M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS
DISCUSSION => Suspension => Topic started by: BMWGM42 on December 13, 2009, 01:00:54 AM
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Hey guys,
every now and then i'll see a pic of an m42 bay with a nice strut bar in it. i want to get one but i fear the ones made for the m20's won't clear the intake manifold and will rub. what are you guys using and where can i find them?
this is for e30 coupe fitment.
thanks
-G
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Not to get off topic, but I think a good set of sway bars would be a better investment. If you do get a strut bar make sure its welded and doesn't have any hinges.
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thanks for you opinion. i asked about strut bars, sways are on the way.
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The Sparco ones are good....
It might touch the taller E30 M42 intake manifold but since the strut bar is made of mild steel, can reshape it slightly with a mallet...
This is a sparco copy, I have the original bar in the store.. ;)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v621/fabianyee/E30%20engine%20bay/DSC_8686.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v621/fabianyee/E30%20engine%20bay/DSC_8690.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v621/fabianyee/E30%20engine%20bay/DSC_8689.jpg)
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looks good fabe! i wonder how well it would fit on the US m42 e30. i've never seen an m10 manifold on a dohc motor. is that stock from factory or did you swap them out?
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^Was wondering the same question...
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That's a E36 M42 manifold... In fact, the engine is from the E36 M42... :p
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http://www.masonengineering.net/Subpages/E30.htm
There you go. I've never owned one of those but I'm sure someone on the forum has, and can chime in.....
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thanks, i've seen that one on a couple e30's but didn't know who made them.
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Why did you choose to run the E36 inlet Fabe?
Here's mine with an Ultra-racing bar:
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm184/rix313/BMW/IMG_4653.jpg)
I got lucky with it not touching, I know a friend of mine had problems with his vibrating on the inlet fanimold.
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Like I mentioned, I'm using the E36 M42 engine, hence the E36 manifold..
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Missed that :) Why did you chose not to fit the E30 manifold then?
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I have a e30 m42 and I have this bar
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-E30-320-325-328-84-91-Front-Strut-Bar-Strut-Bars_W0QQitemZ390124873895QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item5ad54128a7
fits m42 no problem, goes right behind intake.....
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I have a e30 m42 and I have this bar
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-E30-320-325-328-84-91-Front-Strut-Bar-Strut-Bars_W0QQitemZ390124873895QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item5ad54128a7
fits m42 no problem, goes right behind intake.....
Looks cheap... or ???
but check this out I asked the same thing..... and it aint bad
http://r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=151103
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Missed that :) Why did you chose not to fit the E30 manifold then?
bcos original E30 318is is non-existent where I am... I don't mind the E36 manifold... Anyway, I may custom a 4 throttle set up later...
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Just a heads up - 318i and 318is bars are not necessarily the same.
I think I saw this in one of Bimmerworld's ( or maybe IE) product descriptions, but there is a difference in distance between the mounting bolts. I think they said that even between different is's there can be a difference.
Maybe this is common knowledge...
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I have the Mason engineering bar. Looks great and easy to install. I had to space it up with one washer per stud to keep it from hitting. The only downside I have found is that it has to be removed to adjust the camber plates.
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Just a heads up - 318i and 318is bars are not necessarily the same.
I think I saw this in one of Bimmerworld's ( or maybe IE) product descriptions, but there is a difference in distance between the mounting bolts. I think they said that even between different is's there can be a difference.
Maybe this is common knowledge...
the difference is between the early E30 chassis (circa 84) and later chassis (86 onwards???) There is a difference of about an inch...
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Did E30's come with an Xbrace? If not, is it an option? I was looking into a strut bar for my E36, after some research it seems an Xbrace is recommended first...
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No, there's no X-Brace for the E30.
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There are some aftermarket X-braces available for the E30.
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http://www.dtmpower.net/forum/vendor-group-buys-announcements/183906-bmw-e30-sub-frame-x-brace-entwicklung-drei-ig-zen.html
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http://masonengineering.net/Subpages/E30.htm
Cool stuff here too!
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I need a strut brace , since I dont have the clearence needed underneath for a cross brace and I want to stiffen things up aa bit. the corss brace will be 3/4 inch of ground clearence, I was told, wiht my lowered vert
Matt-B did you notice any differnece, does it have any real strenth to it
or anyone tried these http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/87-91-BMW-E30-FRONT-UPPER-STRUT-TOWER-BAR-325I-318I-M3_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem27a94ad776QQitemZ170343978870QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories
http://www.raceskids.com/joomla/
this guy has cool stuff, too, just ordered my skid plate
he has cross sbraces too
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I have a Sparco in my E30 and my E36.They are very very light, and very very strong.
Here is my E36 one, before I installed the TMS camber plates:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/Disastr20/042909_16411.jpg)
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No, there's no X-Brace for the E30.
I make an under car brace.
(http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff270/ejnight/Skid1-1.jpg)
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does the under car brace act like a strut brace underneath??? I would go with sparco or masonengineering strut brace.
ejnight...you have some nice stuff man. need to get an order in for that skidplate sometime soon
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does the under car brace act like a strut brace underneath??? I would go with sparco or masonengineering strut brace.
ejnight...you have some nice stuff man. need to get an order in for that skidplate sometime soon
I want one as well. I'm quite paranoid of busting my oil pan....
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Installed my strut bar adn race skid plate today
got the strut bar, painted it black, the strut bar fit well, no clerence issue with the maifold or battery ( vert) and it did make a difference and it nearly eliminated my cowl shake on my vert
adn I hit nearly 2 miles a day of gravel roads
the skid plate sure gives piece of mind, adn less pucker action on the speed bumps and gravel, easy install
eibachs and billy sports at all 4 corners, , offset cabs, completely rebuilt front suspension, stronger shock mounts ( rear) and of course the fatter bar that come with the vert
this summer Ill rebuild the rear suspension
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I make an under car brace.
(http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff270/ejnight/Skid1-1.jpg)
Do you have any pictures of this X brace installed?
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I have a e30 m42 and I have this bar
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-E30-320-325-328-84-91-Front-Strut-Bar-Strut-Bars_W0QQitemZ390124873895QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item5ad54128a7
fits m42 no problem, goes right behind intake.....
How does this do in comparison to the sparco bar? Is there anyway to really tell if one is better than the other? I too am looking to get one sometime but am trying to save a few bucks at the same time.
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the one I got, was told , is a replica of the hartiage bar, I dont know hwo true that is. it is also a copy of the one that bav auto sells
on another forum others have said they use the same one
it was 45 shipped
aftr driving with it on fro a few days, I ma very happy. wiht one exception
it does stiffent the car up, and you will feel even more of the road bumps
makes me wonder, just how much flexing the car was doing and sbsorbing
it got rid of most of my cowl shake and dashboard rattles ( 91 vert )
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/87-91...Q5fAccessories
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I have a e30 m42 and I have this bar
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-E30-320-325-328-84-91-Front-Strut-Bar-Strut-Bars_W0QQitemZ390124873895QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item5ad54128a7
fits m42 no problem, goes right behind intake.....
That "1.75 pound" flimsy, hinged strut bar is sad. Pretty much any brace sold exclusively on eBay is worthless. Just look at the flanged ends - it barely covers half of the top of the strut tower. Pathetic. That's half the reason to even add a strut brace - to cover and reinforce the weak strut tower sheet metal.
(http://vorshlag.smugmug.com/Product-Pictures/Mason-Chassis-Braces/DSC5511/366110067_qPjTx-M.jpg)
Remember:
- Hinges = bad
- Partial flanges = bad
- Single bar brace = fairly ineffective
Lake test that eBay stuff. :D The rest of you folks, don't buy cheap-o eBay strut bars
ps: I've got no dog in this hunt. We don't sell strut braces anymore.
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So are you saying that the one shown above is an example of a good bar? There are no hinges and they cover the entire top of the shock tower sheet metal???
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masonengineering.net (http://masonengineering.net) will give you guys all what you want from front and rear strut towers to front and lower braces im going to order all of their top and bottom braces
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Do you have any pictures of this X brace installed?
It's not X-brace, it's Omega brace.
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Why would you need a rear strut bar? 1) they are not struts 2) they are not a load bearing area 3) springs are underneath the frame rails
Doesn't seem like a real need on an E30
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Why would you need a rear strut bar? 1) they are not struts 2) they are not a load bearing area 3) springs are underneath the frame rails
Doesn't seem like a real need on an E30
for the same reasons you want thicker sway bars to evenly distribute the weight during hard cornering and have better handling.. if you haven't notice on lowered cars you can almost feel and sometimes hear the frame slightly twist when going up a drive way or over speed bumps. now going on a spirited drive hitting the canyons on a fast speed those hard corners can almost give the same "twisting" effect when the weight transfers from side to side... the rear brace bars also commonly called rear strut bars will equalized the weight to both sides as for what the front strut bars are made to do as well.. also yes springs are on the frame rails but the shocks or dampers are connected to where the bar will be connected as well as the front also connects to the strut where the shock is housed....youre right this particular part is unneeded in most E30's but for the few of us would take benefit in this item to further reduce body roll...
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IMHO strut bars are made to strengthen body, to avoid camber loss and body cracking. Rear strut bar IMHO is useless because there is no camber affecting load and the weakest point in rear shocks are top mounts. If top mounts are with spherical bearings and/or suspension with coil-over shocks strut bar would be good idea to strengthen body to avoid cracking.
P.S. Strut bars must be as straight as possible and x-brace mus be X-brace, but not omega (you loose triangulation in this case).
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IMHO strut bars are made to strengthen body, to avoid camber loss and body cracking. Rear strut bar IMHO is useless because there is no camber affecting load and the weakest point in rear shocks are top mounts. If top mounts are with spherical bearings and/or suspension with coil-over shocks strut bar would be good idea to strengthen body to avoid cracking.
P.S. Strut bars must be as straight as possible and x-brace mus be X-brace, but not omega (you loose triangulation in this case).
agreed....