[Bee Pee]

Originally Posted by dotjonnL

Your car came with provisions on the strut towers to bolt up the corner braces? I wonder if that's the same on the F30

Looking at m2c oem alloy and CF U brace install - strut parts that tie-in to bulkhead corners are omitted.

See f87 post link below

https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1529263

BP

[Lancelot]

reviving this old thread... I think I'm having issue with knocking sound at the outermost attachment points, the ones that link the main frame, they seem to knock when accelerating/braking, or hard cornering, anyone's got the same issue? a fix?

thanks!

[Lancelot]

Hi all!

Quick update on this thread... 2 years later

I got millway 'hybrid' (because they're a mix of F30 and F80) camber plates fitted (pics below), which is great for 3 reasons:
- I get additional camber I needed
- It's a hybrid plate so it fits the F80 struts bar (3 holes for this) since they used an F80 plate, with an F30 center piece so the inner diameter matches that of F30 dampers - no more adjustment ring (see this post https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...&postcount=158 and this https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...&postcount=191)
- It's a street version so no bearing but instead a polyurethane vibration damper, close enough to OEM rubber in terms of vibration.

Quite happy with this - highly recommended and the guys are awesome there, went out of their way to make a customized product for my need.

If you're interested they've actually made this an off the shelf product now, this is the version with ball bearing, and the street version is supposed to be available soon, the one I got is the last prototype hence the gold color.
http://www.millway.se/camber-plates-...m4-hybrid.html



Apart from that I'm in the process of fitting the final 4 black rods, but I need to make custom parts as the F80 console parts do not really fit for whatever reason?
(referring to this https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...&postcount=108), so need to find a way to create a 3D model and get them 3D printed... more fun to come.


Finally I need to redo the blind rivets because they were damaged by uncautious use of impact wrench - I'm not sure yet how to go about this...

[tobefair-idontcare]

I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to share my experiences in following this guide laid out several years ago, just in case anyone with late model F30/32s was still interested in these mods. I have a 2017 340i xdrive for those wondering.

Last fall I decided to pick up Dinan springs/stops and install them when the weather got nice. I told myself if I was changing the springs I’d change the shock mount hats to OEM F80s just in case I decided to do the rest of the M3/4 stiffener mods. Long story short, I went nuts, amassed all the parts this winter (except the carbon strut, it’s mostly cosmetic) and decided to go for it. Less than 1k all said and done.

This week I had the springs installed, F80 shock mounts and undercarriage support brace included. Went home, installed the alloy strut brace and after a little messing around I got it in place, torqued down, and all buttoned up.

Really happy with the results. Haven’t beat on it too hard so I can say for sure if it was worth the time and money, but I had a lot of fun doing it all. I’ll update once I put the car through it’s paces.

Just my .02!

[disintegrator66]

Originally Posted by tobefair-idontcare

I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to share my experiences in following this guide laid out several years ago, just in case anyone with late model F30/32s was still interested in these mods. I have a 2017 340i xdrive for those wondering.

Last fall I decided to pick up Dinan springs/stops and install them when the weather got nice. I told myself if I was changing the springs I’d change the shock mount hats to OEM F80s just in case I decided to do the rest of the M3/4 stiffener mods. Long story short, I went nuts, amassed all the parts this winter (except the carbon strut, it’s mostly cosmetic) and decided to go for it. Less than 1k all said and done.

This week I had the springs installed, F80 shock mounts and undercarriage support brace included. Went home, installed the alloy strut brace and after a little messing around I got it in place, torqued down, and all buttoned up.

Really happy with the results. Haven’t beat on it too hard so I can say for sure if it was worth the time and money, but I had a lot of fun doing it all. I’ll update once I put the car through it’s paces.

Just my .02!

[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by tobefair-idontcare

I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to share my experiences in following this guide laid out several years ago, just in case anyone with late model F30/32s was still interested in these mods. I have a 2017 340i xdrive for those wondering.

Last fall I decided to pick up Dinan springs/stops and install them when the weather got nice. I told myself if I was changing the springs I’d change the shock mount hats to OEM F80s just in case I decided to do the rest of the M3/4 stiffener mods. Long story short, I went nuts, amassed all the parts this winter (except the carbon strut, it’s mostly cosmetic) and decided to go for it. Less than 1k all said and done.

This week I had the springs installed, F80 shock mounts and undercarriage support brace included. Went home, installed the alloy strut brace and after a little messing around I got it in place, torqued down, and all buttoned up.

Really happy with the results. Haven’t beat on it too hard so I can say for sure if it was worth the time and money, but I had a lot of fun doing it all. I’ll update once I put the car through it’s paces.

Just my .02!

I 100% disagree that CFBR strut is mostly cosmetic.

Anyone doing this, I had titanium washers created to use holding the struts/dampeners in place properly. Decided to go with titanium over Stainless Steel.

Was ridiculous to purchase a pair $500 as price came down sharply with quantity after setup. Also cost me an additional $200 to get a design engineer to make current file that was needed as well.

If anyone wants a pair for $200, hit me up. Otherwise will cost you around $700 to replicate what I did for a pair.

[Lancelot]

Latest venture on this topic on my side:

I finally added the black extension rods to finalize the setup!

There are specific reasons why I needed to get this done;
One is I was getting clunking noise over bumps which we determined to be due to lack of these extension rods settling the alloy strut brace

Second is that it gives added steering precision which is actually quite noticeable.



I started up from the BMW OEM design and ordered both F80 and F82 parts but none fitted my car, i suspect they are not designed to be added after soldering the body parts since they wouldn't fit.

(check post from Steve: https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...&postcount=108)

So i decided to make them myself;

Step 1 involves scanning the surface in 3D, I used the face ID sensor of the iPhone X to get a surface scan and import into blender 3D modeling software (white surface), and design a piece to cover that surface with good enough precision;



Then home 3D printed plastic models of the part : it took a number of back and forth to get the shape right but i'll keep it short


Before sending it to be professionally metal 3D printed in stainless steel:


Then fitted and glued with epoxy glue


Note that it seems each car is going to need a specific part designed, even my left and right parts are not symmetrical, I had to design them both individually and they don't look the same at all.

[disintegrator66]

Originally Posted by Lancelot

Latest venture on this topic on my side:

I finally added the black extension rods to finalize the setup!

There are specific reasons why I needed to get this done;
One is I was getting clunking noise over bumps which we determined to be due to lack of these extension rods settling the alloy strut brace

Second is that it gives added steering precision which is actually quite noticeable.



I started up from the BMW OEM design and ordered both F80 and F82 parts but none fitted my car, i suspect they are not designed to be added after soldering the body parts since they wouldn't fit.

(check post from Steve: https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...&postcount=108)

So i decided to make them myself;

Step 1 involves scanning the surface in 3D, I used the face ID sensor of the iPhone X to get a surface scan and import into blender 3D modeling software (white surface), and design a piece to cover that surface with good enough precision;



Then home 3D printed plastic models of the part : it took a number of back and forth to get the shape right but i'll keep it short


Before sending it to be professionally metal 3D printed in stainless steel:


Then fitted and glued with epoxy glue


Note that it seems each car is going to need a specific part designed, even my left and right parts are not symmetrical, I had to design them both individually and they don't look the same at all.

Very impressive initiative and execution!

[DrPancakes]

Reviving an old thread.

I bought the aluminum strut brace for my 340i xDrive. The strut brace fits, but the black reinforcement rings don't fit. There's panel glue or something that's in the way (wrinkled material of strut mounting point). Any suggestions on how to get around this? Angle grinder, or would these come off with a hammer/chisel?

Do these strut reinforcement rings work? I do have some stiffer coilovers (KW 3-way clubsports) with Vorshlag camber plates and would like to avoid mushrooming.

Also, for the front undercarriage reinforcement, I noticed the F2x/F3x xDrive series uses a torsion bar instead of a plate. Does the plate fit on xDrive? Does it even make a difference? I saw the F80 M3 doesn't even have undercarriage reinforcements.

F30 (No reinforcements)
https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=51_8381

F80 (No reinforcements)
https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=51_8381

F23 xDrive convertible (Torsion bars)
https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=51_8381

F23 RWD convertible (Reinforcement plate)
https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=51_8381

[Yellowtail]

Incase anyone is interested in doing this retrofit. I have a new f80 carbon fiber strut bar for sale. Was planning on doing it to my car but sold it. Text at 7868532695

[Lancelot]

Originally Posted by DrPancakes

Reviving an old thread.

I bought the aluminum strut brace for my 340i xDrive. The strut brace fits, but the black reinforcement rings don't fit. There's panel glue or something that's in the way (wrinkled material of strut mounting point). Any suggestions on how to get around this? Angle grinder, or would these come off with a hammer/chisel?

Do these strut reinforcement rings work? I do have some stiffer coilovers (KW 3-way clubsports) with Vorshlag camber plates and would like to avoid mushrooming.

Also, for the front undercarriage reinforcement, I noticed the F2x/F3x xDrive series uses a torsion bar instead of a plate. Does the plate fit on xDrive? Does it even make a difference? I saw the F80 M3 doesn't even have undercarriage reinforcements.

F30 (No reinforcements)
https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=51_8381

F80 (No reinforcements)
https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=51_8381

F23 xDrive convertible (Torsion bars)
https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=51_8381

F23 RWD convertible (Reinforcement plate)
https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=51_8381

It is strange that you would have this smear of material there, not sure what it is made of and why this varies from one model to another?

For the undercarriage i stayed with no reinforcement because the sedan subframe doesn't even have connection points for it, subframes vary slightly between convertible, sedan, coupe etc. and i couldn't see how to fit it on mine (and i had got the parts delivered)

However i'm considering the m235iR structural reinforcement panel, not sure if it fits 3 series though

[Alex02510]

Hi,

I just mount this strut brace on my F22!

[SM2]

Originally Posted by Steve_Jr

[Quick update]

When you try installing alloy strut brace, you couldn't find any tightened nut assembled with the strut through the edge hole .. (Only M4 has this blind rivet nut)

I found yesterday what I need to add for tightening. You need to order below screw and rivet nut

Fillister head screw M10 (alloy SB - edge) 34Nm 2EA : 07147162464
Blind rivet nut, flat headed 2EA : 51718065070

Having issues getting the rivnuts in the M2 because the brace is a little more hidden under the fender not sure if getting a rivnut gun will be able to fit but I can't find any removal guides on the front fenders.

[devrus]

Originally Posted by Lancelot

Latest venture on this topic on my side:

I finally added the black extension rods to finalize the setup!

There are specific reasons why I needed to get this done;
One is I was getting clunking noise over bumps which we determined to be due to lack of these extension rods settling the alloy strut brace

Second is that it gives added steering precision which is actually quite noticeable.



I started up from the BMW OEM design and ordered both F80 and F82 parts but none fitted my car, i suspect they are not designed to be added after soldering the body parts since they wouldn't fit.

(check post from Steve: https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...&postcount=108)

So i decided to make them myself;

Step 1 involves scanning the surface in 3D, I used the face ID sensor of the iPhone X to get a surface scan and import into blender 3D modeling software (white surface), and design a piece to cover that surface with good enough precision;



Then home 3D printed plastic models of the part : it took a number of back and forth to get the shape right but i'll keep it short


Before sending it to be professionally metal 3D printed in stainless steel:


Then fitted and glued with epoxy glue


Note that it seems each car is going to need a specific part designed, even my left and right parts are not symmetrical, I had to design them both individually and they don't look the same at all.

Could you pls share the model you've made? Greate work BTW!!!

[Lancelot]

Originally Posted by devrus

Could you pls share the model you've made? Greate work BTW!!!

Happy to do so i'll PM you when i'm back home

but please keep in mind it could very well not fit your car, make sure to print a plastic version initially to check fitment before getting it metal printed!

[F2XBC]

Originally Posted by Lancelot

Knowing what i now know, i'd avoid the trouble and stick to a classical strut bar, inexpensive and hassle free

I'll go to my usual shop next friday, we'll decide if my diameter adapters can fit without risk and either keep this retrofit with these adapters or revert to original strut hats with a classical strut bar.

To be noted too, the f80 strut hats are noticeably sturdier than f30, doesn't show well in the pictures here but to me they seem to be able to withstand much more abuse (to be expected for a half track car like the m3), which is another benefit of this retrofit, despite aforementioned drawbacks.

Hello, I have done this mod to my M140i and am trying to sort out this clearance issue. Do you have dimensions of the top mount spacers/sleeves you had made? maybe a drawing or CAD?

I purchased the IGUS 'bearings' but they are not suitable for long term use
Thanks

[SM2]

Originally Posted by Steve_Jr

Please refer to these pictures ...

How did you install that. add a blind rivnut to the empty hole?

[nick1156zxc]

Originally Posted by Lancelot

Latest venture on this topic on my side:

I finally added the black extension rods to finalize the setup!

There are specific reasons why I needed to get this done;
One is I was getting clunking noise over bumps which we determined to be due to lack of these extension rods settling the alloy strut brace

Second is that it gives added steering precision which is actually quite noticeable.



I started up from the BMW OEM design and ordered both F80 and F82 parts but none fitted my car, i suspect they are not designed to be added after soldering the body parts since they wouldn't fit.

(check post from Steve: https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...&postcount=108)

So i decided to make them myself;

Step 1 involves scanning the surface in 3D, I used the face ID sensor of the iPhone X to get a surface scan and import into blender 3D modeling software (white surface), and design a piece to cover that surface with good enough precision;



Then home 3D printed plastic models of the part : it took a number of back and forth to get the shape right but i'll keep it short


Before sending it to be professionally metal 3D printed in stainless steel:


Then fitted and glued with epoxy glue


Note that it seems each car is going to need a specific part designed, even my left and right parts are not symmetrical, I had to design them both individually and they don't look the same at all.

Excuse me.I finish this project,but the Extension Rod can't be installed.Could you pls share the model you've made? thanks alots

[gameson]

Does it worth money and time to retrofit F8x brace into F30 chassis? Or i should just buy standard brace for couple hundreds bucks?

Not sure if the money spent would yield the same result compare with standard front brace.

Anyone? Thanks.

[rlesko]

Originally Posted by GCinFLA

Learned more about brake lines than I ever wanted to know. Very few can make custom lines. Government regulated and a unique number of whoever constructed cable is imprinted on adapter when crimping.

Here in Florida only 1 in Tampa and 1 in St Petersburg is able to do it.

Top 3 pics OEM Pipes

They did not have plugs to work with BMW DCS and Master Cylinder so had to reuse OEM.

If I wanted to take stiff wire or coat hanger and bend to angles, they could make rigid pipe to fit.

Decided it wasn't worth the effort. Just had compression fittings placed on the OEM Piping.

Top 2 to DCS and Bottom 2 to Master Cylnder.

Put in flexible in between.

Have an idea to clean up top of DSC cosmetically down the road if I decide this bothers me.

Did anyone else end up doing this? Original user is banned it seems and I have a pre 7/2013 build, so its flexible brake line retrofit for me or bust!

[Nativo]

Has anyone figured how to clear the intake airbox on a 4 cylinder?

[Fubar]

Damn that is clean! Probably feels so much better through the turns.