FYI...Randy's idea of a self made strut bar is under constructure at my dad shop...it should be tanglible by the end of the week...
randy...i think my dad can make the entire thing...not too sure...i'll let you know...i think we may need your friend to provide the bar...my dad has the plates under way...

question...what type of metel should be used?

-Chromoly of you want ultimate strength (doubt you'd ever need it on a friggin xB) but the stuff weighs a ton!

-Aluminum tube light, best pricing (look into some air plane aero tube suppliers)

-Titanium, by far pimpest "new" material to use but harder to work w/ & more $$$

-Carbon Fiber - you get extra NOPI points for the bling factor but it's also easy to find in aeronotics supply but you got to pay for the bling factor, plus fabbing ends to meet the base takes more engineering than the rest.

easiest , most cost effectife way would prolly be aluminum bar & painted steel flanges w/ heim joints out of any circle track supply catalog.

have fun!
show us what you come up with.

i think aluminum is the best compromise, and is definitely strong enough if the design is sound.

i'd go with either mild steel or stainless steel.
Who cares about weight, right.
If we use stainless it can be polished. And, I can TIG weld stainless here at work.

you don't want to use aluminum because you can't TIG weld it.

well i can, sucker.

you don't want to use aluminum because you can't TIG weld it.

well i can, sucker.

thats because you are a badass and i'm not.
well, that and our welder is really old and not set up to do aluminum.

anyway, mild steel will be fine but not shiny. paint that thing and it will look good. stainless is good but way more expensive. cold rolled steel will give optimum strength, but it will also weigh about 40 pounds. so choose your poison.

Ernesto, is he copying the stock shape? It might be better if it had a little more material towards the center of the car (like the Hotchkiss bar) so there is some room to weld the bar to the brackets.

-Chromoly of you want ultimate strength (doubt you'd ever need it on a friggin xB) but the stuff weighs a ton!

-Aluminum tube light, best pricing (look into some air plane aero tube suppliers)

-Titanium, by far pimpest "new" material to use but harder to work w/ & more $$$

-Carbon Fiber - you get extra NOPI points for the bling factor but it's also easy to find in aeronotics supply but you got to pay for the bling factor, plus fabbing ends to meet the base takes more engineering than the rest.

easiest , most cost effectife way would prolly be aluminum bar & painted steel flanges w/ heim joints out of any circle track supply catalog.

have fun!
show us what you come up with.

Chromoly steel tubing is the best choice for this application, unless you are willing to put big bucks into designing a 3D carbon fiber part and then charge accordingly. Lots of people can slap together a CF part, but unless you engineer it properly it won't be strong. Chromoly is far more forgiving.

Titanium is only useful in application where you need high temperature strength or need very small parts with greater strength than steel. Not the case here.

Aluminum might be useful, but for parts of this type you'd get better strength for weight from steel.

George

how about high strenth plastic?

well my dad had the first of the plates done yesterday...and it looks like they fit...i say it looks like they fit cause they were just a square with two holes for the nut and blot...but...he gonna cut today and we'll measure again today...if it doesnt work today...i;m gonna take out the plate on the strut tower...and trace...soo...we'll see...i'll you guys updated...any more ideas please post...

randy-i'm not sure how you want to weld the bar on to the plates...i think i will leave that idea to you...my dad said he could get someone at his place to weld a bar on there...i dont know if you want to go for a design look or a practical look...thats up too you...

i was going to weld another piece to the edge of the plate, then weld the end of the bar to that (ie. Hotchkiss style). On my bar, its going to be all crazy, with the top secret effects I told you about sunday.

sounds good...do you think our home-made bars will have the same effect as those mass produced bars?

i doubt the mass produced ones have much of an effect with the strut towers being so close to the firewall anyway.

soo we should (fingers crossed)...get the same effect?

It wont be any worse, i promise you that.

cool...then i guess i will continue talkin wit my dad on this...and this project may have a prototype by the weekend...i hope...if not...then by next week...i just need a bar...do you know where i can find one? does you friend have any that he could spare?
or do you wanna combine forces and put my dads plates with your idea and your friends bars? your call...

i think you are going to have to go to the metal yard and get the bar. If you want to make your plates and get the bar stock, I will get my buddy to bend it and I will weld it for you.

sounds good...let me see how far my dad gets...he said he could get a friend at work to weld it...soo if anything changes i'll let you know aight?

im hopping in the boat with you guys....got a little sneaky engine cage/strut bar coming from camburg engineering, they are mostly a baja truck shoop, but they'll fab you whatever your heart desires, im gonna opt for chromolly on mine...and when the time comes theyll be the ones putting in a full cage...thatll be fun

brent

Camburg does _____in work. I used to work on the owners Jet Ski a few years ago.

the only hard part with them is squeezing your car in, i know for fab work there is alittle bit of a wait, and their time costs money too, but i think itll be all worth it in the end...i hope

brent