[JohnAnthony]

Anyone have a lead on who has one installed?

I'm in the process of replacing my bilstein pss9s and I want to reinforce the strut towers so I need a close up of the strut tower mounts (and the rest of the brace as well). I called up turner but no one could help me get better pictures other than the one on their site, I want to see if it's worth saving the money or going with a strong strut instead.

Turner Front Strut Brace - E39 525/528/530/540/M5 - Turner Motorsport

kind regards

EDIT:

so using wiechers as a search word makes it easier to find examples of the same strut brace

now this was on an ?E30? which probably puts more stress on the strut bar than the E39, but I'm using it as a reference for how the turner part is likely designed:
Broke my Wiechers strut brace - http://www.s14.net/forums

these members have wiechers sport braces
[older design]
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e3...70313-wiechers-sport-strut-bar-installed.html

[similar to turner but different mounts]
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e3...fit-ca-automotive-strut-brace.html#post888222

EDIT 2:
member WLS was kind enough to send me photos of his Turner Motorsports strut brace, and it confirms what is on wiechers's website.

 

[herrubermensch]

If you want a strut brace, check out Rogue Engineering's "race brace." Probably the best IMHO.

http://www.rogueengineering.com/rogue/StrutB/RE_RB.html

--Peter

 

[JohnAnthony]

thanks a lot for pointing out the rouge engineering racebrace; that thing definitely looks like a better design than both the dinan & strong-strut

at the moment though I'm more concerned with the strut tower mounting plates than the performance benefits so i'd rather eliminate the turner brace before going ahead and ordering the racebrace.

 

[JohnAnthony]

well turner still has no photos, but at least they told me who makes the strut bar (wiechers sport) in germany

they have a few designs but wiecher's matching item doesn't have the 360 strut top mounts like turner's item

all bars are all aluminum in construction so I don't think it's worth the savings, I'll likely go with the rouge strut bar even though it'll suck having to take it off every time I need to work on the engine or ?do an oil change?, still waiting on pics of the rouge bar installed, but I think it'll block access to the filter housing on OE setups

 

[herrubermensch]

Please post installed pics of the Rogue bar when you get them.

As much as I hate to say it, the Dinan bar uses a hellaciously strong 360 degree strut top mount that is probably more valuable than the strut bar it accommodates.

--Peter

 

[JohnAnthony]

turn of events, I might just go for a cosmo racing strut bar, it's even cheaper than the turner strut brace and it has 2 big slabs of aluminum for mounting points

http://www.cosmoracing.com/productinfo.asp?cid=241&pid=1288

waiting to hear if they are still making them

 

[herrubermensch]

turn of events, I might just go for a cosmo racing strut bar, it's even cheaper than the turner strut brace and it has 2 big slabs of aluminum for mounting points

Street Tuning Auto Piece BMW Performance Parts - COSMO Racing

waiting to hear if they are still making them

Very similar to the Dinan top plates.

 

[MAZI]

Rouge or Strongstrut for me

 

[MotherSport]

I have the Cosmos too and it looks exactly like the Dinan, minus the logo or the black powder coated, (easy to do) end plates.

 

[banel]

Sign me in for one. I may even talk to a friend to get one too

 

[JohnAnthony]

Sign me in for one. I may even talk to a friend to get one too

the cosmos bar?

i've emailed cosmos racing but no word yet, not sure if they are simply out of stock or have stopped production. if they are simply sold out this might be a great time to call them up to start a group buy; if the strut mount plates are as strong as the dinan, then like Peter said the plates alone are worth the price, the slightly increased front end rigidity is a plus.

 

[MotherSport]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 width="100%" bgColor=#ffffff border=0> <TBODY> <TR> <TD colSpan=2>Strut Tower Brace FRONT Bar BMW E39 1995-2003 535i/540i/M5 SEDAN/TOURING

</TD></TR> <TR> <TD colSpan=2>Cosmo Racing Strut Tower Bars reduce front end flexing and improve chassis stability whether you are doing hardcore cornering on the track or simply cruising on the streets!

</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top width=110>Category</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Strut Tower Brace FRONT Bar BMW </TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top width=110>Product Number</TD> <TD vAlign=top>TBE39V8</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top>Make</TD> <TD vAlign=top>BMW</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top>Name</TD> <TD vAlign=top>E39 1995-2003 535i/540i/M5 SEDAN/TOURING</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top>Price</TD> <TD vAlign=top>$150.50 US</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top>Instruction Sheet</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Included</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top>Available Colors</TD> <TD vAlign=top> Out of stock!

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

[JohnAnthony]

Please post installed pics of the Rogue bar when you get them.

As much as I hate to say it, the Dinan bar uses a hellaciously strong 360 degree strut top mount that is probably more valuable than the strut bar it accommodates.

--Peter

here are some mock-up pics

the e39 racebrace is built with a forward sweeping arc (the E46 racebrace is built with a backward sweeping arc)

from looking at it, if functionality is the goal then this will likely beat out Dinan & Strong Strut (specifically on price point)

the only fault I see from the construction is in the strut top mounts:

[1]
they are steel, but they will still fold if someone catches a bad enough pothole (coilover will likely make it worse if you bottom out the springs). if you look at everyone's E39 strut tower brace you'll see the weak point is always on the passenger side mount where everyone has to reduce the surface area to make room for the negative jump start connection. I hope that I'm simply over reinforcing the area when I try to fit one of these reinforcement kits:
E36: http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E36-M3-S52_3.2L/Search/SiteSearch/Reinforcement/ES49979/
-or-
E46: http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E46-M3-S54_3.2L/Search/SiteSearch/Reinforcement/ES128656/
-or-
E52:http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/31300422419/ES2711878/ [pretty sure this is the metal washer not the plastic/fiber gasket]

[2]
also these type of strut mounts have oblong holes and stamped mounting points because the strut tops are not completely smooth like the E46. This is a problem because the nuts & washer will cut into the material of the strut brace. a serious application of this strut bar would require a similar modification:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6681587&postcount=28


anyway here's the bar.... not providing much structural rigidity at the moment :S

 

[banel]

I'm down with the group buy if that's what it takes

the cosmos bar?

i've emailed cosmos racing but no word yet, not sure if they are simply out of stock or have stopped production. if they are simply sold out this might be a great time to call them up to start a group buy; if the strut mount plates are as strong as the dinan, then like Peter said the plates alone are worth the price, the slightly increased front end rigidity is a plus.

 

[JohnAnthony]

I'm down with the group buy if that's what it takes

one of you guys should get that rolling, i recieved a reply from cosmos racing confirming they are recieving a new batch of braces in the next 4-5 weeks.

 

[banel]

Any news

 

[JohnAnthony]

Any news

I did not keep in contact with cosmos racing, I thought MotherSport would take the reins and setup the group buy

 

[speedblind]

I have the Rogue on my E36 M3 and I like it.

To those that question the thickness of the base plates, do E39 M5s have issues deforming or cracking the front strut towers? If so, I'd think a reinforcement plate under the strut tower between the strut mount and the factory sheet metal would be more effective than thick strut tower brace mounts: you want to distribute the force from the suspension before it gets to the factory sheet metal, not after.

 

[JohnAnthony]

I have the Rogue on my E36 M3 and I like it.

To those that question the thickness of the base plates, do E39 M5s have issues deforming or cracking the front strut towers? If so, I'd think a reinforcement plate under the strut tower between the strut mount and the factory sheet metal would be more effective than thick strut tower brace mounts: you want to distribute the force from the suspension before it gets to the factory sheet metal, not after.

the E39 does suffer from similar issues as the E46 strut tops, luckily the stock suspension has enough travel to prevent this for many people, but those that switch to coilover and continue to use the BMW OE strut mounts could suffer from deformed towers

as for where the reinforcement goes I don't think it makes much of a difference, the weak link is the aluminum strut top mount:

I myself will likely be adapting either the E36 or the E46 strut reinforcement kit, the plates on the rouge brace are as thick as the reinforcement kits, but that is not their purpose so I will be knocking out the stud in the top mount and placing new bolts to accept the increase in material

 

[KingOfCool]

That Rogue Engineering brace looks awesome...I may go with that in the near future. I'm looking at PSS9's as well.