Need 135i strut brace tester in California!

[Fair]

As a suspension designer & mechanical engineer I call the E90/E82 strut brace a "show piece", as in: it does little to nothing in the way of structural enhancement on these cars. Like factory trunk lip spoilers and 19" wheels, it is nothing more than a styling cue. That's OK, we all have our vanity, and pretty sometimes is pleasant. But a faux strut tower brace? Was this was the best they could do? Well, where there's a weakness in any factory equipment, the aftermarket steps in to make a better part. A competition oriented strut brace looks like this:



That is not made of flashy carbon fiber, or magnesium, or chrome plated bling. This is a 100% competition oriented product that is "function first". We have worked with Mason Engineering over the years to develop competition worthy strut tower braces for BMWs, and its time to do the same for the BMW E82/135i. Mason builds everything in the USA, on rigid fixtures, with beautiful TIG welds, and only the highest grade US alloy steel and aluminum. This is no sweatshop built imported part, welded by an 80 year old grandmother out of pot metal - this is the real deal.


Alloy steel rear shock tower brace before powder coating at Vorshlag. That is what proper TIG welds look like

I won't argue added torsional rigidity of a bolt-on strut brace (they help) or that bolting on this brace will "transform your car". Instead we promote them for use in strengthening the fairly weak strut tower sheet metal on BMWs, especially on cars with higher spring rates and/or camber caster plates that remove the massive marshmallow rubber strut top mount. Call it "insurance". Adding a true strut tower brace keeps this known weak area from cracking under extreme racing (curbing) and street impacts (potholes). We use them on all of our BMWs, front and rear, to keep them squeak free for 100's of thousands of miles. They work.


The factory strut bar: What a mess!

135i owners - are you tired of the OEM cheese-ball strut "bar"? This sorry excuse for a strut brace that BMW installs is just begging for an upgrade. Just like the spongy motor mounts, vague feeling shifter, and soft-as-possible suspension spring rates, this is an area that needs improvement for true BMW enthusiasts and racers alike. Here are the issues:

1. The bar goes straight across the strut tower opening, blocking access to most adjustable strut adjustment knobs.
2. It attaches through a single stud/point on each tower. A true strut brace attaches at all 3 strut top mounting studs and spreads the transmitted impact/suspension loads across a broad area for additional strut tower integrity.
3. Its made of a single piece of round tubing, bent in the middle, squashed flat at both ends. A hole is drilled at the flattened end and its attached to the car with one stud/nut.

The new Mason strut brace design will likely be routed more directly from tower to tower, possibly over the factory airbox (its needs to be replaced with a cold air at some point, right?). Question: would 135i owners prefer steel or aluminum strut tower braces?



We need a new 1 series brace to clear our new AST 5200 and 5300 inverted struts' reservoir hoses, too.



45mm or 50mm upper shaft diameters, monotube design, high pressure Nitrogen charge, modular/upgradable from single to triple adjustable.

If you live near the Simi Valley, CA area and own a 135i, please drop me a PM. We'll setup an appointment with you at Mason Engineering to get some measurements and a mock-up brace. The tester we choose will, of course, get a heavily discounted price on a strut brace.

Let us know what you think.

Thanks,

[mryakan]

Does having this impact the driving characteristic during normal daily driving (negatively or positively)? or do its impacts only occur during high performance driving?

I am not trying to pass judgment, just curious.

[Fair]

Does having this impact the driving characteristic during normal daily driving (negatively or positively)? or do its impacts only occur during high performance driving?

I am not trying to pass judgment, just curious.

Additional chassis bracing keeps the unibody more rigid over the long term as well as limits chassis deflection under performance/track use for better dynamic suspension geometry.

Basically it helps in both normal street driving (helping soak up potholes) and track driving (increased cornering loads will cause chassis deflection/loads).


The E92 M3 strut tower brace is a much better factory effort

The non-M E90/92 chassis uses this same pitiful OEM strut bar as the 1 series, but those owners can swap in the better/stronger yet more open design from the M3. The 1 series has no such "factory upgrade", just the craptastic stock piece. As you can see above the E92 M3 comes with a brace that transmits suspension loads across the entire surface of the strut tower and into the brace, not just at one itty bitty point. The M3 piece also leaves the top of the strut tower wide open, for easy access to adjustable shock knobs (or in the case of the stock struts, the EDC modules).

=========

Update: Well this post will likely auto-merge with my previous one, so I will make it a red font so it stands out.

The tester lined up previously for Mason has flaked out, so we're still looking for a 135i owner in Simi Valley, CA area for use in measurements/mockup.

Thanks!

[rsjean]

So where did this ever go? Is there now a 135i strut brace I can buy that is't just a POS?

[Snertz]

It's currently available, here:

http://www.vorshlag.com/product_info...roducts_id=358

or here :

http://www.masonengineering.net/Subpages/E82.htm