hmmmmm What would you guys pay for something thats solid aluminum thats milled out or a combo of waterjet components that are cnc milled out and bolted together? Something like the GTR brace only lighter, stronger, and zero welds

No idea. That GTR brace is $600. KM Front Strut Tower Brace Kit, R35 Nissan GT-R, SFS_R35_StrutBar but that has welds and I don't know what the rest of the manufacturing process is.

I might come in around the same price maybe an extra $100-150

I think that's reasonable.

man... gonna take some special dies and a lot of muscle to bend that extruded aluminum on that axis. pretty cool.

who said it has to be extruded aluminum ;) why not make it out of plate and add webbing on the backside? Would be stronger and perform better! Just takes a big cnc mill to machine something like that out ;) I just so happen to have something with those travels.

I am just commenting on that particular GTR version. Ya its not worth tooling up custom to make a strut bar for just one car. Watch out for the weight fiends in the Z world if you go 1 solid billet on that sucker. Good thing CAD can tell you exactly what it weighs before you machine it.

The only downside to removing the rear angles is that:

1. a triangle is a stronger shape right?
2. it will make that center trim piece look very odd with nothing going under it?

:ugh2:

This is for Z's with aftermarket intake manifolds (future)

1. The rear angles would be kept. The difference is that the main bar wont run straight from tower to tower, it will run in front of the intake manifold. Might not be the strongest shape but it's better than removing the brace altogether.

2. With a different manifold, the center trim piece would no longer fit.

So we'd be taking a straight bar and putting bends/angles in it, thereby sacrificing rigidity for looks?

I gotta side with the function > form guys on this one... :ugh2:

I don't mean the engine cover trim, I mean the center trim piece under the windshield wipers... That doesn't get removed for swapping an IM?

Uhh who said this was for looks? This is for people who will be using aftermarket intake manifolds and want a solution, albeit a slightly compromised one, for the strut tower brace.. GTM and ChrisUR already proved the stock one can't be used with aftermarket/GTR intake manifolds. Phunk is close to arriving at the same conclusion and I assume once AZ starts on his manifold he will see that as well.

The bars going to the center trim piece would still be there.

function always takes over form...but I can make form and function be 1 in the same ;)

This is rather...ugly.. but you get idea. Rear angle bars would be there. The center piece would be similar to the GTR brace posted earlier.

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...psadb67b27.png

I understand the point of the OEM bar doesn't work with it, but is there no other way than making an inferior (in terms of rigidity) product?

I thought that's why you highlighted the rear bars in my pic was that those would go away? (I must have misread what you were explaining, my bad.)

http://i1.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/...t4eWCDKcMu.jpg

:icon17:

Okay, that makes more sense..

But PLEASE AZ, make a front bar that does look more aesthetically pleasing than the one seen here...