There are two things that bother me about nearly all strut braces (and indeed other braces designed for most cars). First of all, they have a hinged part, almost always in the same plane as the stresses that will be applied to the bar.

Most popular eBay-type braces (and even JDM uber-expensive ones!) have a piece that bolts to the strut tower and then the bar itself bolts into place after that. This is a terrible design and one that will render the brace nearly useless under many circumstances.

Take a look at OEM-designed strut braces and in almost all cases (especially where an engineer was asked), they are SOLID pieces, generally steel in construction.

Why steel? Well, for one it’s cost. However, and this is the other thing that bugs me about most aftermarket braces – Aluminum in this application has ZERO advantage of steel. Why?

Aluminum and steel have the same stiffness, given the same amount of weight. In other words, if you go to the hardware store and pick up a piece of 1″ bar aluminum, you’ll find that while it is much lighter than the same size piece of steel…. it’s a great deal flimsier.

It will take the same amount of weight in aluminum (and thus a bigger bar) to provide the same amount of stiffness as the equivilant weight steel. Aluminum strut braces, floor bars, fender braces, and so on – would have to be unreasonably large to add any real stiffness.

So, yes, you absolutely should try to find a SOLID, steel-based brace whenever possible, or have one constructed for you.

Aluminum strut braces are okay, as long as they are bulky and solid with no hinge – they’re better than nothing, but I’ll take a steel version any day over the aluminum.

Let’s talk a little more about the aluminum vs steel argument. Roll cages are always made out of? Steel. The frame of your car is almost always …. 100% steel. Why? Well, because the only material that can be as stiff as steel is carbon fiber – and it has it’s problems not to mention expenses.

Aluminum has its place, in unstressed body panels for example. But what about aircraft aluminum, isn’t it as strong as steel? Well, sort of, but it’s extremely flexible too – think about how much the air plane wings move about when you’re flying (scary sometimes how much they move!).

The majority of strut braces we are aware of, even many leading brands, have major flaws of one kind or another that fail to fill the basic characteristics of a product that is designed to reinforce a vehicle chassis. Here is a list of items not recommended for an effective strut brace: Any component that is not absolutely rigid, detracts in some measure from the intended function of the strut brace. Some brands of strut braces include almost every one of these undesirable features. Some high end brands contain two or more of these flaws.

1) thin shock tower plates of soft, stamped materials (allows flex and movement)

2) thin hollow tubes that make up the cross bar (lacks the strength required to do the job)

3) multiple bends and angles of the cross bar (each bend or angle imparts a weakness and point of flex to the brace)

4) pivot points where the cross bar attaches to the shock tower rings. (this is 5 year old technology and negates any improvement the strut brace may otherwise have) As the chassis twists and flexes from side to side, the pivot points simply allow the strut brace to "float" with the movement rather that stop it.

5) small diameter hardware, a structure is only as strong as its weakest component. You could have a cross bar of solid 2 inch thick steel but if it attaches to the rings with a 1/4 inch bolt, its only as strong as the quarter inch bolt.

6) lack of reasonable heft and girth (assuming reasonably priced materials, not "super alloys)

7) both cosmetic and functional, some strut braces look like they were manufactured from old lawn chairs and provide little if any rigidity. We refer to these as "feel good" accessories. They do nothing, but the owner feels good about his new accessory. These are usually the economy models, and, others that sell anywhere from $150 to $250. Any improvement in actual rigidity realized from these economy models is a result of the owners imagination and expectation.

Chassis bracing category included strut tower brace, under chassis brace (front, rear or mid) and various chassis reinforcement products. Strut tower brace included front and rear braces that reinforce the strut top of the vehicle. Under chassis brace included braces that reinforce various position of the vehicle. We split them into front, rear and mid chassis. Most of our chassis reinforcement products are make of of 6061 aluminum with the exception of the fender brace and a few other braces. We will replace aluminum with stronger material such as steel or forged 7075 aluminum in places where we think aluminum will be too weak.