Strut bar

[bmrdude3]

Anyone purchase this yet?

[shadowiix]

I have mine as a preorder right now. From mason

[italiantank26]

how much for the strut bar?

[shadowiix]

I think it was 460. Should check it out in the suspension thread. Would give link but I'm on a blackberry, here is the thread. http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=233897

[supraking]

$285 USD from United BMW. Not sure what other dealers charge. This is for aluminum of course, CF is much more.

http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...catalogid=6218

Anyone installed and feel it was worth it? I'm thinking of going with the strut brace and performance suspension for my 128i, not sure yet though..

[Alow]

I am eyeing it as well. Would really like to hear opinions of people that have ordered it.

Also, does anyone know if the aluminum and CF differ only in weight and eye-candy? or do they have different results to the handling of the car?

[Evice]

What would be the direct benefit of a strut bar? More stability on the front? any effect on under or over steer? some info please.

[supraking]

Originally Posted by Evice

What would be the direct benefit of a strut bar? More stability on the front? any effect on under or over steer? some info please.

"The actual detail of how a strut bar stiffens the suspension is a bit complicated. You will need to know the details of how a car suspension such as a MacPherson Strut suspension works to understand it well. In simple terms a strut bar ties two strut towers together. By connecting the two strut towers together it reduces the strut tower flex.

The amount of stiffening that is done by a strut bar needs to be controlled. You don’t want the suspension to become so stiff that you do not get a smooth ride at all. What you really want the strut bar for is to reduce the extra flex that is there in the suspension. If you get the amount of stiffening right you will get a sharper response from your car and still get a smooth ride."

So basically increases the rigidity of the chassis resulting in better handling. I'm not really sure in terms of under/oversteer, maybe someone else can field that one, though I assume that better handling = less prone to US/OS.