M3 brace fitted (splash of colour)

[Wookster78]

Fitted my E46 M3 brace to the Z today, got it second hand on eBay and the mounts were a bit of a state with all the black paint peaking off.

I have a bit of a red/black theme going on with the car so thought I would strip them down and give them a splash of colour, quite pleased with the results, couple of pics 8)

 

[ph001]

Looks good. Does the E46 M3 brace just fit straight on with no mods?

 

[Wookster78]

Thanks, does need slight modifications to fit, the right hand mount fits perfectly and sits flat on the strut tower but the left hand one needs to be ground down slightly on the bottom back where it touches the other brace for it to fit flat. When mounting the bar the holes need to be widened slightly with a file to get it to sit nicely. Apart from that bolt on job and very easy to fit.

 

[ph001]

 

[Z4C_er]

Thanks, does need slight modifications to fit, the right hand mount fits perfectly and sits flat on the strut tower but the left hand one needs to be ground down slightly on the bottom back where it touches the other brace for it to fit flat. When mounting the bar the holes need to be widened slightly with a file to get it to sit nicely. Apart from that bolt on job and very easy to fit.

Hi, when you say widened slightly, do you mean enlarging the diameter or turning them into slots?

 

[Wookster78]

They are already slots that go over the bolt threads but they need to be slightly wider in the narrower section so the bar sits over. Issue is due to how the mounts sit when fitted, slightly different orientation I guess when on an M3 so the bar is not quite parallel

In essence you are making the diameter wider but it does not need much and a standard metal file takes it down enough as it’s soft aluminium