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Differences in IX strut towers

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    Differences in IX strut towers



    I've run this bar on my 88 ix for years. I went to install it on my 90 ix and its off by 2". I always thought my front wheels looked like they had a lot of camber.

    I'm aware of the seemingly 2 different strut tower configurations in RWD e30s where this presents an issue. I did not think I would see this in IXs. Maybe everyone can post up the measurement from center to center in inches?
    AWD > RWD

    #2
    next time im up at my friends, (nomansland) ill try putting his strut brace on my car

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      #3
      his car was a pre facelift and mine is a post facelift

      Comment


        #4
        Interesting. RealOEM shows different RWD strut towers to 09/87//from 10/87, but shows the same PN for the iX strut tower for the entire production run.

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          #5
          Tweaked chassis then? Seems a lot to just be tweaked. And I don't notice any crazy body panel alignment.
          AWD > RWD

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            #6
            I’ll post measurements of mine tomorrow. When installing mine it was off, but not that far off. It took a lot of fanagaling to get that bar on though. Had to jack one aide of the car significantly to get it to flex. Even then i used a pry bar to slip it on
            www.instagram.com/snwmble
            #snwmble

            Current:
            '05 BMW M3 - Silver Grey/Imola Red
            '90 BMW 325iX - Sterling Silver/Houndstooth sport(5-speed converted)
            '15 Mini Countryman - Blazing Red/Carbon Black

            Past:
            '01 Audi Allroad - Light Silver/Platinum Saber Black
            '88 BMW 325iX - Diamond Schwarz/Silver sport *Sold*
            '01.5 1.8TQ - Brilliant Black/Nogaro Alcantara ...after 8.5yrs, *Sold* =(
            '90 BMW 325i - Schwarz/Tan sport *Sold*
            '89 BMW 325ix - Diamond Schwarz/Black sport *Sold*

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              #7
              Maybe you should measure the distance between strut centerlines of both cars and post them, and then they can be compared against someone else's iX strut measures.
              1986 325iX
              2006 530xd

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                #8
                Yes I will tonight. I was too busy racing yesterday to do so. I changed classes from stock to prepared (added rally tires) and took first place! Second and third were a heavily modified 2.5rs and a newish STi. The rest of class were Subarus. The only BMW in the class and killing it!



                edit: IMO, you can even see the extra camber in the above pic, but I am also just really used to how my other IX looks.

                Here are the numbers:
                Silver 88: 41 3/4" center of center cap to center cap.
                Red 90: 40 3/4" center of center cap to center cap.

                So what numbers do you guys have?
                Last edited by Kershaw; 11-20-2017, 04:48 PM.
                AWD > RWD

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                  #9
                  Since I have camber plates my struts ain't in the same place as stock, but I measured the rear of the 3 mounting bolts for the top mount and got 116cm / 45,66” CC
                  E30 325ix M50 turbo 7 spd DCT 4wd 840awhp @ 31 psi.
                  E30 M50 6 spd 764whp @ 24psi.
                  E30 M20 6 spd 675whp.

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                    #10
                    Just measured my 1989 IX sedan and mine measures 42" center to center.
                    1986 E30 325E
                    1989 E30 325iX
                    2003 E54 X5.
                    1993 Mercedes W124 300E
                    1995 Mercedes W124 E320.
                    2009 VW Touareg
                    2007 Porsche Cayman S

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                      #11
                      holy crap. that looks like over an inch difference. i can measure 2 cars that still have the struts installed. do you want a center of hole measurement or a bolt hole to bolt hole measurement?

                      i have 3 cars so i can get the latter from all of them.
                      sigpic
                      Gigitty Gigitty!!!!

                      88 cabrio becoming alpina b6 3.5s transplanted s62
                      92 Mtech 2 cabrio alpinweiss 770 code
                      88 325ix coupe manual lachsilber/cardinal
                      88 325ix coupe manual diamondschwartz/natur
                      87 e30 m3 for parts lachsilber/cardinal(serial number 7)
                      12 135i M sport cabrio grey/black

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                        #12
                        Ill measure mine tomorrow if i remember

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                          #13
                          Can you see any evidence where a metal repair may have been made?

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                            #14
                            ok. i just measured the distance between the center of the front most bolt on the strut housing of all three cars.

                            i came up with 45 3/8" on the first car(a '91), 45 3/4" on the second(an '88), and 45 15/16" on the third.(also an '88) so a little more than 1/2" total difference between them

                            i measured it this way because one of the 88's has the front struts removed and i thought i could get a more accurate read.

                            that is quite a difference. i can say that the '91 has a fender on the front that is painted a fresher red than the rest of the car. i can also say that the first 88 mentioned above was in a minor but repaired front end collision at some point in its life.

                            i'm pretty sure there must be an auto body manual somewhere with the correct number
                            Last edited by flyboyx; 11-26-2017, 04:48 PM.
                            sigpic
                            Gigitty Gigitty!!!!

                            88 cabrio becoming alpina b6 3.5s transplanted s62
                            92 Mtech 2 cabrio alpinweiss 770 code
                            88 325ix coupe manual lachsilber/cardinal
                            88 325ix coupe manual diamondschwartz/natur
                            87 e30 m3 for parts lachsilber/cardinal(serial number 7)
                            12 135i M sport cabrio grey/black

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Kershaw
                              90 4 door: 40 3/4" strut to strut, 44 1/2" rear strut bolt to rear strut bolt, 44 5/8" front most strut bolt to bolt
                              88 2 door: 41 3/4" strut to strut, 45 1/2" rear strut bolt to rear strut bolt, 45 5/8" front most strut bolt to bolt

                              Nisse:
                              coupe: 116cm / 45,66” rear strut bolt to rear strut bolt

                              Mark Taylor:
                              90 2 door: 46" rear strut bolt to rear strut bolt
                              89 4 door: 46" rear strut bolt to rear strut bolt
                              89 4 door: 42 3/8" strut to strut, 46" rear strut bolt to rear strut bolt

                              1SGDHORN: 42" strut to strut

                              flyboyx:
                              91: 46 3/8" front most strut bolt to bolt
                              88: 46 15/16" front most strut bolt to bolt
                              88: 46 15/16" front most strut bolt to bolt

                              Well we certainly can see that there is no set standard. I'd love to add to this list as more people post up measurements. The next metric that would be interesting to add would be the camber measurements along with each car. The strut towers have to affect what the IXs stock camber is. I'm curious what Nisse's strut to strut measurement with camber plates is and if it matches my 90 IXs stock measurement.

                              And if you can see any repairs done, obviously make a note of it if its relevant. The red ix rolled backwards into a tree and had a new tail horribly welded on to it, but that involves the last 3" of the car so I don't think it's relevant.
                              AWD > RWD

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