I can show you some pictures tonight Tim, need my desk top for that.
Tony.
Tony.
Wanted Z3 Strut Brace
- Thread starter ZTec
- Start date
Davyhoogy
Zorg Guru (III)
Share them on here Tony. Interesting
This is what I bought from "bmautosport" an eBay seller. They no longer sell them.
BMW E36 FRONT UPPER ALLOY ADJUSTABLE STRUT BRACE BAR 320 325i 3 SERIES
( 151212271563 )
This is the same as the one I modded. @Davyhoogy and @5harp3y
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-3-Ser...race-Stress-/131506464056?hash=item1e9e656538
First thing was to ensure that it would fit on the strut studs.
On the O/S strut top there are 3 studs plus the Earth "jump start" point which you need to cut out for. Not needed on the car this should be fitted on. Fit both strut top mountings and attach the cross brace bar, VERY GENTLY close the bonnet. DO NOT ALLOW IT TO DROP !!!!!
You will likely find that the bonnet touches the strut top mountings before closing, mine did this.
What you need to do is, loosen the side adjusters and screw them out about 3/4" - 1"each side. This makes the cross bar significantly longer. In turn this means that you can re-drill the strut top mountings much lower down the tabs to which the cross brace connects. Then, obviously you can remove the excess material and file down the rough cut edges.
Compare these two pictures to pictures 1 and 4. When I was done I ended up with approx. 10mm or so between the cross brace and the plastic engine cover, it looks less than that but the plastic cover was a little bowed and when pressed down left a nice gap. Even at this stage close the bonnet gently until you are 200% sure it clears the brace bar.
When finished it looked like this,
When I sold my Z3 I took this of and sold it a member on here, he may or may not want to share a picture of it with you, I'll leave it up to him.
Tony.
ps. @ZTec It may well be possible to modify one of these to fit your?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-3-SER...ACE-TIE-BAR-/350663673453?hash=item51a52f066d
BMW E36 FRONT UPPER ALLOY ADJUSTABLE STRUT BRACE BAR 320 325i 3 SERIES
( 151212271563 )
This is the same as the one I modded. @Davyhoogy and @5harp3y
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-3-Ser...race-Stress-/131506464056?hash=item1e9e656538
First thing was to ensure that it would fit on the strut studs.
On the O/S strut top there are 3 studs plus the Earth "jump start" point which you need to cut out for. Not needed on the car this should be fitted on. Fit both strut top mountings and attach the cross brace bar, VERY GENTLY close the bonnet. DO NOT ALLOW IT TO DROP !!!!!
You will likely find that the bonnet touches the strut top mountings before closing, mine did this.
What you need to do is, loosen the side adjusters and screw them out about 3/4" - 1"each side. This makes the cross bar significantly longer. In turn this means that you can re-drill the strut top mountings much lower down the tabs to which the cross brace connects. Then, obviously you can remove the excess material and file down the rough cut edges.
Compare these two pictures to pictures 1 and 4. When I was done I ended up with approx. 10mm or so between the cross brace and the plastic engine cover, it looks less than that but the plastic cover was a little bowed and when pressed down left a nice gap. Even at this stage close the bonnet gently until you are 200% sure it clears the brace bar.
When finished it looked like this,
When I sold my Z3 I took this of and sold it a member on here, he may or may not want to share a picture of it with you, I'll leave it up to him.
Tony.
ps. @ZTec It may well be possible to modify one of these to fit your?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-3-SER...ACE-TIE-BAR-/350663673453?hash=item51a52f066d
Last edited:
Thanks Tony, I'll have to look into it.
If you ask the seller they will tell you that it won't fit your car, that's exactly what I was told because they need to cover their arses. But I decided to take a risk as it wasn't a huge amount of money and after I got it done I sent them pictures of how it can fit.
Tony.