Cabriolet flex reduction

[Murt97]

I’ve the had the idea of stiffening the chassis of the my E30 cabrio in order to reduce flexing...

I’m thinking of buying a strut brace and an x brace/cross brace. Is there anyone else who’s done something similar to their e30? Did it yield results?

Thanks!

[BenHar]

The only way is a roll cage or a hardtop.

Front strut braces help a tiny bit. Rear strut braces are a waste of time because BMW put loads of strengthening in there anyway.

Live with it it's a GT not a sports car.

Ben

[Radar]

I’ve put a Garagistic X brace on my M3 cabrio. It helps a lot. I totally recommend it. It has reduced my scuttleshake enormously.

[paultv]

they want 200 quid to ship from the states - that's a bit steep - in fact more than the product!

then there's import tax..

Paul

[minesapint]

Which did you go for

[Radar]

I already had a strut brace, I got their X brace. They do special offers quite often, it’s worth signing up to their newsletter and just waiting.

[minesapint]

Which front one have you got?

[Radar]

Which front one have you got?

I guess you mean which strut brace? I can't remember where I got that... I have had the car almost 14 years now and it was one of the first things I added. It's bare alloy and always needs polishing. Lots of places sold them back then... I assume they're still widely available in steel and alloy. I'd look for one that uses 3 bolts per shock tower as opposed to one that only uses two per tower. I chose an alloy one as the convertible is already heavy enough... adding more weight will not help it.

If you mean the X brace, Garagistic only do one pattern but they do have a choice of colours... I got the black one.

[minesapint]

I’ve put a Garagistic brace on my M3 cabrio. It helps a lot. I totally recommend it. It has reduced my scuttleshake enormously.

Sorry, we’re talking at cross purposes. I wrongly assumed you’d bought a Garagistic front strut brace which had reduced your scuttleshake.
I’m unsure if the flimsy looking alloy ones would make much of a difference. The Garagistic does look strong.....but it’s all about how effective it would be.
Cheers

[Radar]

My strut brace on its own did very little to reduce scuttle shake. The X brace however... that's made an entire world of difference. Car is night and day compared to what it was.

[Cloggy Saint]

A lot of the cheaper strut braces are hinged where the disc joins the strut tower. These are for aesthetic purposes only as the hinges render them useless as it still allows flexing. If you're going to get one I'd opt for a one piece steel version.

[BenHar]

My strut brace on its own did very little to reduce scuttle shake. The X brace however... that's made an entire world of difference. Car is night and day compared to what it was.

What do you mean by X brace?

Thanks
Ben

[Radar]

My strut brace on its own did very little to reduce scuttle shake. The X brace however... that's made an entire world of difference. Car is night and day compared to what it was.

What do you mean by X brace?

Thanks
Ben

The X brace is the one that goes underneath the car and ties the engine sub frame back to the rear mounting points of the lower wishbones. I guess this is an idea from E36s. The convertibles had this brace from the factory and it’s a popular addition for tracked E36s... I did it on my track E36 myself. Take a look at the Garagistic website : https://www.garagistic.com/products/gar ... ross-brace

There are others available. I like this one because it’s light weight and does the job.

If your car is lowered... I imagine this could be a problem.

[Murt97]

My strut brace on its own did very little to reduce scuttle shake. The X brace however... that's made an entire world of difference. Car is night and day compared to what it was.

What do you mean by X brace?

Thanks
Ben

The X brace is the one that goes underneath the car and ties the engine sub frame back to the rear mounting points of the lower wishbones. I guess this is an idea from E36s. The convertibles had this brace from the factory and it’s a popular addition for tracked E36s... I did it on my track E36 myself. Take a look at the Garagistic website : https://www.garagistic.com/products/gar ... ross-brace

There are others available. I like this one because it’s light weight and does the job.

If your car is lowered... I imagine this could be a problem.

Any alternatives to the garagistic x brace? the shipping cost to the UK ruined my dreams

Also, any recommendations for front strut brace? I've been looking at this: https://gcfabrications.co.uk/product/bm ... rut-brace/

[Radar]

I have to admit I haven't looked hard since I got mine but I did trip over another, also in the USA unfortunately and more expensive. Like I say, wait for one of their promotions and get it then to minimise the pain. I paid full freight

[rix313]

No doubt you’ve seen the Cabrio already has the brackets which tie the turrets to the inner wing. So a strut brace will be useless. I fitted these brackets on my race car in order to remove my brace.

[Murt97]

No doubt you’ve seen the Cabrio already has the brackets which tie the turrets to the inner wing. So a strut brace will be useless. I fitted these brackets on my race car in order to remove my brace.

So you’re saying a strut brace on the cabrio won’t have any affect on handling/flexing?

[paultv]

My cabby had a brace fitted when I bought it...a solid one too...but I binned it as it made zero difference to the ride or handling that I could feel.

I might try out an x brace... not the garagistic one but there's a couple of cheaper European made x braces which at least you can test without blowing 400 quid or more on something you may not keep.

Paul

[Murt97]

My cabby had a brace fitted when I bought it...a solid one too...but I binned it as it made zero difference to the ride or handling that I could feel.

I might try out an x brace... not the garagistic one but there's a couple of cheaper European made x braces which at least you can test without blowing 400 quid or more on something you may not keep.

Paul

Do you have any website links to European made x braces? I'm looking to bolt one on soon

I found this: https://www.speedingparts.co.uk/p/chass ... w-e30.html

but there are no reviews out there on this product :/

[paultv]

Yeah thats one of them which I think is powder coated and this one from France:

https://www.scp-shop.fr/home/39-barre-a ... 00147.html

which is way cheaper so worth a punt I'd say - there's only 3 left in stock!

OH WAIT ! it says:

"E30 320i 323i 325i 324td 324d 325ix M3 all models except convertible"

now does that mean non M3 convertible or no convertible at all??

"merde je vais devoir leur demander!"

That's an oily arsed vehicle they put the skid pan and brace on in the video!

Paul

[Radar]

Yeah thats one of them which I think is powder coated and this one from France:

https://www.scp-shop.fr/home/39-barre-a ... 00147.html

which is way cheaper so worth a punt I'd say - there's only 3 left in stock!

OH WAIT ! it says:

"E30 320i 323i 325i 324td 324d 325ix M3 all models except convertible"

now does that mean non M3 convertible or no convertible at all??

"merde je vais devoir leur demander!"

That's an oily arsed vehicle they put the skid pan and brace on in the video!

Paul

I can’t see why it wouldn’t fit the convertible. I’d say it’s worth a punt.

[rix313]

So you’re saying a strut brace on the cabrio won’t have any affect on handling/flexing?

The caveat to my experience is it was on a saloon car. However when you consider the turrets are already welded to the inner wing structure, I can't understand how a strut brace would make a difference. Of course if you want to fit one give it a try, just make sure its not one of those aluminium tat ones from eBay and is a proper steel one.

Further to the above two options for a cross brace. My personal preference would be to go for the UK stock one and pay a little bit more. the French one with shipping can't be much cheaper given the exchange rate at the moment, and if there are any issues, returning one to a UK seller which be much easier and cheaper too. Just my two pence