Yep, sounds exactly like what I'm dealing with.
So, preliminary verdict is really tough to determine right now. I torqued everything to spec, and used grade 10.9 bolts, but the creaking didn't disappear from the driver's side. I'm going to try and address that this weekend, since the creaking didn't appear until I swapped out the bolts the last time. I feel that has more to do with me over-torquing the strut mount bolts than anything to do with the strut brace itself.
As far as the clunking goes, it's a mixed bag. At first, the clunking was much worse than it's been, but strangely enough, it improved the longer I drove it, and by the time I got home, the end result seemed to be much better than before I installed the brace. I'll see how the suspension reacts on my ride into work tomorrow morning after sitting overnight. This certainly was not the instant magic band-aid I was expecting, though.
I'm going to be putting some miles on the car in the next few days due to the holiday, so I'll be keeping close tabs on how things are working out. I'm also going to put the car up on jackstands and realign the mounts in the towers, check the alignment of the strut brace, and maybe add some lithium grease to a few contact points. I've got a few things to check.
Regardless of the clunk, the updated DV6Z strut brace is MUCH beefier than the CV6Z version. The plates are substantial enough, but the actual metal that the brace is stamped out of is thicker, as well.
Here are the photos:
