Additional Front Strut Brace - worthwhile?

M

M@r]{

Senior member
 East Midlands
Over on M3 Cutters a guy over there has moved to a rather nice Z4MC, he put a strut brace on the front as apparently 'its a must on the Z4'

Anyone an opinion on this? Should I ad it to my forever growing list of mods to be done?
 
I was reading an "Evo" review that recommended 19" alloys and a front strut brace as it transfromed the handling and you felt much more connected, no experience myself of course. But planning to get one for mine
 
I think that all stems from an article in Evo where a bloke had fitted a strut brace, CSL's and aero skirts and the gist of the article was that it made "the Z4M the car it always should've been".

Evo is hardly the most reliable source for info on the Z4M, as a glance at their buyers guide will illustrate.
 
Well 19s ruin the handling on anything but a smooth track, which kind of undermines the evo view imo.

Cant comment on the strut but stiffness isnt exactly a problem
 
I fitted the strut brace to my 2.5Si and you can feel the difference as I took it off before taking it in for service, seems to stop the front end walking so less tram lining on RF...Personal view only with no technical back-up :)
 
pilchardthecat said:
Well 19s ruin the handling on anything but a smooth track, which kind of undermines the evo view imo.

Cant comment on the strut but stiffness isnt exactly a problem
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Not in my experience depends on tyre type and sizes and alignment. The Evo car had PS2s fitted which is probably the reason for the findings.

I can imagine people running 245 at the front on 19s may have handling issues on uk roads.

Strut gave subjective feel of greater sharpness on mine. Nothing major though.
 
original guvnor said:
I think that all stems from an article in Evo where a bloke had fitted a strut brace, CSL's and aero skirts and the gist of the article was that it made "the Z4M the car it always should've been".

Evo is hardly the most reliable source for info on the Z4M, as a glance at their buyers guide will illustrate.
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I'm pretty much in the same boat.

19"s? On our roads? For better handling? C'mon!

If anything, 17"s would be the right direction to go in...
 
M@r said:
{"]Over on M3 Cutters a guy over there has moved to a rather nice Z4MC, he put a strut brace on the front as apparently 'its a must on the Z4'

Anyone an opinion on this? Should I ad it to my forever growing list of mods to be done?
Click to expand...

That's skelts, he is on here to.
 
I just find they induce MORE understeer as it means the suspension has to do more work to keep the tyres in a plane where they can still grip.

In bone dry track conditions they're great - but for 99% of their time in the UK you'll get no benefit and will hate bumpy roads even more.
 
I suspect as with many 'mods' the benefits are mostly in your head and the disadvantages mostly in your wallet :)
 
mmm-five said:
I just find they induce MORE understeer as it means the suspension has to do more work to keep the tyres in a plane where they can still grip.

In bone dry track conditions they're great - but for 99% of their time in the UK you'll get no benefit and will hate bumpy roads even more.
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Would you expect it to cause more tramlining, might whip mine off and see if I notice difference going back?
 
Ye had the car about a month before I put it on, seems a lot better with it. Sorry I didn't mean role, but the car feels a bit more direct not a stupid difference but you can tell.
 
mmm-five said:
I just find they induce MORE understeer as it means the suspension has to do more work to keep the tyres in a plane where they can still grip.

In bone dry track conditions they're great - but for 99% of their time in the UK you'll get no benefit and will hate bumpy roads even more.
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Thats what I'd be worried about. In the RX7 I've removed the factory strut brace to help with understeer on track (got the idea from the drift experts in Japan)
 
I know in theory a stiff car is likely to be a better handling one, but in my humble opinion on Britain's roads it just means you'll tramline and bunny-hop from one pothole to the next. I remember reading an article some time ago (on the launch of the first Focus RS) that it was an great track-weapon but that on the typical roads the road tester took it on he was actually quicker from A-B in the softer sprung ST170.
 
Much of the criticism of the Z4M when it appeared was that it was too jittery on uneven surfaces compared to (inevitably) the Boxster which floats over bumps and potholes and remains settled even when the road is uneven. The Z4M does struggle when the road is poor as all of us will know when you suddenly find yourself thrown sideways by the car as it hits an uneven area of road :o All adds to the drama!
The Z4MC seemed to get additional criticism at the time for being even stiffer and harder IIRC. If you drive the car really hard and on track then i think the brace will help keep the front end planted otherwise, well it looks nice under the bonnet :)
 
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