Strut bar advice

When the car was first put on the scales and before I got into the drivers seat the total weight was 1365 kg. It had 3/4 a tank of fuel and engine oil etc. Before any mods were done the front to rear was more like 57/43 and side to side was obviously a mile out. With a driver inside the front to rear ratio didn't really change other than the overall weight was greater and the side to side was worse than without a driver. It was only after fitting coilovers etc that the weights could be adjusted to anywhere near 50/50 but even then the best we could get was closer to 53/47 and side to side within 15kg each axle.
It's a bit of a balancing act anyway because you have to be aware of ride heights in each corner. We allowed ourselves a maximum of 15mm deviation between corners and a slight rear to front rake. In the end it meant the four corners are at slightly different heights but the cornerweights are pretty good.
Of course you soon find it was all a waste of time as soon as you get a passenger and a suitcase in the car but at least I know it's as good as it's gonna be when I'm on my own which is generally when the car gets driven hardest.
 
For those with an //M, the Dinan strut brace is now available!! Had one fitted today, and it looks great. Haven't had an oppurtunity to toss the car yet, so can't give an opinion on feel yet. Give me a couple of days and I will update. :thumbsup:
 
curtis, that's very interesting!! surprising that BMW didn't do a better job of balancing, although, i wouldn't expect them to do enough research to balance it left to right as i don't think any car under $100k would do that

but i wonder if BMW did the front bias on purpose?? i know that the Nissan 350Z is purposely designed front heavy so that when you are at accelerating hard you are very close to 50/50, but 57/43 is pretty extreme!! i mean, FF cars are usually about 60/40??
 
Without being able to adjust the spring platforms and having to set the car fairly level with equal heights side to side doesn't give you much room to manouvre. It's a case of what you see is what you get.

If you saw a car in the showroom with each corner at different heights and the back sitting considerably higher than the front, most people would think there's something wrong with it.

With regards to FF etc. 50/50 weight distribution isn't the be all and end all. You can set the car up to suit your own preferances or to cater for the cars handling characteristics. 50/50 distribution is just a nice balanced setting to start with and you can adjust things from there to suit yourself. Equal weights across the axles is important so the car has the same characteristics on both left and right turns.

I'm not surprised the cross axle weights were different though. On a right hand drive UK car the driver, steering, battery, washer bottle, gauges, pedals etc are on the right side. The exhaust is about the only thing on the left. If they then fit identical springs at identical heights across the axles there's bound to be a variation.
 
I've got to come back to the effectiveness and value of the strut bar. I can only speak to it's effects on a Z4MC but it instantly made the front end feel more solid and stable when cornering and made the turn in feel sharper. Bad factory settings and bushes or not, for £200 it's worth doing and can be fitted by a novice in 20 minutes. For the record I couldn't care less whether it enhances the looks inside the engine bay or not.

Most people driving these cars are not capable of fitting their own bushes or limiter kits nor are they capable of adjusting the geometry with any confidence therefore there are greater costs involved in these mods beyond the prices of parts. As I say I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the benefits of a strut bar as a simple and cost effective addition.
 
That's fair enough. There's no doubt about it, it will help remove some movement across the inner wings. The point is that if your seriously concerned about helping the handling ( which I'm sure you are because your fitting a strut brace ) there's are a lot more crucial and effective things you can do for the same kind of money. By just fitting a strut brace your adding the finishing touch to nothing at all.
 
I'm not tracking my car... I'm not driving hard on the street, but I do hate the rattle from the front dash ovre every bump. How much would this help?
 
funjohnson said:
I'm not tracking my car... I'm not driving hard on the street, but I do hate the rattle from the front dash ovre every bump. How much would this help?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't expect it to help at all. Typically those rattles are heat shields, etc.
 
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