Search BMW E46 Performance Strut Brace 51 71 0429378

[FBloggs]

Ahh. No not the cracked carbon unit.

[Obioban]

Beautiful strut bar but they are hollow inside and do crack. 😳

... I've never lost all desire for a part so quickly.

[DrDinamex]

WOLFN8TR

is that yours??

sell you this cracked strut brace ??

[old///MFanatic]

They came with an Unlimited Mile/ 2 Year Warranty. Which obviously is well out of time now lol. Majority of braces have nowhere close to that warranty for what it’s worth. The carbon fiber they used made at same plant CSL roof made. It’s legit.
I know several people first hand who own them still after 10 years (one even on a dedicated track car). Look new, although some under-hood heat “lettering” discolor. So breaking is rare from my humble research. Only two documented. Both lowered 330s and after giant potholes (and something about wheels damage).
But don’t get me wrong, it’s far from an industrial strength frame/bar.

You can crack CF, that’s not a surprise to anyone in the know. Or the companies who repair it for a living.

Funny story my parts guy at Crevier BMW told me years ago. They got a memo saying not to allow teenagers to play with the cf parts. To move them behind the counter for display. Apparently some idiot thought he’d check how strong it was and proceeded to bend it in the force plane it was never intended. Cracked it, stood there looking like a fool with mouth open. Glad they didn’t show him a CSL roof. He’d be surprised how easy that body panel cracked too.

[Icecream]

... I've never lost all desire for a part so quickly.

Never lost respect for a part so quicky...at least seeing all these cracked braces means the car probably benefits quite a bit from a good one.

[jet_dogg]

^thought the same when i saw that

I love really well done carbon (which I find rare) and dislike pretty much every other carbon including interior trim and such. Something like this seems more form over function.

I actually prefer the look of a stout, steel bar in this setting.

[jdamore44]

I work at an aero composites company. I may try to take my stock bar and make a carbon one with extra carbon fiber we have laying around. I'll make a thread if I do to post results!

[DrDinamex]

Beautiful strut bar but they are hollow inside and do crack. 😳

WOLFN8TR

is that yours??

sell you this cracked strut brace ??

[nextelbuddy]

Cracked BMW performance bar is not as common as people think. It's just that when people post up a picture of their cracked bar it's such a shock to them and they immediately lose interest.

This bar is in such high demand that I've talked to two people that had cracked strut bars and they still wouldn't sell it they loved it so much that they would not sell it
So make fun of it all you want this bar is so good that people will keep cracked one and never sell it for money haha

I have one on my car I've had it for 4 years haven't had any issues and there's tons of people with this bar that don't have issues but then you get two or three people that have a cracked bar that post up the shock Factor and it turns everybody off.

The bar will never just crack in half on its own there's always something going on that can explain it. Maybe somebody leaned on it or pressed on the middle of it and cracked it slightly at one point in time which weakened the structure...

A well taken care of performance bar should last
.... as long as nobody fractures it or cracks it by pressing on the middle of it. There's been more than a few times where I have accidentally almost put my hand right on the middle of the bar and leaned on it and I had to catch myself it's very easy to do.

[jet_dogg]

Well taken care of? How do you take care of a strut bar?

Personally I would still buy the dmg over this if it was available but the potential to crack is a definite consideration for others, I don't see why it wouldn't be.

Carbon strut brace never made any sense to me and that one is not that particularly good looking to me but I'm glad you love it.

[DrDinamex]

nextelbuddy


can you ask again the 2 people would also pay well for the broken one

If you like, you can keep the carbon, just need the aluminum holder