After receiving my Digrappa Billet Aluminum X-brace, and after deciding that I actually needed to bolt it into its hidden location on the bottom of the car (despite its artistic beauty), I called Mark Digrappa to inquire about the possibility of an upper strut tower brace. To my delight, he said that he is developing an "unconventional" brace, that he hopes will go into production soon. He tried to describe it to me over the phone, but it wasn't until he faxed me a pre-production drawing that I figured it out. Since the design is not finalized, he asked that I not post it, but it is just too cool not to tell you about it.

All of the conventional STBs for the S2000 that I have seen are bowed between their mounts to clear the intake. The curvature of the bar makes it virtually useless, since it will be able to flex much easier. This is not the case at all with the Digrappa STB, since the intake will actually go THROUGH it. The pre-production design shows an X-brace-like center section that mounts vertically between the strut towers, with a complex steel strut mount at each end.

Mark said that he still has to finalize the design, making sure that it will work with common CAI's and clears all the A/C hoses and things. He said that it would not work with a super charger, since the brace is vertical between the front of the engine and the Air Box.

He is also uncertain about the selling price, but he hopes that he can get it to around the same price as the X-brace.