strut tower brace from Bimmian
#12
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My Ride: Alpine E60, '09 535i-Premium, Sport and Comfort Access PackageMods: Lux H8 V3 Angel Eyes, Weisslicht LED license plate lights, Interior LED lights, RPI Scoop, Matte Black Grills, Smoked LED side markers & side reflectors, 35% tint all around, and a 3
Kyle, not sure if this helps but here's a pic of my strut bar. It looks like the Bimmian mounts are cut the same way so they should clear the stock brace since the strut brace attaches to the top hat mount bolts. Also unless your power contacts are mounted differently you shouldn't need to relo them.
Last edited by Booyaazaa; 05-16-2015 at 12:40 PM.
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My Ride: Alpine E60, '09 535i-Premium, Sport and Comfort Access PackageMods: Lux H8 V3 Angel Eyes, Weisslicht LED license plate lights, Interior LED lights, RPI Scoop, Matte Black Grills, Smoked LED side markers & side reflectors, 35% tint all around, and a 3
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My Ride: 530i
Model Year: 2004
Engine: M54
I finally got around to ordering the Mechunik brace from Bimmian. They have it on special right now, $134 shipped to my door in a special 'beryllium' finish. I'll post here once it's on the car.
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My Ride: 530i
Model Year: 2004
Engine: M54
Oh well, too late now I noticed a huge difference in my E30s whenever I installed strut tower braces, those chassis have a lot of flex in them, especially as they age.. BMWs are pretty frigging rigid these days, this is probably going to end up as being more of a bling factor mod than anything else.
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My Ride: 530i
Model Year: 2004
Engine: M54
I received the Mechunik strut tower brace today and put it on the car. Install took about 45 minutes. Quality of the bar is very good. it has two bolted joints per side; obviously welded is better, but I installed this for three main reasons:
1. - it looks cool
2. - the E60 has a TSB for the OEM strut braces backing their way out of the mount points on the firewall and causing 'popping; noises. this brace should give the OE's some help
3. - it looks cool
This was a 99% bolt-on mod on my M54 5er. The reason why I won't say it's a 100% perfect fit is because the bar travels directly over the battery terminal. You can still access the terminal, but you'll have to remove the cover completely rather than being able to unhook it and have it hinge upward. Not a biggie, but worth mentioning. Other than that, the brace cleared everything in its path with no conflicts (OE braces, brake lines, etc)
I won't turn this into a full blown DIY thread, because putting a strut tower brace on a BMW is pretty self-explanitory. You'll need to remove the fresh air filter housing to get access to the upper strut nuts. I disassembled the bar, installed the base plates, then re-bolted the bar in place. The brace came with no instructions, so I torqued the nuts down to BMWs spec of 25ft/lbs and the bolts on the brace to 20. I'm going to contact bimmian and see if there is a specific torque setting for them.
The brace is on special right now for $119. I got this thing shipped to my door for $134. So far, so good. Here are some pics:
1. - it looks cool
2. - the E60 has a TSB for the OEM strut braces backing their way out of the mount points on the firewall and causing 'popping; noises. this brace should give the OE's some help
3. - it looks cool
This was a 99% bolt-on mod on my M54 5er. The reason why I won't say it's a 100% perfect fit is because the bar travels directly over the battery terminal. You can still access the terminal, but you'll have to remove the cover completely rather than being able to unhook it and have it hinge upward. Not a biggie, but worth mentioning. Other than that, the brace cleared everything in its path with no conflicts (OE braces, brake lines, etc)
I won't turn this into a full blown DIY thread, because putting a strut tower brace on a BMW is pretty self-explanitory. You'll need to remove the fresh air filter housing to get access to the upper strut nuts. I disassembled the bar, installed the base plates, then re-bolted the bar in place. The brace came with no instructions, so I torqued the nuts down to BMWs spec of 25ft/lbs and the bolts on the brace to 20. I'm going to contact bimmian and see if there is a specific torque setting for them.
The brace is on special right now for $119. I got this thing shipped to my door for $134. So far, so good. Here are some pics: