or chromoly. Might mess you up. Definitely worth a shot. I am not a metallurgist, so I dont really know, but I do mess with alot of aircraft aluminum. Just dont paint it. Polish that bad boy.