E24 Front and Rear Strut Bar

[640CSi]

Hey everyone, I just wanted to share a good place to hook your six up with a pair of really sharp strut bars for the E24 chassis. The person's name is John Mason and he is in Simi Valley. I originally purchased an aluminum front bar from him on Ebay, and with my help we have fabbed up a prototype rear bar. You probably won't ever flex the body with a stock suspension, but I still think that if there is anything I can do to protect my chassis, I want in. They are only getting older and like everything else, metal fatigues. This is a pic of the rear bar.

[Makr]

Wooooot!


Tell me more. Are you guys going to make more? How much? Looks good.

[640CSi]

Well, I just have to prefit it to make sure that the holes line up well then he can go ahead and make some. Hopefully this evening I can get it in while I'm doing an oil change before going to Greenville again (sharkfest) I'm picking up my girlfriend who was visiting her sister and we're meeting halfway. I think the aluminum bar will be around 150 or so. I paid 225 for the front which takes a little more material. I will post pics of both after installation.

[jbd5015]

I like how that looks, let us know how it works out for you. I think the best part is how stealth it will be because of how tucked in the rear towers are. Good stuff.

Off Topic:
It looks like you also have a good amount of sound equipment in the
picture...lots of wires...do you like a big system for your music or do you have some kind of recording/playing equipment?

-Jeff

[640CSi]

I like how that looks, let us know how it works out for you. I think the best part is how stealth it will be because of how tucked in the rear towers are. Good stuff.

Off Topic:
It looks like you also have a good amount of sound equipment in the
picture...lots of wires...do you like a big system for your music or do you have some kind of recording/playing equipment?

-Jeff

Yeah, I like to shake my foundations once in a while! I caught the bug from my dad who has some of the nicest stuff you can get without going all out tube style amps and what not. We cut up a brand new Yamaha sub to install a Magnat (German) car sub which was hexagonally shaped into a round hole. That thing will go down to 15Hz and literally rattle the basement from the third floor! I have a decent set of Klipsch industrial Heresy's and a 3 piece Klipsch Rebel sub/sat system. Mainly use it for movies, but like to jam some tunes when the neighbors aren't home too!!:buttrock

[640CSi]

OK, as promised here are photos of both bars installed. I tried to splice two pics of the rear together because I could not get far enough away to fit the whole thing in one frame but it was off each time. It's not perfect, but you get the idea...
You can ask questions at this address.
johnmason55@adelphia.net

[jbd5015]

I really like how that front one looks. Im not upset with the racing dynamics bar that came with mine, but that one looks really trick! Love the aluminum.

-Jeff

[EdgePerformance]

I also have a Mason Engineering Front Bar and love it, the difference on the chassis stiffness is instantly noticable. I highly recommend buyingon as the craftsmenship and John Mason himself are top notch. I also should say i recommend this over all other bars out in the market for the e24 except maybe even with the Weichers brand from Germany who are the only other company to offer a rear bar also. Hope John finally got the rear bars being produced cause i am going to be calling soon for mine after I turbo the car in the next month. :)

Jared

[Bm6w]

'640csi' where can i see pics of your car, looks sick from your sig.

[jmenacker]

One look at rear shock mounts and hands instantly start hurting/cramping. What kind of wrench do folks use on those nuts that live in a nearly two dimensional world?

Bars look very nice BTW

Thanks,

ASCII Joe in WV

[640CSi]

One look at rear shock mounts and hands instantly start hurting/cramping. What kind of wrench do folks use on those nuts that live in a nearly two dimensional world?

Bars look very nice BTW

Thanks,

ASCII Joe in WV

I personally think that the easiest way to remove the bolts is to remove the rear seats and rear deck to gain access to the deeper two of the three nuts, and then just plain ol patience with a box end on the other one on each strut that are closest to the rear of the car by way of trunk. It seems like a lot, but it is definitely fastest. It helps to have ratchet wrenches also!!

[640CSi]

'640csi' where can i see pics of your car, looks sick from your sig.

Well, unfortunately my "640" doesn't look as kick ass, but to see more pics of this stunning car check out this site:

http://www.bmwsc.com/bmwcup/galleri/bygge_silverstam_635.html

then,

http://www.bmwsc.com/bmwcup/galleri/bygge_silverstam_635_2.html

to see more great pics, change the #2 in the address to consecutive numbers I think there is 9 pages total. That guy is in Sweden I think. Great car!

[EdgePerformance]

One look at rear shock mounts and hands instantly start hurting/cramping. What kind of wrench do folks use on those nuts that live in a nearly two dimensional world?

Bars look very nice BTW

Thanks,

ASCII Joe in WV

They are 13mm Nuts that you have to remove. I just lay my 6'7" self in the trunk and have at it. Four out of the Six nuts are easy to get to it is just the hidden ones on the backside that are a pain in the ass that i just take my time with. Just had to do these recently when I installed my Bilstein Sports in the rear. :)

Jared

[berry]

I am loving the front pic, when can I order one. Mods to stop metal fatigue are high on my old car update list. I'm in

[640CSi]

I am loving the front pic, when can I order one. Mods to stop metal fatigue are high on my old car update list. I'm in

Send an email to the address mentioned above, and John will let you know the details.

[jmenacker]

They are 13mm Nuts that you have to remove. I just lay my 6'7" self in the trunk and have at it. Four out of the Six nuts are easy to get to it is just the hidden ones on the backside that are a pain in the ass that i just take my time with. Just had to do these recently when I installed my Bilstein Sports in the rear.

Jared

I was dumb enough to volunteer to remove/install the rear shock mount nuts while my son's Bilstein's were going in a few weeks ago. Had about 30 minutes of quality time in the trunk each way talking to a few nuts and a flex ratchet wrench. It was a certainly a test of perserverance. The words "there has got to be a better way" played in my mind in an endless loop most of the time while working on the forward most nuts.

My respect goes out to those who did the deed with a box wrench.

ASCII Joe in WV

[640CSi]

That is why I opt to remove the rear deck and get the 4 rear bolts, and then all you have to worry about from the trunk side is the two that are easy to get to. If the factory makes something easier for you you better take advantage of it because there aren't many of those nice thoughtful things incorporated to these cars!!

[jmenacker]

That is why I opt to remove the rear deck and get the 4 rear bolts, and then all you have to worry about from the trunk side is the two that are easy to get to. If the factory makes something easier for you you better take advantage of it because there aren't many of those nice thoughtful things incorporated to these cars!!

Next time the seats and hat shelf will be given a hard look before climbing in the trunk for rear strut work. Thanks much for the tip.

Did you upgrade sway bars before installing strut bars? If so, which provided the most dramatic difference?

ASCII Joe in WV

[640CSi]

Actually, I have stock sways (for now). I just did 4 Bilstein Sports/Springs and just did the bars for the heck of it. I would imagine that the sway bars would make a bigger difference though since they are an integral part of the suspension and the strut bars are simply a reinforcement.

[EdgePerformance]

I was dumb enough to volunteer to remove/install the rear shock mount nuts while my son's Bilstein's were going in a few weeks ago. Had about 30 minutes of quality time in the trunk each way talking to a few nuts and a flex ratchet wrench. It was a certainly a test of perserverance. The words "there has got to be a better way" played in my mind in an endless loop most of the time while working on the forward most nuts.

My respect goes out to those who did the deed with a box wrench.

ASCII Joe in WV


Yeah I did mine each time with a old fashioned 13mm wrench. Going to buy a 13mm ratcheting wrench for the next time.