Stiffening the convertible chassis

[Das Delfin]

ohhhh nice. That is pretty cool!

[ejnight]

^ where does this go? There's no way to mount a rear strut bar on a convertible

It mounts under the car in the rear. To the rear subframe bolts

[Das Delfin]

^ where does this go? There's no way to mount a rear strut bar on a convertible

[ejnight]

[QUOTE=Bearmw;4592822]I'm all for new products but do you have test results which demonstrate the "significant" stiffening?[/QU


the butt brace is not a new product. It has been sold with great reviews for the z3. I have made one for the e30 and it works as intended

[flyboyx]

mods: can you please move this thread to the cabrio section?

[Bearmw]

I'm all for new products but do you have test results which demonstrate the "significant" stiffening?

[ejnight]

Race Skids now offering

E30/BB Rear Butt Brace 84 to 93 E30 BMW

Shipped Price:
$278.00



Stiffens up the rear end of the BMW significantly over stock. Must have for the convertible. Not recommended for severely lowered cars.

[SUICIDE109]

The convertibles really get the biggest bang out of the Zen/Mason X brace, they never should have left the factory without one.

All of the E30's should of lol

[CorvallisBMW]

I would have like to have gone the coupe route but my father bought the car new back in 89 so it's what we went with. And yeah I know deleting the ragtop will limit it's options but the car is not a daily driver at all. It's strictly being built to drive it, and drive it hard. I also plan on getting a hard top for the days we do want something over our heads. I'm just looking for some options and people's suggestions on how to stiffen up the back.

Thanks for the input.

tying the rear shock towers together in a 'vert is pretty pointless as they are already tie together by all the extra sheet metal in the double rear bulkhead. Take off the black oval shock tower covers in the top stowage area and take a look, you'll see what I mean. The only spots that will make a difference enough to warrant welding in bars would be between the seat belt shoulder mounts (behind the rear seat, aft of the doors) and between the front of the car and the back (spanning the gap where the doors sit)

[devon.818]

race skids cross brace!

lol you are biased hahaha

[ROLLingKING]

race skids cross brace!

[devon.818]

i really dont think the front rates are soft lol. at 100+ on the free rolling over bumps and gaps ect it gets bouncy but keeps the oil pan off the ground!
i will buy KONI shocks eventually.

yeah there has to be somthing. maybe a single hoop behind the driver that ties into some sort of frame into the floor?

[SwiftE30]

gonna buy that xbrace in the first post of this thread. good looking out!
alread have a sparco strut brace, GC kit with 450f 750r and tree house racing bushings all through the front of the car. gonna do some poly bushings in the rear and in the Diff.

i was thinking about doing a rollbar(for saftey, keep thinking if the car flips i die lol). but dont want to loose the "vert" ness of it....

i know a brace could be welded in behind the front seats across the body and attatching to the floor, would do a lot!

anyway as the car sits it out handles my old sedan that was on vogtlands and billy sports, rear strut bar, front sway, and new suspension bushings. that thing had soooo much body roll, the vert...well it stays damn flat in the corners

yeah i most likely will too. Definitely need to get a skid plate combo up front also.
How do you like your rate for the front and rear? 450 seems a little soft.

I really dont want to do a full cage because i dont want to loose the look of the vert. i want to do something like this

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=107147&highlight=removable+roll+bar

minus the main loop that goes above the seats and the bars that go into the rear seat. I would do something that runs along the top portion of the rear quarter panel just above the speakers still below the visible level though.

and possibly something like the bar that runs underneath the exhaust thats shown in the beginning of this thread.

[devon.818]

gonna buy that xbrace in the first post of this thread. good looking out!
alread have a sparco strut brace, GC kit with 450f 750r and tree house racing bushings all through the front of the car. gonna do some poly bushings in the rear and in the Diff.

i was thinking about doing a rollbar(for saftey, keep thinking if the car flips i die lol). but dont want to loose the "vert" ness of it....

i know a brace could be welded in behind the front seats across the body and attatching to the floor, would do a lot!

anyway as the car sits it out handles my old sedan that was on vogtlands and billy sports, rear strut bar, front sway, and new suspension bushings. that thing had soooo much body roll, the vert...well it stays damn flat in the corners

[SwiftE30]

I would have like to have gone the coupe route but my father bought the car new back in 89 so it's what we went with. And yeah I know deleting the ragtop will limit it's options but the car is not a daily driver at all. It's strictly being built to drive it, and drive it hard. I also plan on getting a hard top for the days we do want something over our heads. I'm just looking for some options and people's suggestions on how to stiffen up the back.

Thanks for the input.