Strut Bars - 3 Piece vs. 1 Piece

[Wishno87]

I think cabrio owners benefit from a front stress bar. Anything to tighten up my cabrio with almost 300k on it;which is why I just ordered the LCAB from Daniel.

Could you put up a review with your opinions on it when you get it? Im thinking of getting one for my dads car.

[bmwpower]

Solid Form Design (1 piece) is better...

Considering their purpose (to reduce compliance)... it's not too hard to see why.

Any picts of your front strut bar in aluminum?
Any picts of your front strut bar on a 325i? (site pict is 318i). Trying see distance to firewall.

[DCColegrove]

I'll get that LCAB brace into his hands as soon as possible...

I do think there are some "reviews" on the X Brace floating around out there as well.

[DCColegrove]

Any picts of your front strut bar in aluminum?
Any picts of your front strut bar on a 325i? (site pict is 318i). Trying see distance to firewall.

[bmwpower]

That's steel, right?

How much for steel one unpainted? I want to get it powder coated.

[DCColegrove]

That's steel, right?

Yes, the only shot I have of an aluminum one is on an M3.

[bmwpower]

Yes, the only shot I have of an aluminum one is on an M3.

That'll do....Is it bare aluminum, brushed or anodized?

[Lurker27]

I went with a cheap 3 piece and it seemed to help - the point of a strut bar is to keep the distance between your strut towers fixed - the bar is in compression. The joint type shouldn't matter at all.

The stock geometry is an open U: |__|

The two ends at the top aren't fixed, which means the 2 angles which are nominally at 90º are free to flex - these piece would be in shear. When you add a bar of any type, the metal would need to be in compression for any deformation to occur, and since you have 4 fixed length segments, the only deformation that would be different is if it flattens into a parallelogram, which would take major bending of the frame itself (remember these 2 angles |__| ). In the case of a fixed bar, you have to bend all 4 angles instead of the stock 2. If your car is flexing there and in that manner I'm pretty sure you have bigger problems than what a brace will cure.

[Nicademus]

My uncle has a brand new M3 and its front one is 3 piece. I was checking it out at Thanksgiving today. He has a cool 03' Turbo Porsche too.

[erik325i]

My uncle has a brand new M3 and its front one is 3 piece.

The e46 m3 has a 3-piece bar too.

That doesn't mean it's the best. They do that so you can easily unbolt it to do any motor work.

Erik

[Eric]

the sparco bar is one piece and cheap enough, that there really isn't any reason to buy a more expensive 3 piece one.

DCColegrove - have you noticed some bars not fitting in the front? do you believe in the "two different E30 bodies" that IE sells it's sparco copies under?

[DCColegrove]

the sparco bar is one piece and cheap enough, that there really isn't any reason to buy a more expensive 3 piece one.

DCColegrove - have you noticed some bars not fitting in the front? do you believe in the "two different E30 bodies" that IE sells it's sparco copies under?

There are a lot of bent e30s out there...

I used sparco bars until I had an e30 on a 7 post chassis shaker and actually saw what was going on with them in real time (actually broke a Sparco knock off and the BMP bar).

After that I got togeather with John to really solve the problem.

That'll do....Is it bare aluminum, brushed or anodized?

Raw aluminum.

[asubimmer]

There are a lot of bent e30s out there...

I used sparco bars until I had an e30 on a 7 post chassis shaker and actually saw what was going on with them in real time (actually broke a Sparco knock off and the BMP bar).

After that I got togeather with John to really solve the problem.



Raw aluminum.

I'd like to see a vid of that :D

[Das Boots]

Racing Dynamics 3 pc. over my S14. Perfect fit. Works for me.....:up:

[DCColegrove]

That's steel, right?

How much for steel one unpainted? I want to get it powder coated.

If you want Black Powdercoat the price is the same...

If you really want one without paint I'll knock it down 10%