Which strut braces fit?

[johnnyo55]

I'm looking into a front strut brace for my '98 2.8 roady. I've noticed that nearly all of the jillion or so listed on eBay for the E36 body are listed as appropriate for all E36 models except the E36/7...mine. I've also noticed that on Dinan's website the part number for their brace is the same for the E36 and the E36/7 bodies. What gives? I know that the 1.9 is too tall for those applications, but I would think that any of them would work fine on a 2.8...

[killeen_john]

I think you need to look at strut braces built specifically for the Z3 as I'm not sure that the E36 stuff is truly compatible. Take a look at the following options:

http://strong-strut.com/Z3products.html

http://www.masonengineering.net/Subpages/Z3.htm

[TUD]

I was under the impression that Dinan no longer sold a front strut brace for the Z3?

[Tazmanian Devil]

Dinan still lists them on their page. http://dinancars.com/product/d180-03...ries&mid=1099/

[deni2s]

Strut braces for 6cyl z3 and e36 can be identical, but if you are buying strut brace from e36, there could be two issues - z3 has ground connector on strut and the brace could not fit because of that (easy to fix with flex), and the other issue is the hood clearance - not all e36 braces allow to close the hood of z3 without some damage.

This is my brace from e36 (modified with flex to fit):

[Randy Forbes]

Strut braces for 6cyl z3 and e36 can be identical, but if you are buying strut brace from e36, there could be two issues - z3 has ground connector on strut and the brace could not fit because of that (easy to fix with flex), and the other issue is the hood clearance - not all e36 braces allow to close the hood of z3 without some damage.

This is my brace from e36 (modified with flex to fit):

Can I ask; what is flex?

[robb1887]

I am thinking flex is dremel/grinder material out of the mount plate. Him being from Latvia the translation is probably a bit off maybe?

[Nomad1]

Check out COSMO RACING......

[KBH22102]

If you really want a strut tower bar, +1 on StrongStrut. Paul Ebeyer is a Z owner and enthusiast and his product and service are top notch. I have installed his bars on both of my Z's and am very pleased.

[rboehl]

I also have the strong strut installed

[fuz9]

$137 + shipping for Racing Dynamics

http://www.andysautosport.com/bmw/19...cing_dynamics/

[BimmerBreaker]

$137 + shipping for Racing Dynamics

http://www.andysautosport.com/bmw/19...cing_dynamics/

Good deal but just curious as I cant tell from the ad, is it hinged?

[deni2s]

Can I ask; what is flex?

Sorry my bad english. I ment angle grinder.

[killeen_john]

Good deal but just curious as I cant tell from the ad, is it hinged?

The Racing Dynamics strut brace that I have seen previously for the Z3 were hinged although not sure if they have changed the design since then.

[luciano136]

DINAN fits on a '99 2.8. '98 probably the same?

[spfd72]

Here is another choice. Listed as E36 but fits fine with 2.8. UUC website.




image.jpg

[johnnyo55]

Ultra Racing (www.ultraracing.com.my) offers a nice, one piece welded steel unit that seems just perfect for less than $150 on fleaBay. Simplicity itself...just a bar connecting the towers with no hinges, bolts to loosen, etc. What's perplexing is that they offer it for every BMW model under the sun...except for the Z3. They offer three variations for E36...with timing chain, with timing belt (these two are bent/offset), and one that goes straight across that's listed for the 325/328. They're painted white, so they're not going to bling up the engine room, but it seems like they'll do the job better than most. Obviously, my car has a timing chain, but do any of you all have any ideas here?

[deni2s]

Ultra Racing (www.ultraracing.com.my) offers a nice, one piece welded steel unit that seems just perfect for less than $150 on fleaBay. Simplicity itself...just a bar connecting the towers with no hinges, bolts to loosen, etc. What's perplexing is that they offer it for every BMW model under the sun...except for the Z3. They offer three variations for E36...with timing chain, with timing belt (these two are bent/offset), and one that goes straight across that's listed for the 325/328. They're painted white, so they're not going to bling up the engine room, but it seems like they'll do the job better than most. Obviously, my car has a timing chain, but do any of you all have any ideas here?

Fitted only with two bolts on each strut tower? Are you sure that is good enough? White should bling in engine room as I don't remember anything else here being white. Not sure if white inside engine room is good choice as there is a lot of dust inside, could be hard to keep it clean and shiny.

[johnnyo55]

There seems to be a feeling here that braces that are jointed are "not good". If I'm understanding the physics of the situation, the brace is there to prevent the strut towers from flexing "in" at the top, i.e. moving closer together at suspension travel extremes. If that is so, a jointed bar should work fine. The only instance where a more $olid bar would help would be to keep the towers from moving up and down relative to each other. Is this an issue? Am I missing something here?

[MartyBtoo]

Even a solid strut rod can't really keep the shock tower from going up and down. But with the primary purpose being to keep the towers from moving horizontally, having a connection point bolted together give it one or two more places for a bolt to move slightly in a hole before it goes solid. A solid connection is much better.

Marty

[BenFenner]

I've gone back and forth caring about pivot points in strut bars and won't comment there. As for adjusting for chassis variances, Cusco does the adjustable bar properly IMO (not sure if they supply a bar for any BMWs).

[Randy Forbes]

Sorry my bad english. I ment angle grinder.

Whew! I thought there was a tool or product out there that I didn't already have__or at the very least, want!

- - - Updated - - -

There seems to be a feeling here that braces that are jointed are "not good". If I'm understanding the physics of the situation, the brace is there to prevent the strut towers from flexing "in" at the top, i.e. moving closer together at suspension travel extremes. If that is so, a jointed bar should work fine. The only instance where a more $olid bar would help would be to keep the towers from moving up and down relative to each other. Is this an issue? Am I missing something here?

Actually, it is just the opposite, and I've stated that many times, here and on other forums.

Think in terms of tire grip/adhesion; in a high-G turn, the tire is gripping the road surface, and the force of the car is trying to keep going "forward" (not following the direction you're turning to).

With the force/mass in the middle, and the tire holding at the bottom, the tops of the strut towers are spreading apart. You could counter that by saying that the inside corner would be trying to move inward, but due to weight transfer, it has far less grip than the outside tire__so much less in fact, that an inside tire can frequently be seen lifted off the surface (cue Sunzout's signature pic).

In essence, a taunt steel cable bolted across the strut towers would be just as effective, and I believe that's exactly what Carol Shelby used before he put "Monte-Carlo bars" on rallying Ford Fairlanes back in the very early 60s ('63-64).

A strut bar's functional purpose is to prevent the tower tops from spreading apart during high G turns.

Beyond that, they're just for looks, so fixed, or pivoting doesn't matter a whole lot.

[johnnyo55]

Good explanation, Randy...thanks. Okay, so I'm not going autocrossing and I don't need any underhood jewelry. What I'm looking to do is eliminate the "wobble", or "shake" when I'm on uneven pavement, crossing railroad tracks, etc. From all reports, a strut bar will address SOME of that...again, will a non-jointed type do so better than one of the more common "hinged" types?

[Randy Forbes]

I have one (1) of each on my own Rdstrs, and I don't notice any difference between the two (2).

There is however, a noticeable difference driving either car without one, in the conditions you noted__RR-tracks, uneven pavement, etc.

[beautyspotlover]

<p>What about this company? Are the rear brace and body brace make and sell voodoo, or is there some legitimate logic to it?</p><p><br>&nbsp;</p><p><br><a href="http://strong-strut.com/Z3products.html">http://strong-strut.com/Z3products.html</a></p>