Which Strut Bar? Poll as well....

O.K., been deciding to spruce the engine bay up a bit after winter and have been eyeing several different front strut tower bars. In no specific order:

1. UUC - Really like this one. Light too.
2. Stock M3 - Why mess with the master?
3. Strongstrut - Lots of props on the forum.
4. Dinan - Hey, it's Dinan... Nuf said.
5. Breyton - This is truly a work of art, but HEAVY.

Any thoughts? Miss any key ones?

others: RD, ACS, bavauto

I'm curious to see the results as I've been thinking of adding one as well

Originally Posted by ff

Does the E46 really need a strut bar? Or is it all for show?

A little bit of both... yes, i'm vain.

Originally Posted by wheel-man

O.K., been deciding to spruce the engine bay up a bit after winter and have been eyeing several different front strut tower bars. In no specific order:

1. UUC - Really like this one. Light too.
2. Stock M3 - Why mess with the master?
3. Strongstrut - Lots of props on the forum.
4. Dinan - Hey, it's Dinan... Nuf said.
5. Breyton - This is truly a work of art, but HEAVY.

Any thoughts? Miss any key ones?

My vote is for Dinan, since I have one.

Bam Bam,

Did you notice any difference in driving feel? I mean the 3er already handles so well. Just curious.

Originally Posted by icemanjs4

Bam Bam,

Did you notice any difference in driving feel? I mean the 3er already handles so well. Just curious.

does it offer a noticeable increase stiffness (in the non-sexual sense)

The new e90 doesn't have a strut brace but it is reinforced if you look at the engine compartment. I've read that the strut brace helps with jostles over precarious imperfections in the road

To expand your question ... which can be installed without affecting the hood liner. IIRC some brands or styles compressed the liner.

wait for the special ZHP brace...should be coming out soon.

I have to believe the info (I believe) shared by Pinecone than STBs are more about controlling the pulling motion - the seperation of the tops of the strut towers - than any type of pushing motion - pushing the tops of the strut towers together. I got a aluminum ACS knock off from Ebay, and I'm very happy with it. There is some increased stiffness, but I don't track the car, so that's all I need. Mostly, I'm looking to retain body integrity for many years, not keep the highest possible torsional rigidity for burning around Sebring during an ALM race. The bar is light as hell, too, which probably can't be said for the stock M3 bar.

Bottom line: does your STB budget include bling, or is it based on the best possible, or is it simply for a good looking bar that does a good job on the street?

I got the StrongStrut because I liked the fact that it is one piece...no pivot points where the bar attaches to the mounting rings...So I figured it was more effective...maybe, maybe not...

Where I noticed the biggest difference is on rutted roads, where the weight of traffic (mostly trucks) has pressed two parallel troughs in the lane, causing the car to sometimes, unpredictably, not track straight. I'm not sure but I think this is called tramlining. The strut brace calmed this down considerably. I was also playing with tire pressure and high front tire pressure seemed to have the same effect, causing a little more twitchiness. With the StrongStrut (or any other brand I imagine), I can get away with putting a little higher pressure in my front tires without causing that twitchiness. I don't regret it.

I would go with the lightest one.

Or considering it really doesn't do much for a everyday road car the cheapest one.

Originally Posted by atyclb

wait for the special ZHP brace...should be coming out soon.

The ZHP brace is just an ove- ...

No, I'll resist.

I would have to say the BMW made part should yield the best results. A Lot of comapanies out there make a bunch of crap, but have really good marketing. BMW has the obvious edge here, because they have access to all the computer models of the car and can actually see if the bar works via FEA or othe CAE means. If the after-market bar looks almost same, sometimes the mounting stiffness is flawed.

You just can't go wrong with a bunch of automotive engineers making the part for their own development! BMW part all the way, the engineering is just that much more advanced. You can always paint it or powder coat it, or even chrome it if you want more BLING!

Originally Posted by Test_Engineer

I would have to say the BMW made part should yield the best results. A Lot of comapanies out there make a bunch of crap, but have really good marketing. BMW has the obvious edge here, because they have access to all the computer models of the car and can actually see if the bar works via FEA or othe CAE means. If the after-market bar looks almost same, sometimes the mounting stiffness is flawed.

You just can't go wrong with a bunch of automotive engineers making the part for their own development! BMW part all the way, the engineering is just that much more advanced. You can always paint it or powder coat it, or even chrome it if you want more BLING!

True, I think it'll be the cheaper of the ones i'm looking at. The thing in favor of the UUC version is that it ways 2.3lbs. Amazing... and it looks to be a non-pivot design, so it should be incredibly stiff as well.

Originally Posted by Aknatar

does it offer a noticeable increase stiffness (in the non-sexual sense)

The car feels stiffer up front, you can definitely feel the difference. It's less pronounced during casual, everyday driving vs track/twisties/agressive cornering manouvers, when you can tell that something up front is holding things together nice and tight.

Originally Posted by wheel-man

True, I think it'll be the cheaper of the ones i'm looking at. The thing in favor of the UUC version is that it ways 2.3lbs. Amazing... and it looks to be a non-pivot design, so it should be incredibly stiff as well.

I'll vouch for the UUC magnesium bar being INSANELY light. It feels as heavy as a paper towel tube (if not lighter).

That said, I kinda like the aesthetics of the M3 one.

I just want to point out that, even though the UUC is a "pivot-less" design, the arrangement of the bolts does not optimize the resistance to pivoting between the bar and the bar-ends.

The M3 and Strongstrut design would be much more effective.

http://m3.madrussian.net/review_oem_strutbar.shtml

I have the Racing Dynamics and I have no complaints.

http://www.hmsmotorsport.com/store.p...034&method=cat

FrenchBoy

Originally Posted by Elwood

I'll vouch for the UUC magnesium bar being INSANELY light. It feels as heavy as a paper towel tube (if not lighter).

That's my vote. I've got the black one installed... it looks pretty good under the hood too.

Originally Posted by Andy

That's my vote. I've got the black one installed... it looks pretty good under the hood too.

Have you encountered any 'stiffness' issues secondary to the bolt design as per Jspeed's concerns?

Originally Posted by wheel-man

Have you encountered any 'stiffness' issues secondary to the bolt design as per Jspeed's concerns?

No issues so far... the four alan bolts keep it nice and snug. The design also makes it easy to adjust your camber on the fly.

Originally Posted by Andy

No issues so far... the four alan bolts keep it nice and snug. The design also makes it easy to adjust your camber on the fly.

Thanks

Looked into the M3 strut tower bar and was told it does not clear the engine. Damn.