Strut brace

This M3 one is aluminium too, very light.

MrPT said:
Doubt I'd be able to tell the difference as a driver, but I know that my struts towers are in a slightly different place when the car is jacked up vs when it's on the ground. That's enough for me.

Spot on! As an engineer I just enjoy the pure fact that it stiffens up the front end, even if I’d never feel it.
 
With regard to whether there is a noticeable difference after fitting a strut brace, I read a really interesting post from someone on zpost who said the following;

'BMW engineers gave the Z4M a trianglated brace for the shock towers by tying in the fender rail and the firewall with the diagonal brace. Far superior to a bent bar going over the engine. So a strut bar will do nothing"
So which one is better? They're for underhood bling. Which one do you like the look of?

So the view here was that a strut brace was not needed and would not provide any benefit. The post can be found at the following link https://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1440719

Thoughts?
 
BMW also considered Contisport M3 tyres suitable for the Z4M as they’d been fine on the M3.
But they never seemed to work as well on the Z4.

They also signed off the terrible suspension.

Shows they don’t know everything.
 
nickw6666 said:
'BMW engineers gave the Z4M a trianglated brace for the shock towers by tying in the fender rail and the firewall with the diagonal brace. Far superior to a bent bar going over the engine. So a strut bar will do nothing"
So which one is better? They're for underhood bling. Which one do you like the look of?

Thoughts?

Well, this dude is not an engineer - clearly.
IF you brace an area that was previously PLAIN AIR - you WILL have an effect. It's just a question of how much & if you will notice it as a driver.

Don't listen to fools. :)
 
Argenta said:
nickw6666 said:
'BMW engineers gave the Z4M a trianglated brace for the shock towers by tying in the fender rail and the firewall with the diagonal brace. Far superior to a bent bar going over the engine. So a strut bar will do nothing"
So which one is better? They're for underhood bling. Which one do you like the look of?

Thoughts?

Well, this dude is not an engineer - clearly.
IF you brace an area that was previously PLAIN AIR - you WILL have an effect. It's just a question of how much & if you will notice it as a driver.

Don't listen to fools. :)

Thing is though, what is the point in paying money for something you will not notice?

It’s not like it the brace is a piece of art like the one that is in the S55 engine bays...
 
Argenta said:
Well, this dude is not an engineer - clearly.
IF you brace an area that was previously PLAIN AIR - you WILL have an effect. It's just a question of how much & if you will notice it as a driver.

Don't listen to fools.

I don't really understand what you're saying here. :?

From what I understand, the quoted statement is that BMW have provided the required bracing with the standard diagonal brace set up. We know the chassis is already very stiff.

So I don't know the answer to this but I'm reading into this that BMW M Engineers felt the level of bracing was correct for the cars application. Now of course you can continue to stiffen, but the question would be would that improve things or actually detract from the handling set up?

I would think a strut brace would be a low cost item for BMW to fit if they thought they needed it, but then would it the case that the standard set up is fine for road use but if you are tracking the car regularly or want the extra bracing to sharpen the front even more at the expense of some compliance then you add a brace aftermarket etc?
 
nickw6666 said:
Argenta said:
Well, this dude is not an engineer - clearly.
IF you brace an area that was previously PLAIN AIR - you WILL have an effect. It's just a question of how much & if you will notice it as a driver.

Don't listen to fools.

I don't really understand what you're saying here. :?

From what I understand, the quoted statement is that BMW have provided the required bracing with the standard diagonal brace set up. We know the chassis is already very stiff.

So I don't know the answer to this but I'm reading into this that BMW M Engineers felt the level of bracing was correct for the cars application. Now of course you can continue to stiffen, but the question would be would that improve things or actually detract from the handling set up?

I would think a strut brace would be a low cost item for BMW to fit if they thought they needed it, but then would it the case that the standard set up is fine for road use but if you are tracking the car regularly or want the extra bracing to sharpen the front even more at the expense of some compliance then you add a brace aftermarket etc?

The plain air being over the top of the engine. As a result the turrets will be braced more now they are connected together and back to the firewall.
 
Correct.
And, BMW themselves sold the brace as OEM accessory.
It just wasn't vital enough to put on every car they made, they saved that cost (not negligable).
 
Argenta said:
Correct.
And, BMW themselves sold the brace as OEM accessory.
It just wasn't vital enough to put on every car they made, they saved that cost (not negligable).

So they would be similar to aero skirts , umbrellas & plug in cool bags then :oops:
 
mmm-five said:
BMW also considered Contisport M3 tyres suitable for the Z4M as they’d been fine on the M3.
But they never seemed to work as well on the Z4.

They also signed off the terrible suspension.

Shows they don’t know everything.

Agreed! moreover, everything is a compromise between cost and benefit: I am inclined to think that sorting out the suspension set up was going to cost a lot of money and would have driven the price of the Z4M up too far.
 
I was following this thread with interest. Here’s the one I’ve invested in :)
I’ve yet to drive it, but I can see how it will be stiffer than the tubular ones. I reserve judgement on the handling improvement until I’ve driven it, but I do like the look of it if nothing else 😂
 

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