WTB: E46 M3 OEM strut tower brace

[E46Fan]

Starting a search for the standard M3 front strut tower engine bay brace.

[cakM3]

Here is a complete OEM M3 front strut bar including hardware on eBay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/01-06-BMW-E46-M3-Shock-Tower-Strut-Braces-Bar-OEM-Kit-SET/143596580642?hash=item216f05ef22:g:38oAAOSwy6dd0FN E

[John in VA]

Just needs the black plastic caps!

[cakM3]

Just needs the black plastic caps!

I'm running with OEM M3 front strut bar on my ZHP w/o the black plastic caps... adding these would be a nice touch though :thumbsup

[BMWCurves]

Alternatively, just cruise E46Fanatics or other online classifieds for part out cars, or your local junkyard and see if you can pick them up for cheaper. I grabbed mine all in with all parts for ~$150 through E46Fanatics part out.

[Galapolis]

Schmiedmann has some nice ACS rep bars as well at a decent price.

[ZHPizza]

I have one of these to sell too if you wanna go hardcore

https://dmg-autosport.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage/products/dmg-pro-46-fsb

[E46Fan]

Here is a complete OEM M3 front strut bar including hardware on eBay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/01-06-BMW-E46-M3-Shock-Tower-Strut-Braces-Bar-OEM-Kit-SET/143596580642?hash=item216f05ef22:g:38oAAOSwy6dd0FN E

Yeah, saw another one on ebay in good condition for $300. More that I would like to pay.

[E46Fan]

Alternatively, just cruise E46Fanatics or other online classifieds for part out cars, or your local junkyard and see if you can pick them up for cheaper. I grabbed mine all in with all parts for ~$150 through E46Fanatics part out.

Indeed, I have feelers out over there as well. Got one reply from a part out for $250. Getting closer to my price point. At or below$200 I might pull the trigger.

[E46Fan]

Actually also have my eye on this one from ECS;

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-ecs-parts/ecs-carbon-fiber-strut-bar-kit-black/ecscf03bw03aceb/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAyJOBBhDCARIsAJG2h5eDoRTEmnrNR0K83oM KLFo9wvk2bARTFXR8Kv6_XAWw7apgnTb7mW4aAnpgEALw_wcB

[cakM3]

Actually also have my eye on this one from ECS;

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-ecs-parts/ecs-carbon-fiber-strut-bar-kit-black/ecscf03bw03aceb/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAyJOBBhDCARIsAJG2h5eDoRTEmnrNR0K83oM KLFo9wvk2bARTFXR8Kv6_XAWw7apgnTb7mW4aAnpgEALw_wcB

That strut bar is okay if you don't plan to use adjustable coilovers.

[d-rod]

That strut bar is okay if you don't plan to use adjustable coilovers.

I actually just took mine off because I have adjustable camber plates. I don’t think I’ll put it back on if OP is interested and I’ll buy something that allows access to camber plates.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210212/8e11698795246dcfe606233e4f81fc1d.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210212/99a0c7d69a3499bca68136c478d053a0.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210212/cdea24a158dfcf4664772448dc142159.jpg


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[cakM3]

I actually just took mine off because I have adjustable camber plates. I don’t think I’ll put it back on if OP is interested and I’ll buy something that allows access to camber plates.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210212/8e11698795246dcfe606233e4f81fc1d.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210212/99a0c7d69a3499bca68136c478d053a0.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210212/cdea24a158dfcf4664772448dc142159.jpg

Part of the reason I made the comment above... if there is any adjustability required whether they are adjustable camber plates or adjusting the stiffness of the shocks you need access and these won't allow access when you need them but if you're only planning to use a suspension setup that does not require adjustable camber plates or adjusting stiffness of your shocks then these will work perfectly.

That strut brace you have is a nice strut brace :thumbsup

[t.er]

If you need to access the top of the struts then the garagistic strut bar (https://www.garagistic.com/products/e46-front-strut-bar-garagistic-bmw-m3-323-325-328-330) looks like a very good option for relatively cheap.

There's also this ultra racing strut bar (https://www.amazon.ca/ULTRA-RACING-2-Point-Front-TW2-245/dp/B01F0WVAJW). Some guy had one for sale for $100 CAD locally but it unfortunately sold by the time I asked.

[Vas]

@ELCID86 what strut bar did you have besides the bmw performance?

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[ZHPizza]

@ELCID86 what strut bar did you have besides the bmw performance?

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using TapatalkHe had an aluminum Mason bar and I bought it from him a while back. Sold it like a dumb dumb tho :(

[E46Fan]

@d-rod: That is a nice looking bar. I don't have camber plates and they are not in the future plans, so both the ECS bar and your bar could work nicely. One concern I do have is it appears in the picture that your very round bar is touching/pushing down on the plastic cover on the engine. Is that so? The flat profile of the ECS bar seems to give clearance.

Another question I have for you folks running these bars, is it easy to remove just the bar and leave the mounts alone when doing maintenance? Alignments? Seems like it should be very simple, but could see it getting wedged, but also see these bars are adjustable. Looks like they would pop right off.

Here is a bit of back story on why I am looking at bars with mounting plates completely covering the top of the strut towers, its a bummer:

A year ago I went away for Christmas and paid a neighborhood teen to take care of a pet. She had a friend over and they raided the liquor cabinet. This led to the brilliant idea to find the key for the BMW and take it for a ride. The car was nose in and apparently they could not find reverse and lunged forward over a RR tie and into a ditch. It was still stuck there when I got home several days later. Damage appeared to be cosmetic, one parent paid me for some front bumper paint work. Later, I did an alignment. I discovered the only way to align the struts was to move them both toward the driver side > 1/2 inch, slotting the mounts etc. This tells me the front support bars to the unibody moved. I'm in the process of finding a shop to put my car on a frame machine to take some measurements and straighten it out. My goal with the strut bar is to cover the strut mount "customization" by the alignment shop.

[E46Fan]

PM sent

[///M CRAZY]

Have one with all the hardware but without the///M covers.


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