***Update: The front pipes were hitting the bar. Daniel suggested my motor mounts were the problem and he was right. The passenger side was getting progressively worse(coming in contact with the bar). The driver's side was newish, but the passenger side was rotted and broken! I'm still happy with the bar.***
There are not many simple, bolt-on products available in the aftermarket to strengthen the E30 chassis. Especially for the Cabrio's. I now believe there are two products that every E30 driver needs to consider, one is a front tower brace and the other is Zen Performance's new LCAB.
My cabrio has almost 300,000 miles on its chassis. The H&R Sport springs, Billy Sports and M3 CAB's have helped create a firmer suspension. But I think these upgrades also help expose the chassis flex inherent to our e30's, especially the convertible. The front tower bar brace I installed several weeks ago helped give my cabrio a solid, more planted feel. But I wanted more. So when Daniel from Zen Performance introduced the new LCAB a few weeks back, I decided to order one. I installed it yesterday and can say I am pleased with its performance.
Here are some pics of the kit:
The bar is powdercoated, welds are nice, Zen included four new bolts and washers. Installation was incredibly easy: here are the tools you will need:
You install the brace with the car on the ground, remove the 15mm lollipop bolts, install the brace over the bracket, I put some anti-seize on the threads and installed, torqued to spec(30ft lbs). I did run into an issue with one pipe from my front tubes hitting the brace. I had some head bolt washers lying around and installed them between the bracket and the brace which did the trick. Daniel said that the new, longer bolts he includes in the kit can handle an extra 5mm of spacing if necessary. My engine mounts may be the culprit so I'll have to investigate that.
Pic of the brace installed:
Daniel had mentioned in one of his threads that this brace will help eliminate shuddering upon acceleration. I noticed this problem in my cabrio and wanted a solution. The LCAB is the solution! Did this chassis flex upon acceleration rob some of my M20's rear wheel horsepower? Maybe...but I'll let the engineer's and wanna-be's argue that point.
I can attest that for the money and ease of installation, this simple, bolt on product gives desirable results.
My Bav Auto tower brace:
My baby:
There are not many simple, bolt-on products available in the aftermarket to strengthen the E30 chassis. Especially for the Cabrio's. I now believe there are two products that every E30 driver needs to consider, one is a front tower brace and the other is Zen Performance's new LCAB.
My cabrio has almost 300,000 miles on its chassis. The H&R Sport springs, Billy Sports and M3 CAB's have helped create a firmer suspension. But I think these upgrades also help expose the chassis flex inherent to our e30's, especially the convertible. The front tower bar brace I installed several weeks ago helped give my cabrio a solid, more planted feel. But I wanted more. So when Daniel from Zen Performance introduced the new LCAB a few weeks back, I decided to order one. I installed it yesterday and can say I am pleased with its performance.
Here are some pics of the kit:
The bar is powdercoated, welds are nice, Zen included four new bolts and washers. Installation was incredibly easy: here are the tools you will need:
You install the brace with the car on the ground, remove the 15mm lollipop bolts, install the brace over the bracket, I put some anti-seize on the threads and installed, torqued to spec(30ft lbs). I did run into an issue with one pipe from my front tubes hitting the brace. I had some head bolt washers lying around and installed them between the bracket and the brace which did the trick. Daniel said that the new, longer bolts he includes in the kit can handle an extra 5mm of spacing if necessary. My engine mounts may be the culprit so I'll have to investigate that.
Pic of the brace installed:
Daniel had mentioned in one of his threads that this brace will help eliminate shuddering upon acceleration. I noticed this problem in my cabrio and wanted a solution. The LCAB is the solution! Did this chassis flex upon acceleration rob some of my M20's rear wheel horsepower? Maybe...but I'll let the engineer's and wanna-be's argue that point.
I can attest that for the money and ease of installation, this simple, bolt on product gives desirable results.
My Bav Auto tower brace:
My baby:
R.I.P 07/01/09 - 04/23/10 :(
Just bustin' chops! thanks for the real world testing!
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