Bob Le'Ponge got a strut brace

[freerider]

So I bought one of the strut braces that Burgy sells, but I really didnt like the in your face silver look of it, so I had it anodized matt black.

Went from this:

To this:

I fitted it today and it looks great

 

[calypso]

That looks slick. Feel a difference?

 

[gconry18]

Pity they don't look as cool as the e46 one. How much did it cost to get it black?

 

[freerider]

Havent had a chance to give it a go yet, but I'm pretty sure there will be a noticeable difference, much like the e46.

Pity they don't look as cool as the e46 one. How much did it cost to get it black?

Cost R150 at Cape Anodizing in Blackheath Industria.

 

[Coisman]

imp:
Yip, it looks better on your car colour than the silver would have :thumb:

 

[Prev]

Damn, that looks good :clap:

 

[DonovanPorter]

:drool::drool:

 

[XMAX]

:clap:

Great looking brace.


btw - how much of a difference did the strut brace make on your e46.


Id like to get one for my 330D which im taking delivery of tomorrow.

 

[freerider]

:clap:

Great looking brace.


btw - how much of a difference did the strut brace make on your e46.


Id like to get one for my 330D which im taking delivery of tomorrow.

Makes a huge difference, especially if you enjoy pushing it in corners.

 

[moranor@axis]

good call on the anodizing silver would not have looked good

 

[XMAX]

Im not one for hanging the car over the raggedy edge in the corners, but I'd like to know that if I do decide to push it in the corners that I will have better handling with the strut brace than without.


I wonder if etching BMWFanatics.co.za on the brace would be possible, and whether it would affect the structural integrity of the brace. It would be an awesome addition though.


Thanks for the feedback.

What is the cost of the e46 strut brace, as well as the E36 brace. Im considering getting a few for my bros as they like to push their cars in the corners.

 

[moranor@axis]

Im not one for hanging the car over the raggedy edge in the corners, but I'd like to know that if I do decide to push it in the corners that I will have better handling with the strut brace than without.


I wonder if etching BMWFanatics.co.za on the brace would be possible, and whether it would affect the structural integrity of the brace. It would be an awesome addition though.


Thanks for the feedback.

What is the cost of the e46 strut brace, as well as the E36 brace. Im considering getting a few for my bros as they like to push their cars in the corners.

should not make a difference on these some very high end braces it could destroy them because they have been designed to be super light... these will have quite a high tolerance to make manufacture easy

---

free rider did you pre-load it with the slides or just fit it?

 

[freerider]

free rider did you pre-load it with the slides or just fit it?

I give up, what do you mean? :dunno:

 

[Peejay]

It looks awesome freerider. I think black suits the bannana boat better

 

[moranor@axis]

you jack the car up using the front middle jacking point.
loosen the 2 bolts with the oval wholes then tighten them again...

what this does is when you jack up the car the body will flex slighty making the distance bettween the tops of the towers slighty longer so when you tighten the brace up again and put the car down on the ground again the brace will be pushing the towers apart...

this will give you maximum stiffness from the brace some high end braces have a tensioning bolt you can use to adjust how much pre-load you want...

 

[XMAX]

you jack the car up using the front middle jacking point.
loosen the 2 bolts with the oval wholes then tighten them again...

what this does is when you jack up the car the body will flex slighty making the distance bettween the tops of the towers slighty longer so when you tighten the brace up again and put the car down on the ground again the brace will be pushing the towers apart...

this will give you maximum stiffness from the brace some high end braces have a tensioning bolt you can use to adjust how much pre-load you want...

Sorry for a daft question.... Would doing the above affect the wheel alignment (Camber) negatively.

 

[moranor@axis]

i dont know, but i doubt you can even see the difference when you jack it up and loosen the bolt... its not like the car is a playing card i guess in extreme cases where you tension the crap out of it you could get bad camber that you would have to adjust out after... but i dont think this will happen if you using the jacking method...

if it does then the best way to do it would be to not jack it completely off the floor so the springs still push the body together slightly...

 

[Technician]

I wonder if etching BMWFanatics.co.za on the brace would be possible, and whether it would affect the structural integrity of the brace. It would be an awesome addition though.

it could be done- pity im up in jhb, i could do it at work.....

 

[freerider]

haha, ok. No, I have never done that on the e46 or the e36.

 

[XMAX]

@Technician - I will get me one of these probably in the next 2 weeks.

Would it be possible to meet up so that we could look into getting the brace etched.

Also, I am probably going to need a few blanks for De Swirling a 330D im buying.


PS. I am willing to pay for these services.