front strut brace - an alternative take

[tintoverano]

when I got the car more than a year ago, I looked at potential mods and saw the strut brace one too, for sure - I didn't felt that I needed one, not going on the track etc.

this changed since then, as many times, when driving on bumpy roads, layered with smaller/bigger potholes all over the place, I felt myself in danger - tyres start to make jumps, car going into limbo, not good at all, even at lower speeds

too many roads are in bad shape around here, and I started to hate this daily feeling

learning earlier how the strut brace does its job, I figured it might help with these roads, not only with cornering and potentially I could feel safer ...perhaps it could also save suspensions a bit (distributing forces from one strut to the other, decreasing the impact the tyre hitting the bump, bla bla)

then I saw early this month a good promotion on the Ultra Racing front brace https://ultraracingeurope.com/bmw-z...-2539.html?___store=ultraracingeurope_english, decided to give it a try

arrived this week, put it on today and went back to these bad roads to test this thing

the experience went way over my expectations: I felt safe and had to speed up (a lot) to feel it even more

it did help with cornering as well as advertised (but not believed so much )

I enjoyed the car so much again, good stuff

 

[Silverstar]

I often wondered about these, if they actually were of any benefit so it's good to hear about your experience with it. Was it easy to fit and does it fit well?

 

[flybobbie]

I think you have to be careful not to make the car to ridged. Someone told me how the Ford Sierra was made rigid and they shook themselves to bits. So they made the body more flexible by leaving some strengthening out, allowing the body to flex.

 

[RichieP]

My Strong Strut brace arrived from Arizona on Friday, I’m fitting tomorrow morning then taking the M for a spin, I’m looking forward to feeling a different drive that everyone talks about.

 

[tintoverano]

I often wondered about these, if they actually were of any benefit so it's good to hear about your experience with it. Was it easy to fit and does it fit well?

5-minute job, fit perfectly

need to replace the self-locking nuts, buy them upfront and torque them (34Nm)

 

[tintoverano]

I think you have to be careful not to make the car to ridged. Someone told me how the Ford Sierra was made rigid and they shook themselves to bits. So they made the body more flexible by leaving some strengthening out, allowing the body to flex.

it still flexes, same rattles and noises, perhaps less often

 

[tintoverano]

My Strong Strut brace arrived from Arizona on Friday, I’m fitting tomorrow morning then taking the M for a spin, I’m looking forward to feeling a different drive that everyone talks about.

let us know

 

[Busterboo]

A forum search suggests that a front strut brace is like a K&N Filter. One adds weight, the other noise, but both to no benefit.

 

[RichieP]

My Strong Strut brace arrived from Arizona on Friday, I’m fitting tomorrow morning then taking the M for a spin, I’m looking forward to feeling a different drive that everyone talks about.

let us know

Fitted the brace morning 10 minutes job with the right tools, I’ve taken the MC out for a spin and the front no longer lifts on hard acceleration, front end dip has disappeared, it has sharpened up the steering, all in all I’m happy

 

[Silverstar]

I often wondered about these, if they actually were of any benefit so it's good to hear about your experience with it. Was it easy to fit and does it fit well?

5-minute job, fit perfectly

need to replace the self-locking nuts, buy them upfront and torque them (34Nm)

Excuse my ignorance but what are these self locking nuts? are you referring to the three nuts on top of each strut tower?

 

[Silverstar]

A forum search suggests that a front strut brace is like a K&N Filter. One adds weight, the other noise, but both to no benefit.

Now I am confused there are members here saying they have seen a benefit of having the strut brace and you say others have seen no benefit. Who is right then? I guess the only way to find out is to fit one and see for yourself, I wonder if the vendor will accept a return in case you find there is no difference.

 

[RichieP]

A forum search suggests that a front strut brace is like a K&N Filter. One adds weight, the other noise, but both to no benefit.

Now I am confused there are members here saying they have seen a benefit of having the strut brace and you say others have seen no benefit. Who is right then? I guess the only way to find out is to fit one and see for yourself, I wonder if the vendor will accept a return in case you find there is no difference.

Just a note to the above, my Z4MC was like riding a wild horse the first day I drove the car, the brace had enabled me to control it a little bit more. Still loads more to do, in time.

 

[tintoverano]

I often wondered about these, if they actually were of any benefit so it's good to hear about your experience with it. Was it easy to fit and does it fit well?

5-minute job, fit perfectly

need to replace the self-locking nuts, buy them upfront and torque them (34Nm)

Excuse my ignorance but what are these self locking nuts? are you referring to the three nuts on top of each strut tower?

item #2 https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=LM31-EUR-10-2009-E89-BMW-Z4_23i&diagId=31_0695

 

[flybobbie]

A forum search suggests that a front strut brace is like a K&N Filter. One adds weight, the other noise, but both to no benefit.

Well i went back to a Bosch paper filter and car felt flat, so went back to the K&N filter, all back to previous now.

 

[Anonymous]

Am I correct in saying that the N20 engined E89s are the only ones with a set of front strut braces in the engine bay and the 6 pot motors do not?

 

[tintoverano]

Am I correct in saying that the N20 engined E89s are the only ones with a set of front strut braces in the engine bay and the 6 pot motors do not?

there are two braces connecting the firewall and the towers

 

[Anonymous]

Am I correct in saying that the N20 engined E89s are the only ones with a set of front strut braces in the engine bay and the 6 pot motors do not?

there are two braces connecting the firewall and the towers

Screen Shot 03-23-20 at 10.00 AM.PNG

Ah well bang goes that theory..

 

[Tinker15]

What does this strut do that the other two don’t? I can’t say I have experienced any handling problems on mine.

 

[tintoverano]

[youtube]-S6H7ZdzBfE[/youtube]

 

[scootr]

The 2010 E89 3.0 had the V braces. I added the strut brace and it did tighten up the car a bit.
The improvement may not be noticed if the car is not pushed hard.