weld on strut housing top plates

[aeronaut]

I've seen customs made, but does anyone sell weld-on top plates for the front strut housing?

[aeronaut]

Well, I found this:

https://store.partsshopmax.com/shop/...is/E36STR.html


DE167E3CC163C1016A38B1C4A6205E00.jpeg

[aeronaut]

And, found these from VAC. But VAC. And not sure what's going on underneath that top plate.

https://store.vacmotorsports.com/vac...-in-p1846.aspx

Screenshot from 2020-10-08 10-44-56.png

[ScotcH]

And, found these from VAC. But VAC. And not sure what's going on underneath that top plate.

https://store.vacmotorsports.com/vac...-in-p1846.aspx

Screenshot from 2020-10-08 10-44-56.png

I'm guessing that's meant to cut the top off and replace. We have those (but factory BMW motorsport) on our car. Also raises the top plate a bit for more damper travel. In our case, we bolt the camber plates on top of the weld on, for even more travel.

[aeronaut]

Well that's pretty cool. Any deformation of the camber plates?

I'm just wondering what my winter projects for this car are gonna be, and this seems to be yet another way to get the travel, ride height, and spring rates all in the right range.

[ScotcH]

Well that's pretty cool. Any deformation of the camber plates?

I'm just wondering what my winter projects for this car are gonna be, and this seems to be yet another way to get the travel, ride height, and spring rates all in the right range.

The camber plates are huge blocks of aluminum, so no, no deformation. They're custom made, but basically a copy of this: https://groundcontrolstore.com/colle...te-4-bolt-pair

[aeronaut]

Very interesting, thanks for the link!

[fbirch]

I have anti-mushroom top plates that insert under the OEM towers, above the camber plates. They just sit in there (not welded) and are compressed into place when you tighten the nuts on the shock tower.

I can see the advantage of a welded in plate if it makes the tower taller to provide more damper travel at a given ride height. Otherwise, is there any advantage to a welded plate vs an unwelded one? The only purpose of my plates is to avoid mushrooming the towers with stiff springs and race usage, and they seem to have worked quite well for that purpose over many years.

- - - Updated - - -

The camber plates are huge blocks of aluminum, so no, no deformation. They're custom made, but basically a copy of this: https://groundcontrolstore.com/colle...te-4-bolt-pair

That's what I recently put on my car, purchased through BimmerWorld. That said, the 13 year old Turner plates that I removed from the car still looked great!

[aeronaut]

You must be using the E36 specific GC plates, no? The ones Scotch referenced are generic, and would require drilling holes or more in the top of the strut attach,

Yep, those OEM plates are common, and I have them too, and they seem to work fine.
I'm just thinking, *IF* I spend $5k on MCS dampers, I'm going to optimize the car around those. I'm considering true rear c/o (but unlikely, but considering). Comparatively, a little metal moving up front isn't a big deal.

The ideal of a welded plate and setting the camber plate on top, must add 1/2-3/4" of front travel "option". Longer travel and/or lower ride height.

I'm just creating my list of winter projects. Last year was engine/drive train focused.

[fbirch]

Yes, my mistake. I used the e36-specific camber plates from GC. The adjustment system looks the same at first glance.

[GG///M3]

Well, I found this:

https://store.partsshopmax.com/shop/...is/E36STR.html


DE167E3CC163C1016A38B1C4A6205E00.jpeg

Those look pretty sweet.

I wonder how much better those are then say the plates that mount under the strut tower?

[aeronaut]

I think for most, the OEM under plates are fine.
I can weld, and am not concerned with keeping OEM appearance or mount points, so am looking for all options.

Is strut mount flex really a problem in these cars? Does attaching the strut tops to thin unibody structure help? No idea. Then again, it's a low cost mod.

[bmw350LS]

Well, I found this:

https://store.partsshopmax.com/shop/...is/E36STR.html


DE167E3CC163C1016A38B1C4A6205E00.jpeg

My towers started to mushroom up and I installed these. They are down the street from me.