E30 Vert fun factor just increased

[BlackBMWs]

Vert Brothers, No rain Sunday, so I got out and installed this on my daily driver 91 318ic.




Sorry about the lousy picture underneath.

Race Skids cross brace and skid pad. Took about 90 minutes to install. Easy install. Bolts right in, plus had to drill 7 holes. Only used 6 of the holes, so I could fit the stock splash guard back in place.

Very noticible positive difference in handling and feel. Solid, way less body roll. Well worth the upgrade on the Vert. My next brace will be topside for the shock towers.

Gotta go find some twisties now...   :cool:

[deekay]

i still don't understand the design of those parts. an X-brace should actually be an "X", not two bent bars with some plate welded in the middle, and a skid-plate should bolt to something more sturdy than the rad support.

my mason X-brace and sparco-copy front strut bar stiffened the front of the car up nicely. i hope you're happy with your setup too.

[BlueBMW]

Nice protection for the ever vulnerable lower oil pan.  Looks nice too!

[4banger]

these are unibody cars. has anyone ever thought of tying the frames?

[deekay]

these are unibody cars. has anyone ever thought of tying the frames?

yes.

http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=74760

[4banger]

i know a few guys make ties that tie front to front and rear to rear but what about tying the front and rear subframes together? when i had a drag car we used to tie the frames to eliminate body flex off the line(mopars were known to twist up and pull the left front wheel off the ground)  i was just wondering if anyone gave anythought to that idea for a unibody car like a bmw.

[deekay]

the taurus SHO guys used to have something like that but i've never seen it for an e30.

i'd be very interested, as i have a vert...

[4banger]

my thoughts are it would help e30's in general. would be a good project for someone that is more of the engineering type(IE not me lol)

[BlackBMWs]

i still don't understand the design of those parts. an X-brace should actually be an "X", not two bent bars with some plate welded in the middle, and a skid-plate should bolt to something more sturdy than the rad support.

my mason X-brace and sparco-copy front strut bar stiffened the front of the car up nicely. i hope you're happy with your setup too.

I am, stiffened up very noticibly.  So, while it's not an x, it seems to work as intended.  

While the skid plate protects the pan nicely, it is a pain to pull it off if you need to get to the belts from underneath.  I will say the pan is now protected...  

Now looking for a solid tower brace for the shock towers...  Too bad there's not one available for the vert's rear towers.   :cool:

[deekay]

While the skid plate protects the pan nicely, it is a pain to pull it off if you need to get to the belts from underneath.  I will say the pan is now protected...

i've been watching the argument on r3v about which plate is best and this came out (from a guy who bought the race-skids piece):

I'll just repost my PM response:

I launch off that plate probably 4-5 times a week living in Chicago and its held up wondrously.

However, this time was from train tracks and really shitty pavement. The tracks launched the front end up, and all the weight of the car came right down on this pavement mound via the skidplate.

I think the plate has been beaten to the point where it was pretty much up against the oil pan, so the impact just transferred right to the pan.

It got me thinking though - what if you added some bushings to the top side of the skid plate, between the plate and oil pan? Basically small rubber cylinder bushings, only attached to the skid plate, right underneath the closest contact points of the oil pan. That way if you do really whack something with the pan, the impact between the skid plate and oil pan interaction is absorbed through the bushings. you might need a new skid plate, but at least you wouldn't need a new skid plate and oil pan.

No pics yet. Assessing the damage this weekend.

 

this is what i was talking about. a skid plate is supposed to be a reinforcement; and the rad support is not very strong. i've seen one out of the car waiting to go in and fix a front-end tap... the whole thing is less than 10lbs, you can hold it out at arm's length on a fingertip. and the other thing is that it's bolted up at either end, so the middle can flex; look at the reinforcement bar on the piece i posted; it's right next to the oil pan.

i've been in robert (peerless') car on parts runs while we were working on my vert, and he bounces off that thing like he's trying to win a prize at the county fair.

i'm not saying the race-skids piece isn't better than a bare pan... but exercise care nonetheless.

Now looking for a solid tower brace for the shock towers...  Too bad there's not one available for the vert's rear towers.   :cool:

usually i would NEVER recommend the guy, but i have an Ary (Eurostop) bar on the front of my car. it's a one-piece design, a copy of the Sparco piece, and i only had to dremel down a bit of it so it would properly fit around the center "lip" in the shock tower. i didn't buy it from him directly, i originally bought the Mason piece and it interfered with my wiring cover so i had to trade someone else for something that would fit. that's an expensive way to get ahold of knockoff hardware, but it works:

[BlackBMWs]

Good points, thanks!  My E28 is much lower than my Vert and I've been lucky enough not to crack it's oil pan in 28 years.  Plenty of scrapes though...  Smoother roads here in Cali...

I suspect I won't either with the E30, but just incase I run over a stray part of the freeway I'm looking for defelction rather than through my pan.    

As far as the brace, the one you have is basically what I'm looking for.  One piece and discreet.  I'll do a search and see what comes up.

Nice setup you have BTW...

Thanks!   :cool:

[tony92ic]

Now looking for a solid tower brace for the shock towers...  Too bad there's not one available for the vert's rear towers.   :cool:

Aren't the rear towers effectively braced by the convertible's rear structure?

I don't see how you'd get any additional bracing back there if they aren't.

[4banger]

not to piss on the party but those bars that rely on the sides of the tower for "support" are shit. those towers are thin sheet metal and what those bars do is direct the torsional force of the car cornering into a smaller area(the sides) rather than across the entire top where the steel is thicker.

[BlackBMWs]

not to piss on the party but those bars that rely on the sides of the tower for "support" are shit. those towers are thin sheet metal and what those bars do is direct the torsional force of the car cornering into a smaller area(the sides) rather than across the entire top where the steel is thicker.

Piss away!  What you're saying makes sense, I hadn't thought about it.  I posted it to read different views to get to a choice.  Thanks!   :cool:

[4banger]

i had one like that on the 4door for about a day before i noticed the deflection in the towers. i sent it back and told them it didnt fit and ordered the hartage copy that bavauto sells and tigg'ed the hinges solid. on my rear i just have a 2x2in steel tube welded between the towers. along with the big vert sways eyball arms with offset m3 cabs my 4door handles aswell(maybe better) than my Is with the mtecnik bits.