Garagistic E30 front strut bars (M42 e30 compatible)

[Vincer325ei]

No memorial day discounts by any chance?

[phenryiv1]

So the Garagistic front strut tower brace arrived (9 days in transit!!!) and it fit as expected.

Nice quality piece but their idea of "grey" and mine are a bit different. This is silver- not grey. Given that I just painted my IM (a spare one, not the one pictured below) grey in anticipation of the bar arriving I am a bit disappointed.





Still, the fit was good and the quality/finish is solid.

[Ocell]

Ok, thanks for the explanation. I'm hoping this info can help Garagistic get these to fit the M42 on new stock mounts or solid mounts without modification. I imagine it's tricky on the first run.

[mabeer]

Thanks. The welder dimpled the strut bar? Does that mean cutting a bit out and re-welding?

That was my first thought, to cut an ellipse, flip it and reweld but welder thought it would distort things too much. So he actually dimpled it. I assume in some type of vice but I don't know for sure. The dimple seems very precise and "controlled" for lack of a better word. He then spread the ends a bit to return to spec as the dimpling tends to pull the ends in a bit.

I don't know if it is the best or worst way to do it but it's adequate and was an inexpensive fix. Is it as strong as it was? I don't know. It does seem to handle sharper when cornering hard then without the bar. Is that placebo? IDK.

[jdt10768]

With new OEM mounts I had contact on the back of mine. I had a local welder clearance it by dimpling that area slightly. I now have 1/4" of clearance which is plenty.



You had 1/2" - 3/4" clearance on an M42?

yes, will post a pic. Maybe (probably!) my engine mounts are compressed/old

[Ocell]

With new OEM mounts I had contact on the back of mine. I had a local welder clearance it by dimpling that area slightly. I now have 1/4" of clearance which is plenty.

Thanks. The welder dimpled the strut bar? Does that mean cutting a bit out and re-welding?

[mitchlevy7]

got mine a few weeks ago. Fits good and good quality all around. Fits over the downpipe on my m52 turbo.

[mabeer]

Would some of you M42 guys mind measuring your clearance between the bar and the back edge of your intake manifold?

With new OEM mounts I had contact on the back of mine. I had a local welder clearance it by dimpling that area slightly. I now have 1/4" of clearance which is plenty.

clearance was almost perfect on mine, about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch from manifold

You had 1/2" - 3/4" clearance on an M42?

[jdt10768]

I got mine in. Looks great.

I was afraid this would happen, but the bar is interfering with my intake manifold on my M42 pretty hard once I tighten everything down. I'm running solid motor mounts, and the height difference is just enough to cause problems.

I could clearance the metal on intake manifold, or shave the motor mounts to be shorter. I thought of running washers under the strut bar for my track event this past weekend, but that seemed like it would eliminate the benefits of the bar and possibly stress the studs in the top mount in a weird way. Any thoughts on using washers temporarily? Are my assumptions correct?

Would some of you M42 guys mind measuring your clearance between the bar and the back edge of your intake manifold?

clearance was almost perfect on mine, about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch from manifold. might be better to weld a spacer plate to the bottom of each end of the strut bar

[Ocell]

I got mine in. Looks great.

I was afraid this would happen, but the bar is interfering with my intake manifold on my M42 pretty hard once I tighten everything down. I'm running solid motor mounts, and the height difference is just enough to cause problems.

I could clearance the metal on intake manifold, or shave the motor mounts to be shorter. I thought of running washers under the strut bar for my track event this past weekend, but that seemed like it would eliminate the benefits of the bar and possibly stress the studs in the top mount in a weird way. Any thoughts on using washers temporarily? Are my assumptions correct?

Would some of you M42 guys mind measuring your clearance between the bar and the back edge of your intake manifold?

[jdt10768]

received and installed. Looks great.
One note: I had to remove the bracket that grabs/holds the accelerator cable because it interfered with the strut bar. (This is for M42 / 318is)

[CaliDazze]

Yeah... Kind of lame to not ask.

They did contact me to confirm I was ok with them using it.

Which I am!

[netcsk]

At least they asked you...

Don't worry guys, Ill take it as a compliment. :)

Yeah... Kind of lame to not ask.

[CaliDazze]

Looks great! Thanks!

Looking good! Can we post this on our website?

At least they asked you...

Don't worry guys, Ill take it as a compliment. :)

[Codym42]

Got mine installed last weekend!