In short, this brace is everything I hoped it would be. The car rides better, handles better, responds faster, and is quieter—and the changes are not subtle. Steering is more precise/consistent/accurate. I knew I was in for a good time just pulling out of the driveway—the car used to have clicks run through the chassis as the chassis twisted from the angle of the driveway to the angle of the street, and the interior plastics changed shape. Now, no longer—completely silent.
I’ve been racking my brain to figure out how to convey what the experience change is like, and I came to what I think is the perfect analogy.
BMW E46 Convertible 10,500
BMW E46 Coupe (w/folding seats) 12,500
According to BMW, the non M coupe is 19% more torsionally rigid than the non M vert. We don’t have numbers for the M vert (we know the M3 coupe is 18,500 nm/deg), but it’s probably a safe assumption that it’s also ~19% less rigid than the M3 coupe.
This brace has measured an increase of 18-20%, depending on the car—so it’s bang-on identical to the increase in going from a vert to a coupe.
If you’ve driven both vert and coupe e46s, you know the exact difference this brace makes, and you’ll know it’s not at all subtle—the more rigid chassis car rides better, handles better, turns in better, has better feedback, is quieter, and is more responsive.
Or, to a less extreme scale, if you’ve driven the same car before and after a roll cage is installed, this is a similar change in feel.
Interestingly, I have not detected any of sizzle Bry5on mentioned—and I’m pretty hyper focused on steering feel in cars (as in, I never wanted a newer Suburban after it went EPS because I couldn’t deal with the lack of feel—in a freaking suburban). I’m not sure what the difference is there—maybe it comes down to a camber/caster/toe setting difference? Either way, I’ve only found all aspect of steering (and everything else) to be improved.
I feel like I already covered this, but, to reiterate, build quality is off the chart. All the CF is perfect, all the alu parts are beautifully machined, everything fits perfectly, everything is actually engineered (not anywhere near a given in aftermarket car parts), and it looks great. This is an expensive part, no doubt—but it’s expensive for a reason. I doubt the profit margins on this are unusually high.
All told, I freaking love it. I have zero regrets, and highly recommend it. I need to make time to get the SLON Workshop rear bulkhead installed ASAP—not because the car feels unbalanced in any way, but because I want more of this improvement, and I want it now!
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