Black & Tan 332iT

[karter16]

I'm not entirely sure what the isofix points attach to, but they need to be fairly strong, so I would assume it's more than just the top layer of sheet metal.

I was mostly just listing out all the options I could think of . Packaging is likely what would drive the choice of one over the other in the end.

Gotcha - yeah makes sense.

FYI I'm pretty sure it is just the top layer of sheet. (Edit: thinking about this further it must be the case as it was the hole for the isofix bolt that I put the camera through)

Here's a photo of the mounting points for the seatbelts, they're this captive nut/collar welded to the top layer of sheet metal. I don't have a photo of the isofix points handy, but can't see them being more robustly built than the seatbelt points. I suppose for the seatbelt the load is going to be fairly one-directional perpendicular to the plane of the sheet metal, whereas a brace is dealing with loads in the same plane as the sheet metal.

(The orientation of the photo below is weird, but at the top of the photo is the angled top-layer of the seat base. The nearer captive nut/collar is for the RHS seatbelt receptacle and the further one is for the LHS receptacle and bottom point for the centre seat belt.)

(sorry for hijacking your build thread Bry5on !)

[heinzboehmer]

I'm really the wrong sort of engineer for this stuff, but I would have thought that if you tied in to the front subframe bolts it would render the need to tie into the ISOfix points unnecessary right? I believe that the ISOFix points are attached to only the top layer of sheet metal, so would have thought that the subframe points would be more effective for this? Or am I looking at this the wrong way?

I'm not entirely sure what the isofix points attach to, but they need to be fairly strong, so I would assume it's more than just the top layer of sheet metal.

I was mostly just listing out all the options I could think of . Packaging is likely what would drive the choice of one over the other in the end.

[karter16]

To make it bolt in, you could piggyback off the rear seat top latches, rear seat bottom pivot point, isofix anchors, front subframe bolts (if you have vincebar style reinforcements) and maybe even the rear window motor mount points.

I'm really the wrong sort of engineer for this stuff, but I would have thought that if you tied in to the front subframe bolts it would render the need to tie into the ISOfix points unnecessary right? I believe that the ISOFix points are attached to only the top layer of sheet metal, so would have thought that the subframe points would be more effective for this? Or am I looking at this the wrong way?

[karter16]

Thanks! Yeah it's a very hard feeling to describe in words. Sort of like you can really feel the extra stiffness in the little ripple movements of the rear suspension now. This could honestly be the rear shock mounts displacing a bit before the dampers start doing their job, but it's not something you could feel before. Just lots more 'precise' feeling. All good changes. Did you notice any of this 'ripple' sort of behavior?

I agree - it's a really hard feeling to describe. I think Heinz articulated it well - there's much less of the feeling of the chassis loading up before the suspension starts working. The brace I'm running ties the RACP points directly into the rear shock mounts, so what I've noticed is that there's basically no give before you feel the suspension working. So possibly it feels slightly different to what you're feeling given the RSMs are fairly immovable with my setup? Definitely need seat time to notice the full effect. I could tell when I first drove it that it had made a difference, but it becomes more and more apparent the more you drive. I thought I'd finally got used to it and then had to go over a speed bump on an angle (I usually take them head on for less jostling around) the other day and couldn't believe how stiff the chassis was.

[heinzboehmer]

Good point about using nutserts - that would make this a pretty easy installation with some countersunk fasteners if need be. It would need more bolt points because nutserts don’t have a lot of bearing area and can more easily put sheet metal in bending (=fatigue) but that’s not an issue if you’ve already accepted drilling holes. So this is definitely doable for a coupe. Well, I can always scan a car for anyone who wants a starting point

Actually, if you're permanently modifying the chassis, might as well bond in a long u shaped piece with the attachment points for max bearing area. Would need to do something clever to be able to get the brace out easily (leave enough clearance to lift it up and out of the mounting points?), but sounds doable.

[Bry5on]

I think this is what makes the effect of this type of bracing so hard to put into words. I needed ample seat time in my own car after the Slon wall to really understand all the minutia associated with the change.

Best scenario I've found to highlight the improvement is a sudden and fairly large steering input. Not a jerky move, but moreso something that really loads up the outside tires quickly. Without the bracing, you can feel two very distinct "settlings" after turning the wheel. One being the suspension reacting to the change and the other being the chassis "untwisting" after the intial load. Both of these are still present with the bracing, but there's significantly less time elapsed between the two and the chassis settling is less pronounced. I think this also has the effect of making it feel like the suspension is working harder, like you mentioned, cause that's mostly what you're feeling now. Hard feeling to describe for sure. Much easier to understand in the driver's seat.

Also, I think something similar could be replicated for coupes. To make it bolt in, you could piggyback off the rear seat top latches, rear seat bottom pivot point, isofix anchors, front subframe bolts (if you have vincebar style reinforcements) and maybe even the rear window motor mount points. Nutserts make it not a bolt in mod, but allow for easy pick up points along the side of the opening. Now I kinda wish I hadn't bonded the Slon wall into my car, so that I could design something similar to yours, but for coupes...

Attaching a pic of the coupe opening for inspiration

Good point about using nutserts - that would make this a pretty easy installation with some countersunk fasteners if need be. It would need more bolt points because nutserts don’t have a lot of bearing area and can more easily put sheet metal in bending (=fatigue) but that’s not an issue if you’ve already accepted drilling holes. So this is definitely doable for a coupe. Well, I can always scan a car for anyone who wants a starting point

[heinzboehmer]

It’s a bit harder to tell at first blush because you can’t also feel it in your hands.

I think this is what makes the effect of this type of bracing so hard to put into words. I needed ample seat time in my own car after the Slon wall to really understand all the minutia associated with the change.

Best scenario I've found to highlight the improvement is a sudden and fairly large steering input. Not a jerky move, but moreso something that really loads up the outside tires quickly. Without the bracing, you can feel two very distinct "settlings" after turning the wheel. One being the suspension reacting to the change and the other being the chassis "untwisting" after the intial load. Both of these are still present with the bracing, but there's significantly less time elapsed between the two and the chassis settling is less pronounced. I think this also has the effect of making it feel like the suspension is working harder, like you mentioned, cause that's mostly what you're feeling now. Hard feeling to describe for sure. Much easier to understand in the driver's seat.

Also, I think something similar could be replicated for coupes. To make it bolt in, you could piggyback off the rear seat top latches, rear seat bottom pivot point, isofix anchors, front subframe bolts (if you have vincebar style reinforcements) and maybe even the rear window motor mount points. Nutserts make it not a bolt in mod, but allow for easy pick up points along the side of the opening. Now I kinda wish I hadn't bonded the Slon wall into my car, so that I could design something similar to yours, but for coupes...

Attaching a pic of the coupe opening for inspiration

[Bry5on]

M8 version design complete, made a few DFM changes:

• Holes converted to M8 (and M6 for the tie down loop)
• All holes tightened up a little (first rev was deliberately loose fit)
• Slots added to accommodate different car's tolerance stacks (George's touring and mine measure slightly different)
• Eliminated upper bar, now a bow tie shape
• Clevis attachment webbing moved to make separation/cutoff easier, and to make the cuts non-visible after powder coat

Pricing for qty 3 is double the price of qty 1, so I ordered 3 of this set. The cross brace is larger than sendcutsend will powder coat, so that and the spacers will arrive bare finish. That'll allow me to bond the spacers to the brace, then send the bonded assembly out for powder coat. This will simplify installation so that I'm not messing around with floating the spacers in place, but the spacers will need to be bonded to the brace on installation due to the tolerance stackup in the car.

[Bry5on]

More seat time today and I think this is closer to the stiffness increase of the Slon brace than I initially thought, maybe an equal increase. It’s a bit harder to tell at first blush because you can’t also feel it in your hands. Really really great change. No downsides other than there’s more effort involved to drop long things into the rear now. Worth it I think.

Also, I’m going to eliminate that flat top piece in the next rev. It doesn’t really do much. The brace will become sort of a bow tie shape.

[Bry5on]

Cam clamps worked great. These M10 stud versions of the clamps neck down to an M8 fine thread, so the next version of these parts are going to be designed for M8 holes all around. Then I can use M8 cap head bolts on one side and thread the cam lever directly onto the bolt to eliminate a nut. Fewer parts is always better. I’ll also be adding a couple strategically placed slots so that fit up is dead on. Coming along nicely!

[Bry5on]

I recently installed the 6 point RACP brace in my M3, so appreciate not a direct comparison to this but the concept is pretty similar, - I felt exactly the same, you can feel the suspension doing more work in response to the chassis being stiffer and not twisting so much.

Very cool - and I'm impressed that you got it dimensionally so close in a single iteration!.

Also congrats on the house.

Thanks! Yeah it's a very hard feeling to describe in words. Sort of like you can really feel the extra stiffness in the little ripple movements of the rear suspension now. This could honestly be the rear shock mounts displacing a bit before the dampers start doing their job, but it's not something you could feel before. Just lots more 'precise' feeling. All good changes. Did you notice any of this 'ripple' sort of behavior?

Very nice job! I imagine that this about as effective as the SLON product. I'd pick one up if you did one for the coupes.

I'd say that the Slon shear wall is more ideal than my design, but mine should be 90% as effective. The touring just doesn't have the same geometry to run a design like that and I also want it to be quickly removable for fold down seat access. Unfortunately the coupe doesn't have any of the mounting points that I tied into here, so it would be a bit more of an involved job on a coupe, likely involving reinforcing and/or hole drilling in the parcel shelf and rear frame rails. Certainly possible, but not easy bolt in like the wagon!

[YoitsTmac]

Very nice job! I imagine that this about as effective as the SLON product. I'd pick one up if you did one for the coupes.

[karter16]

it's either placebo or I can actually tell that the suspension is articulating more

I recently installed the 6 point RACP brace in my M3, so appreciate not a direct comparison to this but the concept is pretty similar, - I felt exactly the same, you can feel the suspension doing more work in response to the chassis being stiffer and not twisting so much.

Very cool - and I'm impressed that you got it dimensionally so close in a single iteration!.

Also congrats on the house.

[Bry5on]

New house is getting dialed in. These guys were waiting for me upon arrival:


Took a few days to get to car stuff, but the test fit (with 3/8-16 freedom fasteners) went okay. Install is a bit fussy and I missed a couple dimensions by ~2mm but with the undersized fasteners and a couple washers it all went together. Fitment pics:






It's definitely noticeable. Similar to adding the Slon brace, it taughts up the car, especially felt on angled bumps, lumps, dips and step changes in street height. I've only got one run to the hardware store with the wife in it, so not a lot of seat time, but enough to tell a difference right away. I would say it's about 1/3 as drastic a change as the Slon brace, and it's either placebo or I can actually tell that the suspension is articulating more. Not sure yet. For the first time, I felt like the car could use more spring rate (or maybe just stiffer shock mounts), which is honestly not what I expected to think. I really want to A/B an M3 converted wagon without all the bracing back to back with mine now to feel the cumulative change.

Given that the fit went well enough, I went ahead and ordered the M10 quick release clamps. Those should arrive tomorrow, so with any luck I'll have that sorted as well. I'll also likely bond the little 3/8" pucks to the brace itself to make installation a lot less fiddly. It does slide out vertically rather nicely though, which is cool.

[karter16]

It bolts in with 5 fasteners, lifts out upward and I'm ordering cam locks (like a bike seat post) for quick removal. If I do this right, it's a no-tool install/removal for hatch access on the fly.

That is epic! Absolutely best of both worlds!


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