Has anyone got a rear strut brace?

[Adammcf]

Just wondering if its worth getting one or will it make the back end step out everywhere?

[Cotty]

Simon13 said he was fitting one on this thread
http://www.e30zone.co.uk/modules.php?na ... ht=#198291
He might be able to answer your questions

I have a Sparco one on order from the Zone Shop but a rear one would interfere with the load area in my touring

[dazleeds]

from what ive heard mate they really help loads on the rear
might be worth asking the drift boys aka karan,dave touring etc im sure they will know more
im def getting them for mine in the future front and rear

[Adammcf]

A rear brace should fit any E30 shouldnt it? I think only the convertables are different?

[dazleeds]

afaik yes

[Adammcf]

Just need to decide now whether I should trust someone selling one in Hong Kong!

[E30Adam]

Be careful Adam. I ordered one only to find that it needed screwing into the strut tower to fit. I was lucky that I found out before it was dispatched so I managed to cancel the order.

I didn't see how self tapping screws would hold the tension of a strut brace. I've heard that fitting a rear brace can make noticeable differences to the handling. It certainly did when I fitted my front brace but I'm yet to find a nice polished one which attaches in the same way as the front ones for the rear of my car.

[Simon]

This one looks like it bolts to the strut mount bolts, it says it does in the description too, but you can't always trust the description when they use the same for all listings, it's not coming from Honk Kong either!!

[Adammcf]

This is the item I was thinking of bidding on. Looks ok but whether or not it will fit etc is the question.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... B:WN:UK:18

[Martinaston]

I can quite honestly say you people need your heads looked at.

In what way does a horizontal bar mounted in the boot help to stabilize a FLOATING rear axle ?

[Adammcf]

LOL, thats why Im asking if its worth getting.

[c76jon]

Be careful Adam. I ordered one only to find that it needed screwing into the strut tower to fit. I was lucky that I found out before it was dispatched so I managed to cancel the order.

I didn't see how self tapping screws would hold the tension of a strut brace. I've heard that fitting a rear brace can make noticeable differences to the handling. It certainly did when I fitted my front brace but I'm yet to find a nice polished one which attaches in the same way as the front ones for the rear of my car.

adam

wiechers rear strut brace is polished and fits using original fastenings

john

[Martinaston]

If your serious about throwing money away then why not get someone to make a pair of rear trailing arms out of aluminium and re-working the shocks so they mount upside down. That way the heavy oil (or gas) section is fixed to the chassie and the only part that oscilates is the piston. This would help reduce the weight of the sprung mass, making the wheel quicker to recover from the rebound effect caused by the tyre when it hits a bump in the road.
The same could be applied to the front shocks as well and has been done like that for some years now on motorbikes.

All that crap about putting ali wheels on a car to improve performance is not worth the bother either when you actually weigh the wheel/tyre/trailing arm/bearings and caliper it still weighs a fcuking ton.I did read something about larger ali wheels being harder to turn because the majority of the weight is further from the hub and can actually decrease acceleration.

As for the rear strut brace you people must have more money than sense. The suspension turret on the rear dose not support the weight of the car like the front one's do because the springs are not coil overs and are located below the boot floorpan, so how you think a brace will improve anything is beyond me,.
If anything it's just more weight.

[Adammcf]

Fair enough. I'll save my money for the other bits I need.

[Demlotcrew]

Good plan Adam, im with MrAston on this one!

Andrew

[Jackle]

I made up a rear strut brace for my car out of a thick solid length of wood, fixed to the shock mounting bolts with two halves of a 5mm wheel spacer, just to see if it made a difference.

It does actually make quite a difference, especially round corners, makes the rear end feel a lot tighter. When I get time I'll make one up properly, but for now my bodge-up job does the trick, and didn't cost me a penny

[Adammcf]

LOL! Any pics?

[dsio]

You may notice, that this same guy that makes the E30 rear strut tower brace, is the same guy that builds the miss-shapen, breakable, and poorly engineered short shifter (the purple one) that WayneE30 picked up for 15 quid off ebay (check his other items).

Undoubtably he makes all this rubbish on his CNC milling machine himself, and if he used the same crappy aluminium as he used in the now snapped gear lever my mate has, I wouldnt put it near a car.

[Adammcf]

Ah! If thats the case then thats an even better reason for not getting one!

[Cotty]

As for the rear strut brace you people must have more money than sense. The suspension turret on the rear dose not support the weight of the car like the front one's do because the springs are not coil overs and are located below the boot floorpan, so how you think a brace will improve anything is beyond me,.
If anything it's just more weight.

From what I have seen of roll cage designs from OMP, Sparco, Safety Dynamics etc it was my impression that the rears mount to the suspention turrets and often have a bar between the mounts.

A roll cage properly fitted will stiffen the bodyshell as well as adding crash protection, wouldnt a rear strut brace to a lesser extent have the same effect on the body stiffness. or am I completely

[M5pilot]

I think the point of a rear sturt brace is chassis stiffening. Its got nothing to do with the suspension at all.

Whether or not it works at the back is something I dont know.

I havent added these to the zone shop simply because I have no evidence that they work.

[Demlotcrew]

From what I have seen of roll cage designs from OMP, Sparco, Safety Dynamics etc it was my impression that the rears mount to the suspention turrets and often have a bar between the mounts.

Usually people who fit such devices are probably running Coilovers on the rear.

Sal yes you are correct, the bars will stiffen the rear up to an extent, but if i was to fit one i would like the one which you need to drill holes for and tap some bolts in, putting any pressure on the rear turrets is not a good idea. (As they crack)

Andrew

[buster]

Ive got a sparco one on the rear,its polished and bolts through the proper fixings.
Looks nice but i didnt really notice any improvement.

[Dan320is]

Both my Dad (Engineering Consultant - CAD etc) and Brother (Apprentice welder & fabricator) worked for Safety Devices (until they went down the tubes recently).

I had a rear strut brace made for my sport and I can't say I noticed any massive amount of difference in handling etc on the track or the road. This one was made from 2" roll cage tubing and the mounting plates used the same nuts for the shock mounts. The plates sat on the turrets, then a triangular plate came down the inner face of the turrets and thats where the 2" tubing was welded. Far better quality than any aftermarket item.

Overall, I wouldn't bother putting another one on a E30.

For people wanting to fit one to a Touring will run into probems.
I fitted some new shocks & top mounts yesterday and there is no way of bolting a strut brace to both strut top bolts. The supports for the back seats block access. Custom fabrication will be the only way Touring owners can have a rear strut brace.

[m-dtech]

just get a set of wider tyres, proper springs and shocks.

and if your so concerned about the back end steping out. buy a fwd car.

[Adammcf]

and if your so concerned about the back end steping out. buy a fwd car.

I never said I was concerned about it stepping out. Just wanted to know if it was going to happen all the time with the back end being very stiff.

[e30bb]

I got one, the back end feels a bit lighter.

But I did change my springs from 60mm to 40mm.

probably be the springs

[Martinaston]

Just re-read my last post (rant ). so going back to the brace, Adam mate save your money, there's no way a brace that sits horizontally and is just bolted at the ends is going to stiffen the rear of the car. It would have to be an X brace across the back of the rear seat to have any effect but thats what the rear bulkhead does anyway. If you moved it further back so it attatched to the turrets it still would have no effect because the turrets only move vertically when pushed and pulled by the shocks and if the car twisted that much the back window would fall out

The rear bulkhead is in the right place anyway because it's located above the rear springs which are the load points, and the only way to stiffen a car for sure is to put a roll cage in that eliminates the flexing between the front and rear of the car, which is noticable if you have a badly fitted door that knocks when you hit a pothole. So spend the money on something usefull and keep what little boot space you have:thumb:

The shit some people sell

[Demlotcrew]

The rear bulkhead is in the right place anyway because it's located above the rear springs which are the load points, and the only way to stiffen a car for sure is to put a roll cage in that eliminates the flexing between the front and rear of the car, which is noticable if you have a badly fitted door that knocks when you hit a pothole. So spend the money on something usefull and keep what little boot space you have:thumb:

The shit some people sell

Dude, i think you will find that the rear parcel shelf is doing what your describing not the rear bulkhead, look at all the DTM M3s they didnt use the bulkhead as a support. (they cut through the bulkhead and welded the cages to the struts/inner wings)

And when i was putting some cavity wax in i noticed that the rear bulkhead is only spot welded in a few places, the inner wings not being one of them (on the two door cars).

Andrew

[Martinaston]

The parcel shelf is horizontal

[Adammcf]

This thread got a right little debate going!
The money will be going towards new bushes and track rod ends instead.

[Cotty]

This thread got a right little debate going!

Thats the idea isnt it , stopped you wasting your money

[nikos]

I used a rear strut brace in my previous e30 and I was and I liked it when cornering. Now I fabricated one for my convertible which works nicely. If anybody wants photos I can send. Also I use an H shaped brace supporting the bridge which is much more impresive. This is a BMW item and costed 160 euro
nikos