E86 Front Triangulation Braces Retrofit

[bigjae46]

I've seen a core support from a convertible e46 and it didn't look like the flimsy stamped metal piece like the coupe / sedan, it was much more rigid. Maybe that's an option?

Weird..same part part for M3 convertibles and the M3 sedan and non-M except for convertibles...

RealOEM.com - Part Search

Here is the convertible part #. Looks like it is plastic with some stiffening ribs on the underside which the metal part does not have. And it only costs $900!

RealOEM.com - Part Search

[Will]

Not sure it will do much since the core support is quite flimsy.

I've seen a core support from a convertible e46 and it didn't look like the flimsy stamped metal piece like the coupe / sedan, it was much more rigid. Maybe that's an option?

[heinzboehmer]

Not sure it will do much since the core support is quite flimsy.

Would for sure need to further triangulate from the core support down to the chassis rails. Basically emulate what BMW does in their newer cars with those fangs/nose hairs you can see through the kidneys.

Hard to say how much it would be worth it though. Would be interesting to grab one of those newer cars and measure chassis rigidity with and without that bracing installed.

[bigjae46]

Next up: triangulation to the core support? Food for thought...

Not sure it will do much since the core support is quite flimsy.

[heinzboehmer]

Is there space in the E46 engine bay to weld an additional bracket onto the strut tower like the Z4 had originally?

That was my initial idea and unfortunately it requires even more work. The corner bin firewall divider things, the strut tower brackets, the engine harness box and the jump start point all get in the way:




I did, however, notice that they fit pretty great if you put them pointing forward:



Next up: triangulation to the core support? Food for thought...

[___LUNK]

Is there space in the E46 engine bay to weld an additional bracket onto the strut tower like the Z4 had originally?

[Bry5on]

I hope the sentiment of my post didn’t come off as a knock on the work done either haha.

I do like the idea of a carbon version akin to the OE M-performance or the strut bar although this would be counterproductive cost wise. Going to talk to a couple friends in aerospace mfg to see if they can CAD this idea further and give insight onto manufacturing prices. Something similar to the Dinan E90 m3 triangulation bars would be awesome.

You have now come full circle to the Slon design

[heinzboehmer]

Totally agree that a fully machined part is the way to go. Lighter, simpler, easier to install, all the good things.

I was pretty burnt out on the CAD work by the time I got to those parts, so decided to go the simple route with the sheet metal parts. Getting the design to look like the stock parts sounds like it requires a decent chunk of work. If someone else designs this, please share! Would love to move to that solution.

And yes, definitely need to paint mine black. They stick out a lot and I don't like it. Will get to that soon.

[ParliamentLights]

Not knocking the current design. I just think there is probably a simpler single piece way to do it. It may require deviation from the Z4 rods though. Not really sure til I dig into it a little more.

I hope the sentiment of my post didn’t come off as a knock on the work done either haha.

I do like the idea of a carbon version akin to the OE M-performance or the strut bar although this would be counterproductive cost wise. Going to talk to a couple friends in aerospace mfg to see if they can CAD this idea further and give insight onto manufacturing prices. Something similar to the Dinan E90 m3 triangulation bars would be awesome.

[bigjae46]

Not knocking the current design. I just think there is probably a simpler single piece way to do it. It may require deviation from the Z4 rods though. Not really sure til I dig into it a little more.

I didn't take it as a knock on the design. I'd like to see someone analyze a carbon part and engineer the layup to improve the strength. Especially how to secure the bars to the part.

I am using some knurled threaded inserts. The carbon/epoxy is compressed against the inserts so I think it should hold up to being torqued, twisted, and stressed. Would be nice to have some idea on whether this will actually work before live testing it.

threaded inserts | McMaster-Carr

[discoelk]

Not knocking the current design. I just think there is probably a simpler single piece way to do it. It may require deviation from the Z4 rods though. Not really sure til I dig into it a little more.

[bigjae46]

I think a full machined or burn/bend strut bracket may be the way here. I was gonna springboard off the Heinz design and come up with something eventually. I'll post it up when I get to it.

Machining a whole new part would likely be the best option based on Heinz' design if for no other reason would be easier to execute. Send off a file, machine it, install it. Otherwise, I don't see a reason to do something different from Heinz's design. It reinforces the plate, adds a load tested mounting point, and paint it black to look OEM.

[discoelk]

I think a full machined or burn/bend strut bracket may be the way here. I was gonna springboard off the Heinz design and come up with something eventually. I'll post it up when I get to it.

[bigjae46]

Following… great work at a better barrier to entry. Perhaps someone with more CAD experience than me could measure/scan the OE strut tower mounts for the bar and add blended provisions for the firewall bars? Might be expensive in machining costs, but would look a ton more OE+.

This could save the need to hack up the OE strut tower brackets, and lower barrier to entry further for those who don’t have the resources to weld. Just a thought! Definitely foresee this becoming a must-do mod for a lot of people.

Absolutely. Or someone can make a mold of a modified plate. The question is how to produce a part even if it is 3D scanned. Heinz's process of modifying and adding to an OEM plate I'd guess is less costly than making a whole new part.

I think Heinz's part looks 95% OEM. I'd give it a 99% if everything was painted black.

Just to be clear, I deleted the cabin air filter housing a long time ago. So the tab I molded in for the extra bars probably won't line up with the modified cabin air filter housing parts.

[ParliamentLights]

Following… great work at a better barrier to entry. Perhaps someone with more CAD experience than me could measure/scan the OE strut tower mounts for the bar and add blended provisions for the firewall bars? Might be expensive in machining costs, but would look a ton more OE+.

This could save the need to hack up the OE strut tower brackets, and lower barrier to entry further for those who don’t have the resources to weld. Just a thought! Definitely foresee this becoming a must-do mod for a lot of people.