Mine is missing, but I can see where it used to be bolted up. I'm wondering if when the prior owner changed the clutch, he forgot to put it back on.
Does anyone know the proper name of this piece so I can order a new one or is there a better option?
It's cheap to buy new, bud I'd definitely just buy one from a scrap yard instead. You can probably get one for a few dollars. You'll also need the hardware, of course.
Your cheap a$$ tires are likely your handling problem. No amount of suspension work will yield results if your tires have no grip. As you stiffen your body and suspension it puts more dependence on the tires to provide the performance improvement you want. You're spending all this time and work and all these different posts on suspension but you've still got those cheap Chinese aftermarket Sunnew and Sunny brand tires on the car I'll bet.
Ok, end of rant.
Of course, I've heard different things from different people regarding whether or not a difference can be felt with an x-brace installed. Same thing for strut tower braces in the E36.
No, but I know numerous people with them. I'd like to get one eventually, mainly to protect my turbo and lines from debris as it sits almost right above it.
I kind of rate these things at pretty much pointless/will never notice the difference.
Front strut brace
Rear strut brace
X Brace
Intake
Exhaust
I didn't notice any difference before and after installing the bar OP is referring to. I just installed it because it might take a little of the blow away from the oil pan on large speedbumps.
I dunno. I think bracing things up has the potential to make a good bit of difference. The unibody is essentially split down the middle by the trans tunnel, which I imagine greatly affects structural integrity. Seems like bracing those two sides together can make a difference.
An S54 Z3M roadster owner I know swears the front strut tower brace he installed made a huge difference.
I've seen a braced up m3 (front strut brace, rear tower brace, and cross brace) where the owner put the oem jack in the front jack spot, and lifted the entire side of the car. The was hardly any flex in the thing at all. :dunno:
If you're in SoCal (I'm on my phone so I can't see your location), you can have mine. Off 97 328i. There's also 2 BMW junkyards located here if you want their info I can provide.
Wow, thank you for all the generous offers!
I'm in SoCal, outside of San Diego (in the mountains).
I'd like to get it taken care of while I have the car up on the jack stands - I'm doing the radiator, hoses, front sway bar, etc....
On a side note, if you're replacing the radiator, double check ahead of time to see if you have the crimp on hose clamps for the small coolant overflow hose which runs along the top of the radiator and into the expansion tank. You'll want to replace that with a screw-type hose clamp (which BMW should have used in the first place...).
Finally found a junk yard down in Chula Vista that had ONE E36 that still had the crossover bar. And, appearantly someone had allready removed the bell housing or clutch and tossed the bar aside so I didn't even have to crawl under in the oily dirt to get it!
Not sure what bolts were needed but I grabbed some off the chassis that fit the threads.
$4 entry fee
$10 for the bar
$1 tax
$20 in gas driving damn near to the international border
Total: $35.00
Though I did find some nice turns to drift around on the way to and from. So it wasn't a total wash!
I replaced my bar with an X-brace, the one pictured in post #4, tightened up my front end considerably along with my Sparco solid strut brace. Plus the extra protection under my oil pan.
LOL! I totally appreciate your candidness. And your rant has not reached deaf ears.
I've been holding off on the tires till I can wear out the current rears (they are still brand new except for one strip on the outside which was the inside, before I rotated them, and resulted from the previous owner running too much negative in the rear).
If it is indeed the tires, then it will be a great learning experience that also allowed me to upgrade the rest of the suspension and note the effects each piece had in the process.
I'm a chronic over thinking/analyzer and a good cold glass of water tossed in my face from time to time is a good thing. LOL!
LOL! I totally appreciate your candidness. And your rant has not reached deaf ears.
I've been holding off on the tires till I can wear out the current rears (they are still brand new except for one strip on the outside which was the inside, before I rotated them, and resulted from the previous owner running too much negative in the rear).
If it is indeed the tires, then it will be a great learning experience that also allowed me to upgrade the rest of the suspension and note the effects each piece had in the process.
I'm a chronic over thinking/analyzer and a good cold glass of water tossed in my face from time to time is a good thing. LOL!
Sorry for sounding harsh! I just saw you putting so much time and work into this and just had a gut feeling it was being wasted because of the tire issue. The only "mod" i have on my car's suspension are initial release (1" drop) Koni STR.T struts and STR.T rear shocks. The tires are Falken Ziex 912's and I have zero understeer and just a slight tendency for oversteer if I'm turning AND braking very hard simultaneously. Handling was exactly the same when I had Kumho Supra Ecsta tires. Like Karl and others have indicated this is what you should expect as the norm for an E36 if everything is right.
When I do quick tire/wheel swaps (e.g. summer to winter tires), I raise one whole side of the car up using the rear jacking point. Saves a lot of time.
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