Rear roll cage

[m3f_pbonsalb]

That is a common style bolt in bar. Kirk and Auto power sell ones like that. I don't like the location of the diagonal or the straight bar behind the drivers seat but maybe it works on the E46 or for a short person. On an E36, I need my seat back to go further back than that exact design allows. The Kirk bar for the E36 works for me. Ben's bar would not but I am sure he can customize it.

[m3f_nholmes]

That is a common style bolt in bar. Kirk and Auto power sell ones like that. I don't like the location of the diagonal or the straight bar behind the drivers seat but maybe it works on the E46 or for a short person. On an E36, I need my seat back to go further back than that exact design allows. The Kirk bar for the E36 works for me. Ben's bar would not but I am sure he can customize it.

Doh



He told me he didn't think it would be a problem.



Man. I hope I'm not going to have a local fabricator fix this.

[m3f_pbonsalb]

Depends on how tall you are and how far you like to put the seat back. Someone local to me has one of his bars and complains about this issue. He wants to cut the horizontal section behind the drivers seat out.

[m3f_Nate047]

A full cage in my part of the country is a lot of money. My local race shop charges 4k for a very well built and designed cage. That's a lot of money. Since I'm rebuilding my car and have a lot to sort out, this year I'm throwing in a kirk for the events I plan on running while I shake down the car and am running easy. Once the car is running well, I'm putting the cage in next year. I'd rather have some safety this year than no safety. It also saves time with finding the fitment for the seat positions, etc...


This stuff all adds up!

Yea man I feel you. Project cars are a giant snowball of $$$ haha. I personally would do everything within my power to bite the bullet and get it all done at once though, instead of having to do the cage and all the prep work twice (and probably also spend half the money twice) the half cage could probably be incorporated into the full cage, but the work and time involved... **** doing all that twice!

[m3f_nholmes]

My Ben Sipson bar arrived yesterday:

[m3f_mauromj]

I'll hopefully be getting my from Ben soon! He built/shipped mine last week.

[m3f_nholmes]

Last post from me on this topic.



Picked up my rollbar from the local powder coater:

[m3f_mauromj]

Last post from me on this topic.



Picked up my rollbar from the local powder coater:

Last post?! No install pictures?

[m3f_nholmes]

Last post?! No install pictures?

http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showp...&postcount=256



I'm still installing it, but did a test fitment last night.

[m3f_nholmes]

Got the Ben Sipson rollbar in finally.



Fitment is a B- as it took some massaging to get it to work.

Quality of the welds A

Price A



I'm happy with it.

[m3f_tripitz]

Yea man I feel you. Project cars are a giant snowball of $$$ haha. I personally would do everything within my power to bite the bullet and get it all done at once though, instead of having to do the cage and all the prep work twice (and probably also spend half the money twice) the half cage could probably be incorporated into the full cage, but the work and time involved... **** doing all that twice!

I had to bail. The cage is totally worth it though; super high quality. After building a car only to put it in a wall and now rebuilding, this year is all about getting back on the road and making sure the engine still runs. BTW, I am learning that starting with a cheap chassis costs a LOT of money; so many unexpected upgrades that cost time and money plus lots and lots of little parts adding up to $$$$.



Finally bolting stuff to the car though. Yay.. have about 3-4 more weeks of hard work ahead for me.

[m3f_kyrix1st]

I want to share that E36 LTW cross brace is a must for anyone looking for better front chassis rigidity. The car feels planted in any corner or bumps combined with tower brace, and it only costs around 160 bucks total for installation on 95+ M3. I can't imagine how much better the chassis rigidity would get by using a cross roll cage in the rear; it makes such a difference that I honestly think E36 could have better rigidity than the stock E30 M3 with these mods.


You need #16, #19, #20.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=41_0936

[m3f_pbonsalb]

This is what we call the x-brace. I think it was used on convertibles as well.


If you want some other fancy braces, look at the Mason stuff:


http://www.masonengineering.net/Subpages/E36.htm


I just installed this one:


http://www.ebay.com/itm/MASON-BMW-E3...-/272618734495