Front strut braces

[Shrike]

So for my ae111 rebuild I picked up a UR front strut brace however I find them semi ugly and think I could increase the amount of tension it provides by adding the factory strut brace to it (weilding them together) and then repainting/powder coating it black

Any point in doing this?

[Lurkin]

I don't see the point of having both. One or the other.

Factory does not have the bar between the towers, so the benefit would be using the aftermarket brace to stop inward flex.

[Shrike]

yeah but it would be 5point instead of 3

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Just get a TRD one instead. Best of both worlds:

[Shrike]

id love a trd one but finding one is proving differcult plus it wouldnt take much to do what im thinking

[iOnic]

You won't achieve anything. The strut brace is purely there to tie the two strut towers together and stop them flexing inward towards each other. Strengthening the brace by tying it into the firewall is going to have a negligible effect. It's like attaching your rollcage to one of the door skins - it's another point of attachment but does nothing for structural rigidity. In actual fact, that brace would work just as well if it was just purely a bar between the two struts - that bar is the main load bearing component of that brace.

If you just don't like the look of it, Well that's a whole other story.

[Shrike]

yeah I hate the styling of it and prefer the TRD style ohwell see if I can track one down off to yahoo auctions I go :p

[iOnic]

If it's just a looks thing you could do what you were planning. I think if done right it could look pretty cool.