# Does A Front Strut Bar Make A Difference??



## jeffnnj (Feb 6, 2003)

I am thinking about getting a front tower strut bar for my 2002 M3 convertible. I am not concerned with the look so I am wondering if they will make a difference in handling.
Thanks a lot,
Jeff


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## JST (Dec 19, 2001)

I know the E46s are stiffer, generally, than the E36s, but I know that on my car the bar made a noticeable difference. The biggest improvement was in steering feel, which was sharpened considerably. The bar also seemed to dial out some of the understeer that I felt when autocrossing. 

It's not night-and-day, but it is noticeable. On an E46, YMMV, but I think it's worth a shot.


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## Mr. The Edge (Dec 19, 2001)

it will make a difference on a cab, for sure


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## supercharged (Feb 18, 2003)

It will only make a small difference. A better investment in suspension would be yeided by improving sway bars, struts, Lower tie bars. Control arms..ect. Strut tower bars are mostly for looks


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## Ausgang (Jan 4, 2002)

It's a very good question, particularly for a cabrio.

The only way I know to prove out the worth of such a device is to have someone attach strain-gages to one, run the car hard on a track or auto-x, and then plot out how much compression or tension was transmitted through the device at what times as it relates to the course.

FWIW, most of the designs I've seen would do little or nothing beneficial due to poorly designed attachments and questionable shape-modeling.


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## Chris330Ci (Jan 23, 2002)

supercharged said:


> *It will only make a small difference. A better investment in suspension would be yeided by improving sway bars, struts, Lower tie bars. Control arms..ect. Strut tower bars are mostly for looks *


What he said, but correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't BWM make a front strut tower brace OEM for the M3 as of 2002? Coupe only? :dunno:


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## Mr. The Edge (Dec 19, 2001)

Chris330Ci said:


> *What he said, but correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't BWM make a front strut tower brace OEM for the M3 as of 2002? Coupe only? :dunno: *


it was a running change for all '02s, beginning w/ mid-March production


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## Nick325xiT 5spd (Dec 24, 2001)

Strut tower bars (at least in the Bimmers) almost universally work in tension.

I'm reasonably pleased with mine. It seems to have dialled out some of the worst of the tire scrubbing understeer.


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## in_d_haus (Jan 2, 2002)

Not to be the lone dissenter but according to Steve Dinan, when questioned at a tech session last year, The strut bar does nothing for a E36 or E46 except look cool, the bodies are rigid enough that you see no gain. Aside from looks he recommended it only for E30s and mostly on the track.


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## JST (Dec 19, 2001)

in_d_haus said:


> *Not to be the lone dissenter but according to Steve Dinan, when questioned at a tech session last year, The strut bar does nothing for a E36 or E46 except look cool, the bodies are rigid enough that you see no gain. Aside from looks he recommended it only for E30s and mostly on the track. *


Steve *may* be right, on a quantitative basis--despite my feelings about the value of his mods, he obviously knows a lot more about BMW tuning than I do.

OTOH, Steve Dinan has never driven my car. What I know is that when I bolted the bar on, the improvement in steering feel was dramatic and immediate. I confirmed this not so long ago when I took the bar off for a dealer service (worried that they would carp about having to reach around it). As I pulled out of my driveway, I could feel the looseness in the steering.

So, while I have no proof that it improves lap times, and only very limited evidence that it reduces understeer (based on subjective comparisons on the same lot 8 months apart), it does make a positive difference in feel, and I would be willing to bet real money that I could easily discern the difference between having it on the car and not.

As I said, I have no experience with the value of a strut bar on anything other than an E36 M3 convertible, so for anyone else, YMMV.


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## supercharged (Feb 18, 2003)

Please, Thank Steve on my behalf, Because I got his worthless strut tower brace. What a bunch of jerks DINAN and I got there f-ing name on the back of my car and on my plate. I have got to change that soon,


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## in_d_haus (Jan 2, 2002)

supercharged said:


> *Please, Thank Steve on my behalf, Because I got his worthless strut tower brace. What a bunch of jerks DINAN and I got there f-ing name on the back of my car and on my plate. *


I was very surprised at the tech session. Of course there was all his stuff on sale too.
I saw him personally talk a lot of people OUT of buying product rather than into it. Scored points with me. :dunno:


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## Akakubi (Dec 21, 2001)

So much for DINAN. :thumbdwn: 

What always pissed me off is that they charge so freakng much for their stuff. Look at their sway bar kit (Eibach and thiner than UUC or RD). They charge twice the rate of Eibach's MSRP! 

Sorry, but that kind of dealings are unacceptable to me so no Dinan stuff on my car.


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## brave1heart (Jan 7, 2002)

JST said:


> *I know the E46s are stiffer, generally, than the E36s, but I know that on my car the bar made a noticeable difference. The biggest improvement was in steering feel, which was sharpened considerably. The bar also seemed to dial out some of the understeer that I felt when autocrossing.
> 
> It's not night-and-day, but it is noticeable. On an E46, YMMV, but I think it's worth a shot. *


I second that all the way!!!


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## Pinecone (Apr 3, 2002)

In my opinion, they DEFINATELY make a difference.

On our E46 M3 Cab, I put the bar on, without even telling my wife I had ordered it, much less put it on. In less than 4 miles of riding (I was driving) she asked what I had done to the car. Now I did it this way to avoid the old butt dyno, it MUST do something.

We then put a Strong Strut on our M Roadster. IMMEDIATE change in turn in feel.


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