[PourBoi-Jay]

M3 brace or bust

[Phil325i]

I've had Ultra Racing braces on other cars and I'd advise getting it powder coated before fitting. They're made in the Far East where salting roads and bad winters don't happen and I've found them rather liable to rusting...

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by Phil325i

I've had Ultra Racing braces on other cars and I'd advise getting it powder coated before fitting. They're made in the Far East where salting roads and bad winters don't happen and I've found them rather liable to rusting...

Ok good to know, thanks. I’m in Florida so no salt or bad winters, but I’ll put a coating of black paint on it so it blends in under the hood.

[Efthreeoh]

I have the BMW OE carbon Fiber strut brace. BMW was off loading it back in 2009 or so for $350. It looks good, but it doesn't do anything at aggressive street level driving IMO. I just redid my suspension last week and left the brace off for the alignment shop to work on the car. I've not yet put the brace back on. I haven't been able to tell a difference.

[The Nightman]

Originally Posted by Biginboca

Ok good to know, thanks. I’m in Florida so no salt or bad winters, but I’ll put a coating of black paint on it so it blends in under the hood.

I Plastidipped mine and used 303 AP to give it a non-tacky satin finish. Looks clean and has held up for over a year so far.

[The Nightman]

On the topic of braces, I highly recommend the E9X M3 rear subframe braces for E90 owners since the E90 has no rear bracing. I got the idea from Tetsuo and you can see his post here and my post here.





Part numbers:
- Left brace: 51618040751
- Right brace: 51618040752
- Center bracket: 18211436309
- 4x M8x35 10.9 bolts and washers

I got the braces and bracket off eBay for <$100. They really helped make the rear end feel more solid and planted.

[Nafy]

Justpete, your engine bay is so clean and nice. A little off topic, what kind of engine oil cooler set up do you have? I noticed that you have a adapter plate. Where do you mount your oil cooler? And what front bumper do you have? Thanks.

[justpete]

Originally Posted by Nafy

Justpete, your engine bay is so clean and nice. A little off topic, what kind of engine oil cooler set up do you have? I noticed that you have a adapter plate. Where do you mount your oil cooler? And what front bumper do you have? Thanks.

Just saw this, oil cooler was covered here -- http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...&postcount=214 -- bumper is the BMW Performance Aero part -- http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...&postcount=398

[l3ricktop]

Originally Posted by PourBoi-Jay

M3 brace or bust

Will the M3 bracing fit the standard E90 chassis?
Asking cause the E90 M3 has different front end vs the standard E90 sedan...

Can you describe difference between the standard bracing and the M3 more closely pls? I can see the circular flange on the strut mount, but what else? Like are the rods ticker or so...?

[thormessiah]

Is this worth getting for improved street Cornering? Looking into the Cusco one if it helps reduce body roll at all

[CALWATERBOY]

Originally Posted by Biginboca

I see there’s a few strut braces available for the E9x series ranging from a $75 Megan Racing one to a $1,000 Carbon Fiber BMW one.

Do these really do anything for the E9x platform? We already have the diagonal bracing to the cowl is there really any added benefit besides looks for the aftermarket braces that cross directly from strut to strut?

I installed the M3 strut brace, which blocks nothing and works well. But was it an improvement? Mildly. Just mildly.

[hellokitty]

Originally Posted by thormessiah

Is this worth getting for improved street Cornering? Looking into the Cusco one if it helps reduce body roll at all

It is one of those upgrades that you do after you have done everything else. It is the cherry on top.

It made a noticeable improvement in terms of steering responsiveness. The car is quicker to respond when you turn in.

[StradaRedlands]

Hey strut brace experts, I got the Whiteline one, and a rough fit has it riding on top of the power steering reservoir (2006 330i N52). Any workarounds that I'm not seeing??? Looks like a good brace otherwise.

[Tambohamilton]

Can you turn it 180deg, so the bar is against the cowl?

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

Can you turn it 180deg, so the bar is against the cowl?

I wish! But no, the drillings are side specific. And I checked it out just for funsies, and it still doesn't clear the PS reservoir, but also rides up on the wiring loom.

My best guess is that this would fit great on a 335i with a N54/5, but not on a N52 engine.

[ornicar]

Originally Posted by The Nightman

On the topic of braces, I highly recommend the E9X M3 rear subframe braces for E90 owners since the E90 has no rear bracing. I got the idea from Tetsuo and you can see his post here and my post here.





Part numbers:
- Left brace: 51618040751
- Right brace: 51618040752
- Center bracket: 18211436309
- 4x M8x35 10.9 bolts and washers

I got the braces and bracket off eBay for <$100. They really helped make the rear end feel more solid and planted.

Hey the Nightman, do you know maybe what this insert nut is use for?

Do you jnow if it is possible to fit these M3 Bar son the E82 platform?

Thanks!

[The Nightman]

Originally Posted by ornicar

Hey the Nightman, do you know maybe what this insert nut is use for?

Do you jnow if it is possible to fit these M3 Bar son the E82 platform?

Thanks!

They connect to the additional bracing found on the E93 M3. I doubt they fit the E8x but maybe check what the 1M has?

[ornicar]

Originally Posted by The Nightman

They connect to the additional bracing found on the E93 M3. I doubt they fit the E8x but maybe check what the 1M has?

Thanks a lot. 1M has the "standard" e8x brace. I think you are correct and the chances that it fit e8x chassis are low due to the wheelbase difference with the e9x chassis.