Looking to CNC my own strut tower brace. Was wondering if anyone is willing to share some dimensions/drawings or any tips and tricks that I could use. Also do they have to be made aluminum?

 

MAKE THE BAR...STRAIGHT. Move it where it needs to be (height, and fore and aft) for clearance, but make it straight.
Or else it's a spring, and mostly useless as a bridge support.
Check into most any science or physics book to verify the above comment !!

Below is the one on my car. It's a combination of "two" kits.
ALL of the bolt, through holes are ROUND...NOT ovals. Another useless tribute. A friction joint is not a strong joint, and an oval hole creates a...friction joint.
I drilled new holes in the aluminum plates to "tightly" secure the bar to the plates, so there is no way that ANY motion over about .010" movement can take place.



Your time, money and car, just do some homework on bridge building before getting too deep into your build.
And yeah, some will criticize my comments... But...NO ONE can alter physics !!
Mike

 

Just curious to how thick those plates you are running are. I managed to find a print out and cad file. Unfortunately the thickness of the plate was lost and I'm just trying figure that out. I was told to print in A4.

 

OCR will likely reply with confirmation, however those plates appear to be M7 in combo with R-D CF crossbar. I recently switched from an earlier version similar to R-D's (perhaps made by or for them in 2006) to M7 plates without the crossbar (or drilled/tapped holes for that crossbar). My version shown below had insufficient clearance to the ECU cover, thus had been "notched" at time of installation. I chose to remove that bar same time as the aftermarket CAI subsequently replaced with de-flapped JCW airbox and replacement ECU cover. I did like that the C-F crossbar fitted in 2006 had turnbuckle-style knurl **** adjusters allowing fine tuning of crossbar tension. A feature not offered on current the R-D crossbar, noting that will be listed on NAM Marketplace when I find a suitable box for shipment.

The 2nd image shows the current status, with M7 plates (not drilled for crossbar), JCW airbox and R52 cabrio braces. From M7's web page; "Extremely durable, the 1/2" (13mm) thick plates come in sets of two (left and right) and are made from CNC machined aircraft grade 6061-T6 aluminum that is beautifully black anodized to prevent corrosion and and some under hood beauty."
M7 Gen 1 Strut Tower Reinforcement Plate Kit

 

Ive read a number of owners state how they felt the under body braces did more to help, & its no wonder when you look at the R53's design with its enormous sub-frame that's separate from the body, & all that is connected to it.

But a brace across the top of the shock towers should help also.

 

Hmm, seems that as small (magnifying glass sized) as I make my photos, they are still too large ! They used to print !?

In any case, yes, a straight bar is a good support. ALL fastener slop should also be removed. Friction locking is all but useless for a strong support.

Also...there's NO SUCH thing as Aircraft Grade Aluminum !!!
Just some buzz word that someone came up with years ago. Both commercial AND military use from almost the softest / cheapest aluminum to grades that aren't even in the noral books. The same can be said for Spacecraft.
I worked in the Aerospace industry for over 40 years, I've seen a LOT of things.
Like "muscle memory". Muscles DON'T have a brain, no memory, ask a good doctor !

Mike