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      12-30-2016, 03:45 AM   #23
r8ders
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I picked up and just installed the Ultra Racing upper brace. The fit is good and just requires trimming about 1.25 mil off the removable rubber bump stops on the windshield cowl. It is a bit heavier (5lbs) since it's made of steel. I ended up plastidipping it black to make it a bit more low key
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      12-30-2016, 04:01 AM   #24
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Welds on the joints look good and strong too. Only thing I didn't like is since the bar is a bit thicker is you loose a thread or so on the mounting bolts. Found it on Amazon for $136 with shipping
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Last edited by r8ders; 12-30-2016 at 04:17 AM.. Reason: Added pricing
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      12-30-2016, 08:09 AM   #25
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Did you notice any difference with the UR front brace?

I have a UR rear strut bar and it definitely made the rear end firmer and easier to feel what it was doing. Highly recommended for the price, but I had the white bar painted grey also to blend in with the interior.
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      12-30-2016, 11:43 AM   #26
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I just put it on late last night and haven't had a chance to drive with it yet. I plan on taking the car out this weekend and will report back after
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      12-30-2016, 08:06 PM   #27
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I seriously doubt any of these braces are reducing any real chassis flex on an already stiff factory chassis. Is there room for improvement? Yes. I don't think these solutions are doing much if anything at all.
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      12-30-2016, 10:33 PM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Uber///M View Post
I seriously doubt any of these braces are reducing any real chassis flex on an already stiff factory chassis. Is there room for improvement? Yes. I don't think these solutions are doing much if anything at all.
I'm with you. I'd like to see some objective test data that actually shows this improves things.
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      12-30-2016, 10:35 PM   #29
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How do you objectively show increase in chassis stiffness?
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      12-31-2016, 02:07 AM   #30
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Quote:
Originally Posted by r8ders View Post
I picked up and just installed the Ultra Racing upper brace. The fit is good and just requires trimming about 1.25 mil off the removable rubber bump stops on the windshield cowl. It is a bit heavier (5lbs) since it's made of steel. I ended up plastidipping it black to make it a bit more low key
Ahhh!! Somebody pulled the trigger! It looks good. I was concerned about the cowl not fitting which prevented me from buying but after seeing this, I just ordered it as well. Since my car is white, I don't know if I'll keep it stock or link up with a local shop to have it carbon fiber wrapped!: Anyways, can you point the exact points that were trimmed?
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      12-31-2016, 06:32 AM   #31
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Redd
How do you objectively show increase in chassis stiffness?
put the car on the floor and Jack up one corner. measure the gap of the front tire to the floor, before the rear tire on the same side lifts off the floor. repeat the test with the aftermarket brace and compare notes. pretty simple.
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      12-31-2016, 06:34 AM   #32
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These strut braces may help your econo box Honda's chassis stability, but they won't do anything for your BMW ///M product which has a stiff chassis by design. Any "felt" improvement is placebo.
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      12-31-2016, 04:09 PM   #33
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Interested as well to see more of what you had to shave down to get it to fit. I put in an order on amazon as well for one, thanks for taking the plunge!

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I just put it on late last night and haven't had a chance to drive with it yet. I plan on taking the car out this weekend and will report back after
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      12-31-2016, 04:15 PM   #34
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Well it's probably not going to be a significant difference or measurable for that matter... but I do think there is no denying that tying/triangulating the left and right sides with the middle bar that runs over the plenum should be an improvement over the oem brace.

As with many mods, incremental improvements end up making bigger changes when looked at collectively.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Uber///M View Post
These strut braces may help your econo box Honda's chassis stability, but they won't do anything for your BMW ///M product which has a stiff chassis by design. Any "felt" improvement is placebo.
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      12-31-2016, 04:41 PM   #35
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M43S7RO
Well it's probably not going to be a significant difference or measurable for that matter... but I do think there is no denying that tying/triangulating the left and right sides with the middle bar that runs over the plenum should be an improvement over the oem brace.

As with many mods, incremental improvements end up making bigger changes when looked at collectively.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Uber///M View Post
These strut braces may help your econo box Honda's chassis stability, but they won't do anything for your BMW ///M product which has a stiff chassis by design. Any "felt" improvement is placebo.
I doubt the material used is more structurally rigid than the factory chassis. Also the brace in question doesn't triangulate the front strut bar in any way. It is not a straight line from strut tower to strut tower and therefore doesn't triangulate the front strut towers to the firewall.
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      12-31-2016, 05:48 PM   #36
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Quote:
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How do you objectively show increase in chassis stiffness?

It's a trick question: as an owner you probably can't, short of having access to stuff like FEA (finite element analysis, which is literally the way they design car parts).

Then again, why not just ask the manufacturer to share some data on why it's better?
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      12-31-2016, 06:44 PM   #37
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Tbh I expected at least a few ppl to come and debate the efficacy of these bars. I've done it enough times myself. My personal thoughts are that the front brace will be largely cosmetic. Even in the 90s, my experience with front strut braces show minimal effect and cars were made of cardboard back then. The M3 already has it strut towers quite far back against the firewall and has a stock strut brace, which make it pretty stiff already. But I'm willing to be proven wrong.

Where I've usually seen a strut brace be effective is at the rear. And my personal experience with the M3 also confirmed this. Roll was reduced with a rear brace, and there was noticeable increase in ride stiffness. This made the rear end less sloppy and more predictable, especially on track. There was also a slight increase in ride harshness. I didn't time if the laptimes dropped from the rear brace, but the car was nicer to drive and that's reason enough for me to install one.
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      12-31-2016, 08:23 PM   #38
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i always liked this article. its a pretty reasonable approach.
http://news.bimmerworld.com/is-a-strut-brace-worth-it/

that said, these braces add minimal weight, and have just about zero downsides to having them installed. the only downside would be the nominal addition of weight. my take- they help. maybe not with increasing chassis "stiffness" or rigidity, but helping it stay that way. i'm running the cusco rear brace. i didn't notice a difference.

one thing is for certain though, people with full cages note a difference in rigidity. so it can't be theorized that the oem body doesn't flex. it certainly does. little bits here and there that help are a good thing.
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      12-31-2016, 11:38 PM   #39
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roastbeef View Post
i always liked this article. its a pretty reasonable approach.
http://news.bimmerworld.com/is-a-strut-brace-worth-it/

that said, these braces add minimal weight, and have just about zero downsides to having them installed. the only downside would be the nominal addition of weight. my take- they help. maybe not with increasing chassis "stiffness" or rigidity, but helping it stay that way. i'm running the cusco rear brace. i didn't notice a difference.

one thing is for certain though, people with full cages note a difference in rigidity. so it can't be theorized that the oem body doesn't flex. it certainly does. little bits here and there that help are a good thing.

I'd rather use that money for a track day or towards consumables.
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      12-31-2016, 11:48 PM   #40
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dparm View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by roastbeef View Post
i always liked this article. its a pretty reasonable approach.
http://news.bimmerworld.com/is-a-strut-brace-worth-it/

that said, these braces add minimal weight, and have just about zero downsides to having them installed. the only downside would be the nominal addition of weight. my take- they help. maybe not with increasing chassis "stiffness" or rigidity, but helping it stay that way. i'm running the cusco rear brace. i didn't notice a difference.

one thing is for certain though, people with full cages note a difference in rigidity. so it can't be theorized that the oem body doesn't flex. it certainly does. little bits here and there that help are a good thing.

I'd rather use that money for a track day or towards consumables.
That's cool, to each their own. I have an opinion on it, but it's not something I feel strongly enough to debate or try to sway others on. I did have fun putting on the rear brace though. Little things like this float my boat.
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      01-01-2017, 12:01 AM   #41
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Quote:
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Interested as well to see more of what you had to shave down to get it to fit. I put in an order on amazon as well for one, thanks for taking the plunge!
I'll try to take some pics tonight or tomorrow for you on the bump stops I trimmed

In regards to this bar, it may or may not help on the e9x chassis but I can attest that upper strut bars do serve a purpose and they do help on some other cars
On my e36 it did make a difference. On my first e36 I notice small stress cracking on the strut towers after a season of tracking w/o a upper strut bar. I sold that car and picked up another e36 and did the exact same suspension mods but included a upper strut bar and no stress cracks after a couple seasons. The car had a sharper feeling at turn in and coming out of the apex on the track and canyon runs.
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      01-01-2017, 03:56 AM   #42
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Here is a pic of one of the rubber bump stops I had to shave to remount the windshield cowl properly. There's one on each side of the two top strut brace mounting bolts. I loosened one of the cowl screws to get a better pic of the rubber bump stop for you. The new stress bar is about 1.25 mic thicker at that spot than the stock bar which is why it needs to be trimmed. You can probably just leave the bump stops off but I wanted to keep them.
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      01-01-2017, 04:21 AM   #43
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Quote:
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Here is a pic of one of the rubber bump stops I had to shave to remount the windshield cowl properly. There's one on each side of the two top strut brace mounting bolts. I loosened one of the cowl screws to get a better pic of the rubber bump stop for you. The new stress bar is about 1.25 mic thicker at that spot than the stock bar which is why it needs to be trimmed. You can probably just leave the bump stops off but I wanted to keep them.
Thanks!
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      01-05-2017, 10:13 AM   #44
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Does the rear bar mount using existing mount points at the shock towers? I believe I've seen the Cusco bar does not mount at the shock towers.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Redd View Post
Did you notice any difference with the UR front brace?

I have a UR rear strut bar and it definitely made the rear end firmer and easier to feel what it was doing. Highly recommended for the price, but I had the white bar painted grey also to blend in with the interior.
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